Craters of the Moon
One week in the books!
In this post, I’ll include the good and the bad—also known as the dips.
After a quick sleepover north of Salt Lake City, we traveled to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho. Idaho is a new state for both of us.
We got an early start out of Salt Lake City because the campground was on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to its remote location, we didn’t want to arrive and not find a site large enough for our setup.
We arrived a little before noon and secured a really nice, level spot to hang out for a couple of days. We had a quick lunch before exploring the park.
The park encompasses three major lava fields formed by eruptions during the past 15,000 years, with the most recent activity occurring around 2,000 years ago. The Lava Field Campground sits right in the middle of one of them. The hotspot that once existed here has since moved east to Yellowstone National Park.
Our first hike was up a steep pile of cinders. It was fairly easy—straight up and straight down. The top offered a 360-degree view of the crater. What we weren’t prepared for was how windy it was. I had to keep my hand on my visor or tucked into my jacket. It was almost comical how intense the wind was. I think wind has been my least favorite part about Airstreaming. But thankfully, we haven’t experienced fires or floods—I can imagine it could be a lot worse.
We managed to see a couple more interesting formations before dinner. Our sunset walk took us along an elevated walkway over the lava field.
Our last hike in the park was Broken Top. This trail wrapped around a small mound, revealing views of all the various types of lava flows in the park. It was the most interesting hike we took. It ended at the Broken Top section—a large, hardened lava area that had collapsed, exposing fascinating caves and lava tubes. While we weren’t allowed to enter the caves (to protect the bats), if you know me, you know I peeked!
Thanks for hanging around this long—I appreciate you following our journey.
Now about the DIP…
One rule of RVing is: Slow is pro.
Well, we got in a rush heading into the park to get that perfect site. I hurried. While making a wide right turn, I didn’t notice the stop sign on the left side of the lane. Needless to say, I panicked—and why I didn’t stop, I can’t say other than your brain just doesn’t work right in these situations. As a result, the entire driver’s side of the Airstream is marred. While it’s not a showstopper, it was definitely a heartbreaker. In the end, it’s just scratches and dents - and we can get that fixed. We know all about more serious breaks and are thankful every day we are healthy and able to explore in the RV.
Stay tuned for updates on this situation, but it is not going to mar our trip!
After Craters of the Moon, we continued north to Missoula, where we’ve spent the last few days with Wes, Hailey, and Bennett.