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Sunday May 2, 2021
Idaho is most assuredly the most beautiful state we have ever visited. Amazing mountains, canyons, rivers, waterfalls, deserts and did I mention mountains!!!! It might be the most windy as well at least in southern Idaho. This morning I had trouble opening the door to the hotel because the wind was so strong. Oh and did I mention the mountains J We drove the scenic 2 hour drive to Craters of Moon National Monument in Carey Idaho. This is where the Apollo 11 astronauts trained for their mission because the terrain resembled the moon. There is not one certain volcano that created this lava landscape but it is a part of the Great Rift which is a series of deep fissures that crossed the Snake River Plain. Sometimes these fissures would spout into geysers of molten rock. Cinder Cones are dotted throughout the park some very high these were the sites of volcanic vents. Splatter Cones form were steam vents shoot denser globs of lava into the air. There are many of these within the park and we were able to walk up and look down into them. We did climb the large Cinder Cone and
were afforded amazing views but horrific winds. One of the hikes we wanted to do was the Cave Trail. It is not really a cave but where the outside lava hardened but the molten liquid lava kept running until it was dry leaving a cave made of lava. This trail has been closed since last summer due to seismic activity. Total acreage of Craters of the Moon is 250,000 but there is only a 7 mile park road that runs through the highlights. It was quite interesting.
The drive to Stanley Idaho from Craters of the Moon was incredible! We crossed a pass that was 8995 feet and had snow. Idaho has 29 named mountain ranges that is more than any state other than Alaska. The mountains were not in short supply today and I was forever thankful. Once we reached our cabin in Stanley we were greeted with views of the famous (for fishing) Salmon River just a few feet from our front porch and panoramic views of the Sawtooth Mountains. Oh my goodness, I am not sure we can ever leave!!!!
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Craters of the Moon
Jan Hoover
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Wow Again!
We have never visited Idaho but looks awesome! The US has some beautiful places. Thank you for sharing!