On Sunday September 27th we headed to Arco Idaho. This is the location of Craters of the Moon National Monument. This monument showcases the lava fields, cinder cones, and various unique formations that have formed from volcanoes that have erupted here for millions of years. The last major activity was about 2000 years ago. These volcanoes are part of a string of volcanoes that run all the way up to the big one in Yellowstone.
The park gets about 248,000 visitors and it was a very interesting. The KOA here was small but a very relaxing location. We ate lunch at the local restaurant "Pickles Place" and visited the park on Monday.
We had tried to get to this location back in 2016 but we had brake problems and ended up going to Boise instead. Skip and I walked up a major size cinder pile/cone and were treated with a magnificent view of the Lava Fields and the Rhyolitic Dome to the east of here. There is a very unique beauty to volcanic remains, something that fascinates me. We took a short hike in one of the flow areas and enjoyed the day.
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| Not a whole lot nearby! |
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| The road to Arco Idaho! |
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| Our first walk in the park! |
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| There are trees like this everywhere in the park. |
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| Dwarf Buckwheat grows everywhere. One of many plant species that thrives in this environment. |
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| Rhyolitic Dome! |
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| View from about half way up the cinder mountain. The view from the top was magnificant. |
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| Skip on top of the dome. |
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| Lava Flows! |
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| A full mountain of Dwarf Buckwheat! |
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| On top of the cinder cone! |
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| A visitor at the top! |
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| As far as you can see. |
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| Vent! |
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| Carol and Skip |
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| Doesn't look like much but the fried pickles were very good. |
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| Hazy night at the campsite! |
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| Relaxing by the fire. Tourist cowboy on the right. |
