Has anyone ever been there? .. @Yvonne Smith, did you grow up near there? The recent lava flow in Iceland reminded me of a car trip past Craters of the Moon on the way to California in the 1950's. It's in south central Idaho, and runs alongside the road for about 50 miles. It impressed me as a kid. Google Street View shows the land not as black and stark as I remember. I suppose dust and debris settling on it for 60+ years has faded the color and allowed moss and things to grow. I think I still have a cinder rock from the roadside. LARGER IMAGE "The Craters of the Moon is made up of over 60 different lava flows, the most recent of which is about 2,100 years old, and the oldest of which is 15,000 years old. Based on the geologic history of the region, another eruption is due within the next 1,000 years, perhaps as soon as 200 years from now." -NASA View from Satellite
I love and treasure my lava rock from Craters of the Moon! It's been with me and everywhere I go for 50 years. I remember there were signs asking us please don't take anything so I felt a bit guilty. On the road we traveled to get there we drove for so many miles never seeing another car in any direction. That was as eerie as the monument. Such a lonely, forlorn place, I loved seeing it. Thanks for the memory Nancy.
I grew up in northern Idaho, @Nancy Hart , and the closest that I have ever been to the Craters of the Moon was when we lived in Boise right after Bobby and I got married, and he was working at the homeless rescue mission in Boise. Many, many years ago, I took a family friend down to visit his sister in Pocatello, and I remember that we took a really winding mountain road on the way home, so we might have gone somewhere near the Craters of the Moon, but it was pretty late at night before we all headed back to Spokane, so I don’t know if we were close or not. The only volcano that I have been close to was when I lived in western Washington, and we drove up to Mount St. Helens to see the volcano. It was pretty awesome to see all of the trees blasted down, and almost turned into petrified trees from the heat and ash blast of the eruption. This is Robin when we were up near the top of the volcano, about 10 years after the eruption, and you can see that plants were just starting to grow back in the area again.
I must dig my rock out from storage now and check it out. Let's hope the statute of limitations has expired.
Early camping at Craters of the Moon. Funny how black and white photos just don't "capture the feeling."