July 10
We left Grand Teton NP shortly after 8am on our way to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho. Craters of the Moon is a huge national park at over 750,000 acres, roughly the size of Rhode Island. Lava flows cover the bulk of the park. Lava issued from a series of deep fissures, the Great Rift, that cross the Snake River Plain. About 15,000 years ago magma first came to the surface to produce the huge amounts of lava rock found here. The most recent eruption was just 2,000 years ago.
After 217 miles and about 5 hours of driving we pulled into the only campground in this park. The ground is covered by black and dark brown, sand-like cinders. We picked a site amongst the dark basalt rocks heaped all around. Gone were our moderate temperatures of the previous parks. It was now in the mid 90s, breezy and very dry.
We drove the 7-mile loop road which takes you through spectacular volcanic scenery and to several trail heads. There is incredible variation in the basaltic rocks. Some are dense, some look foamy, others are ropey. Most trails are paved to protect the lava formations. Although lava rocks look nearly indestructible, they are actually very fragile. Footsteps crush the delicate landscape. We walked the paved ½ mile Devils Orchard Nature Trail. Next was the Inferno Cone, a huge, dark cinder cone left behind when lava with high gas content erupted and accumulated. We walked up the very steep 0.4 mile cone to the top. The view of the surrounding lava formations across the park was amazing. It was incredibly windy. We picked up dark colored cinder rocks and marveled at the metallic colors they displayed in the sun and the diversity of their shapes. At the top a big, lone pine tree grew in these desert-like conditions.
We continued on to the Spatter Cones. Spatter cones form near the end of an eruption cycle when globs of tacky lava spurt from a fissure and weld together to form a cone or chimney-like formation. They are a rare volcanic formation. Short paved trails led to two of three of these mini volcanoes. Snow Cone actually still had a bit of snow down inside!
After dinner we walked the North Crater Flow Trail near the campground.
July 11
After a beautiful, clear, and calm evening, we woke to a cloudy, windy, rainy, and much cooler day. We decided not let a little bad weather deter us and drove down to the trail head of the Wilderness Trail. It starts off on part of the Broken Top Trail which leads to Buffalo Caves. These caves are lava tubes with a collapsed part of the ceiling that allows entrance. We had the area to ourselves. The boys really enjoyed scrambling on all the fallen rock, climbing through tunnels, and peering into deep, dark crevices.
We continued on the trail towards Lava Trees. These are molds of upright tree trunks and branches that were in the path of the lava flow. As the trees burned or rotted away they left circular holes in mounds of lava rock. The landscape is truly unearthly.
Returning we picked up the rest of Broken Top Trail which runs 1.8 miles around a cinder cone and to an overlook of Big Sink and Blue Dragon Flow. The view down is amazing, black lava almost as far as the eye can see.
After a quick lunch break and another rain shower, we explored the cave area. Four different lava tubes can be climbed down into. One must bring a flashlight for each person and have a cave permit so as not to spread the white-nose bat fungus. We started with Beauty Cave, a big, chilly chamber with an easy 150 ft walk through with a total descent of about 30 ft. The last half was blocked because of falling rock. Next was Boy Scout Cave. This lava tube stood in contrast to Beauty Cave. Here is was so cold that there was ice on the rocks and icicles. This cave was longer, narrower, pitch black, and had many fallen ceiling rocks to scramble over by the small circle of feeble light from our flashlights. The patterns on the ceiling were remarkable, not only the different lava formations, but also the effects of dripping water building deposits. The boys thought this was all awesome.
We then looked at Dewdrop Cave, which was a much smaller cavern accessed through a collapsed lava tube ceiling.
Indian Tunnel was an incredible lava tube. The Shoshone Indians used it as shelter and a water source while traveling through the area. It descended almost 60 ft in total, was 800 ft long and had three official entrances. Not only was it gigantic, it was beautiful. Holes in the ceiling acted as skylights so we needed the flashlights only when we explored the depths of some of the tunnels. It seems most people, for whatever reasons (time constraints, health, unpreparedness, small children), view only the main attractions and miss lots of the incredible things we like to delve into. At the exit we chose we discovered two very small, very different lava tubes that William and the boys had a great time crawling through and posing for pictures.
The Davids' Cross-Country Trip 