Craters of the Moon & Snake River

Hi Everyone,
On Thursday, Aug. 15th, we drove to the two remaining state parks in the Thousand Springs State Park Group along the Snake River valley( also known as the Magic Valley). There we explored Malad Gorge Canyon and the waterfall in the canyon.

 We had lunch a Ritter Island State Park. Then we drove to the Hagerman National Fossil Beds Reserve where Mom took another picture of a white pelican in the river.

On Friday, Aug. 16th we left Hagerman, Idaho, and drove 2 hours to the Craters of the Moon National Monument out in the high desert of Idaho. That place was spooky, but I meet several people and made friends with them. It really does look like a moonscape, and our Astronauts trained there before they went to the Moon. The reason it looks so bleak is that it is a dormant volcano and lava beds that have been worn away by wind and water erosion over the centuries.

Here's Dad standing on the edge over a caldera and lava bed that is thousands of years old.

These pictures are of the "Devil's Garden", a barren place that has taken thousands of years to produce any vegetation. Only one species of pine tree can grow there and they don't last very long.

Notice the large monoliths in the background that have been worn away by wind and water of the centuries.

Here is Mom climbing to the top of a two-hundred-foot high cinder cone.

These are spatter cones that act as a relief valve on a volcano. They are miniature volcanos formed from a weakness or fracture near an active volcano. Without these spatter cones a volcano would blow its top similar to what Mt. Saint Helens did a decade ago in Washington state.

Peering into a spatter cone, some of which can be several hundred feet deep.

We stayed overnight in Blackfoot, Idaho. On Saturday, Aug.17th, we drove to Idaho Falls, Idaho, a nice place with a wonderful greenway along the Snake River. We walked the whole loop through the center of the city where I made several new friends.

We drove on to Victor, Idaho where we spent the night in our new home for the next few days. On Sunday morning we drove to Jackson, Wyoming up over a steep mountain pass called Teton Pass (10,000 ft), to have breakfast with Mom's brother David. He was visiting the area and planning to travel to Boise, Idaho, so we were glad we could see him, if even for only a short time.

Then we went to the visitors center after which we began exploring Grand Teton National park. Here are pictures of the majestic mountains that form the Teton chain from across Jackson Lake. 

This is Grand Teton the highest peak in the park, well over 13,000 feet high There are a few diminishing glaciers and permanent snow fields still remaining on its heights. In order to be labeled a glacier, a snowfield must be moving, otherwise, it is designated as a permanent snowfield.

This is Mt, Moran, the second-highest peak at over 12,000 feet. One of the only remaining glaciers is visible above the trees in the foreground.

Tomorrow we will do some more exploring in the Grand Teton National Park area😌.