Adam's Blog July 28th, Day 23!
Craters of the Moon National Monument is the big stop today, part of the way through Idaho on the way out to Wyoming. First there is the drive out to the park though and it is a pretty drive through a lot of pasture land with primarily horses and not a whole lot else out here. So much so that we all had a big potty issue when we were out in the middle of nowhere and all had to go. We kept hoping for a town when we would see a cluster of buildings but with no luck. These tended to be farm buildings, barns, grain elevators, etc. We finally get to a town and rush in to the first building that looks like it would have a restroom and are not disappointed. After all of the dancing is done, we realize that stopped in a grocery store and it was lunch time so we looked around for lunch options, grabbed some lunch and snacks and were on our way again. On the way out I realize that the dirt road that was running parallel to main paved road we were on was actually an "airport" according to a sign. Not sure that I'd want to be the person flying into here.
After that escapade, we finally reach the park welcome sign in a field of of an old lava flow, surrounded by broken up lava rock. If you haven't heard of this park before, I'm not surprised. I hadn't heard of it either until I had read a list of hidden gems of the National Park Service. It is an area that used to be full of active volcanoes that have long gone dormant but the remains of the activity are still here including lava fields, cinder cones, lava tubes and lots of debris. It has an alien feel to it while you are there walking among it all, like you are no longer on Earth. I am also surprised at the same time at the amount of life that has managed to survive and thrive in this kind of landscape. Not just plants either, there are chipmunks, squirrels and birds here as well. We decide to take a walk up one of the cinder cones to see if we get a good view of the area from the top. The path is really steep and Gideon has his sandles on again so I am expecting to hear a million times on the way up "There's something in my shoe". Luckily this is not the case. We get to the top and are rewarded with a pretty good view of a bunch of old black lava flows. Not as pretty as I had hoped but still a cool sight. On the way back down, Gideon does not disappoint me. About ten steps down the crest we get the first "There's something in my shoe". Another twenty or so steps we get another one. I just pick him up and put him on my shoulders for the rest of the walk down so that we didn't have to hear it.
The next area we head off to has lava tubes and caves. We would have needed permits to get into the caves (They are free and available at the ranger station) and were not equipped to go in anyway so we do not go in but we do decide to walk out because one of the caves is Dewdrop Cave. Now, in case you haven't heard about him yet, Abigail is bringing along a rather large purple and pink stuffed animal from one of her friends on the trip so that they can be reminded of each other. Abigail because she has it and Lulu because she's missing it. This animal's name is Dewdrop. We could not pass up the opportunity so while Courtney continues to recover from the walk up the last mountain, out we go. On the walk out to the cave, Gideon is getting sassy but I tolerate it for a while. On the return from the cave it becomes too much and I warn Gideon that if he keeps up his attitude, he's going to have a toy taken away. The attitude continues and so I tell him I'm taking away a toy. This causes the meltdown the likes of which we hadn't seen for a couple of days. We get close to the car to see Courtney waiting for us with the look on her face that only a mother can have. She takes care of the Gideon situation while I walk over to the restroom with Abigail, thank goodness. At that point I would have taken sitting in that pit toilet stink for my full 33 minute time out time if it meant that Gideon would calm down again and Courtney really has a way with him. She insists that I get extra frustrated with him because he and I are so alike, which makes some sense I suppose since I see her getting frustrated with Abigail a lot quicker and they are so alike as well.
After the cave meltdown and potty stop, we all pile back into the van to head off to dinner and the hotel for the evening. Dinner was at a local BBQ place again which was pretty good although I'm not sure that I agree with all of the comments on the raves that we read in the reviews from the web. What I can say for sure is that they did have delicious corn bread, so much so that Courtney was even eating it! Back to the hotel and bed time so that we can head in to Wyoming tomorrow for part of the trip that I have been looking forward to since we started.
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