Just a short trip today from Twin Falls to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.
We arrived at noon and found out that there was space in the campground for our big rig so immediately found a spot. Our original goal was to stop briefly and then go on to Arco, Id which is only another 18 miles. We thought it would be to hot to stay in the park without air conditioning but it turns out to be a mild day with clouds and a smattering of rain. Perfect conditions for this park.
We ate lunch then started on a driving trip which is a loop with side roads to investigate. We walked the trails, looked at the plants, and walked about ¾ of a mile to the caves which are really lava tubes. There are three you can reach easily by walking a narrow blacktopped trail. I elected to enter Indian Cave which is about 800 ft long and very large in diameter. The bad part of this cave is there is no obvious trail once you reach the floor of the cave. After walking about 200 feet there is a large hole in the ceiling and a very large pile of rubble directly beneath it. You need to scramble over very large boulders to get to the rest of the tunnel. I decided to forgo this part of the tunnel and turned back. I had to use my Droid phone light to find the path back. It was raining when I emerged from the tunnel so I got a little wet on my walk back to the truck. Clyda had turned back when I entered the tunnel and she really got wet.
Path to Indian Cave through the lava field.
Down inside Indian Cave. I am in the middle of the picture.
The rain finally cleared off as it does most days and we had a beautiful evening. We even attended the evening ranger program.
