Craters of the Moon

Since Devin's school semester takes up most of the summer, we really don't have an opportunity ( or the money) to take a long vacation. Due to this fact, we decided to take day trips around Idaho to enjoy what the state has to offer. This past Saturday we headed out to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. We really did not know what to expect, but we packed a good lunch and followed the instructions online and brought good flashlights ( or so we thought). 

Upon arrival, we had to go to the visitor center to receive a cave pass. The park wants to protect the bats from diseases found in other caves, so we had to answer a few questions in order to be able to go into the caves. Devin wanted to show his manly strength by trying to pick up a rock. Let me remind you that craters of the moon is a lava flow full of porous lava rocks :). It was still fun to pretend we could pick up huge rocks.

The park had a 7 mile loop with different stops along the way. Each stop had something different to see. This might sound silly, but one of thing that was really neat was how the rocks almost had a colorful hint to them.

The last stop on the loop was the caves. This was so cool! We got to take our own flashlights and go down and explore the caves. So, we went down into the first cave and got out our flashlights so we could see. Once the flashlights were out we realized that they didn't work very well at all. Caves are so dark. This might sound like a silly statement, but there was no way we were going to explore the caves with the weak flashlights we brought with us. We ended up going back to the visitor center and investing in a headlamp and some batters. Well worth the money to see the caves.

I am not going to lie. I was really nervous to go into the caves at first. There was something discomforting about being underground in the dark. But, once I went down into the first cave it was so fun and exciting that I couldn't wait to explore the next one.

Devin was really adventurous in the caves and enjoyed going into the smaller places. After a day of exploring we definitely built up an appetite, so we ended or trip with a meal at a local diner. Overall, the trip was so much fun, and I would not mind returning. I look forward to more day trips.