Day 16: Pickled Craters

Idaho Falls, ID to Boise, ID

Our hotel in Idaho Falls, ID was very comfortable and we slept well. We left around 10:00 a.m. for Craters of the Moon National Monument near a small town called Arco, ID. As we drove through the desert for the hour-long ride, I could not help but think that this sort of area would be excellent for testing of highly dangerous materials. Therefore, I was not that surprised when we saw a sign for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), which we learned studies nuclear energy. Apparently Arco, ID, which is right near the INL was the first ever town to be powered entirely by nuclear means, and it is therefore a town of historic significance. Just before driving through Arco, we saw a large sign for Pickle's Place, which advertised their "Atomic Burger." We had to try it. And within the deliciousness of the burger was a hint of radioactivity, which just strengthened its conquering our hunger. The fried pickles as the appetizer were quite tasty as well.

Drew with pickles

After lunch, we drove the last twenty minutes to Craters of the Moon National Monument. The black volcanic rock and sharp edges creeped up on us out of nowhere. The visitor center was very informative about what caused the volcanic activity and about the history of the eruptions. The oldest eruption was only 15,000 years ago and the most recent was only 2,000 years ago, both very short considering many other rock and volcanoes. The landscape is every changing, which is visible by the amount of vegetation on each of the hills. As expected, the older ones have more and the newer ones have less. We drove around the loop road that took us to important and interesting sites. Each site had hikes or walks with plaques that explained different formations or contained information about volcanic activity and lava. Our favorite stop on the loop, which happened to be our last, was The Caves. Here, we were able to go spelunking in old lava tubes. We climbed down with flashlights and just explored. One of the caves had ice in it, which was surprising considering the ninety-five degree heat just a few feet above. After our fingers numbed in the cold below, the extreme heat outside felt glorious... for about thirty seconds. A couple of more caves later, we were back in the car and on our way to Boise, ID.

View from atop Inferno Cone at Craters of the Moon

Drew exploring Boy Scout Cave at Craters of the Moon

Boise is a surprisingly large city, and it was therefore easy to find a good meal. Drew and I both had chicken shwarma from a mediterranean restaurant called Mazzah. After dinner, we took advantage of city living and went to the movie theater where we saw "This is the End." The film was very vulgar, but was hilarious. Then we went back to the hotel and shluffed.