Craters of the Moon Natl. Monument

After our experience in the Timpanogos Cave we were excited to visit some different, lava tube caves a Craters of the Moon and it did not disappoint! We got up early, ate a quick breakfast and drove the 40 min to Craters of the Moon from Carey to beat the heat. We needed a cave permit from the visitors center so before they opened we entered the park and went straight to Inferno Cone. Inferno Cone is a 6,181 ft elevation "cinder cone" in the park. It makes for a short (0.4-mile) hike straight up the side of the cone. At the top you are greeted with a 360 degree view of the entire Craters of the Moon landscape. The 15 % grade was steep, but no match for a few mountain climbing Colorado folks, although this flat lander was winded after stomping our way to the top. We stomped because the ground made an almost drum like hollow noise which made every footfall ring eerily. We hustled to the top and took some pictures in the morning sun marveling at the plant life that could live in this barren landscape.

On Top of Inferno Cone - Craters of the Moon National Monument

After scaling the Inferno cone we drove to our next stop at the Spatter Cones. Flying hot lumps of Lava were thrown into the air only to fall back to earth around the vent piling up and making the spatter cones! These really cool formations startled us when birds flew out of them right in our faces!

After checking out the Spatter Cone's the Visitors Center was finally open and it was time to get our Cave Permit! With a quick turn around and a brief orientation on the fungus that gives bats white nose syndrome we were back out in the park heading towards the Caves Trail. We got to visit and explore two different caves; Indian Tunnel and Dewdrop Cave.

We got to the caves trail and hustled our way through the 3/4 mile hike to the Indian Tunnel cave for our first stop. It was already getting hot and we had left the dogs in the camper with limited generator time for the AC! We dropped in to Indian Tunnel and as the trail got darker it also got colder! It was refreshingly cool in the cave after the 90 deg heat up on the surface. We first explored towards the back of the cave pushing into dark corners looking for bats.

Exploring Indian Cave - Craters of the Moon National Monument

We then turned around and began the 800 ft trek along the tunnel that is "Indian Cave." This cave was formed as a lava tube, and several "skylights" along the way where the roof has colapsed lets the light in so it makes for a unique and pleasant hike below the surface.

Mackenzie checking out the Indian Tunnel Cave

After Indian Tunnel we jumped back on the path and headed over to Dewdrop Cave. Dewdrop was much smaller, and a whole lot wetter! We got down to the bottom and you could see water droplets clinging to the lava rock overhead everwhere. It looked like little sparkling gemstones all around us. By this point we were getting worried our generator would run out of fuel so we high tailed it back to the truck, loaded up and drove back to Carey to rig up the camper and continue heading north! We got back to camp and found the dogs fast asleep in the cool dark of the camper, no issues with the generator, just my nerotiscism making me think I wasn't prepared! Everyone chipped in and we were loaded up and rolling out within a quick half hour. We jumped in the truck and rolled north towards our next stop, Ketchum & SunValley with cooler temps, mountains, rivers, and Mountain Biking!!!!