June 19 - Craters of the Moon

Today started with a sunrise over Silver Creek in Idaho from our boondocking site. 

When we were ready to pull out of our spot, Bill tried to start Ida and she said NO!!  Luckily we have a battery boost, so that got us started and on our way. Whew!!  When we got to Rexburg, they had several auto stores so Bill bought a new battery and installed it. We should we good to go now. 

We decided that we are going to call this the Lava Trip because we’ve hiked and camped in several lava areas. Such a different topography for us. 

Today we hiked up the Lava Cone again because it wasn’t as windy and we could actually walk around on top without getting blown over. 

This is from atop the cone looking across the valley. 

Next hike was in the caves. The walk to get to the caves seemed like we were on the moon. Lava all around us. 

Look how rugged and harsh the lava is. No wonder dogs aren’t allowed to hike. 

First cave Drew started down. 

Second cave we could walk the whole way through. I wasn’t sure at first I could crawl over those jagged lava stones but I started out. When I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, I said, guess I can do this. 

And there I am, out on the other side. 

Every time I see the little flowers blooming in this harsh landscape, I am just amazed at their tenacity. 

After we were finished at Craters of the Moon, we drove northeast near Island Park for the next leg of our trip into Yellowstone. 

As we came into the little town of Arco, we saw the hill ahead of us had numbers painted on it. We decided it was the year people graduated. 

Our campsite tonight is just out of West Yellowstone off of a Forest Service Road. 

Drew found a brewery in West Yellowstone so we headed there after getting set up. 

On the way back it started to rain and we had this brilliant rainbow. 

And we could see the Tetons off in the distance. Look hard. 

Tomorrow begins our time in Yellowstone. Can’t wait.