Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID

Lava Cascades at Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID

Wednesday, August 1 - Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID -161.2 Miles Today, 11,609.5 For the Trip

Whether it is cool enough or not, I'm in Carters of the Moon Campground for the night. It was 89°F when I stopped, but now at 4:35 it is 93°F (but DRY HEAT, at least that is what they tell me!) I'm hoping that at this altitude (almost 6000') that it cools off once the sun goes down. I won't be able to shoot the milky way like last year since there is a full moon that will wash out the stars.

I didn't get the site I had last year (site 38) because it was already occupied (there were 2 people in the campground when I got here) but I have a better site - 25. I could have kept the trailer connected, but I wanted to see a couple of the areas that were closed last year. I climbed the Inferno Cone which I skipped last year (not because it was closed, because I was lazy) but did get to see the Snow & Spatter cones and hike out to the Tree Molds, both of which were closed last year. By the way, if you hike to the Tree Molds, don't believe the 1 mile description. It may be one mile as the crow flies, but the trail is more like 1 1/2 or more.

You will have to put up with lots of tree photos - love the shapes of both the live & dead ones here in the monument. They are at today's LakeshoreImages page.

As to dinner, of course it is going to be the rest of the pork loin. I'm really sick of pork loin sandwiches, but being a cheapskate, I won't throw it out. So, I drove to the grocery store in Arco (40 miles round trip - money spent on gas doesn't count) and bought some vegetables to make hash. After that, even tightwads toss what ever is left over!

I hope the wind dies down. I had to close the awning since it was rocking the trailer so much I was missing the keys while typing (well, maybe a bit of an exaggeration) In any case, it is windy. The campground is starting to fill up. A large shadow maker (the name some fiberglass trailer owners give to 40' Class A's) is 2 sites down from me but all the surrounding sites are still empty. Since it is a full moon tonight, maybe there will be an interesting rise to photograph.

Until Tomorrow!