Activity #6 Craters of the Moon National Park

I left at 8:45 AM from Rexburg to arrive at 10:30 AM at the park entrance. Pretty open drive with nothing but a really small town between Idaho Falls and Arco. I encountered the weirdest and most dense fog cloud that looked like a lot of smoke but was just part of the weather patterns that morning. It lasted for a good 15 miles of the trip between Idaho Falls and Arco.

Arco looked like a neat visitor town of about 1000 people that live there. It reminded me of a cool stopping place along old historic Route 66. Apparently there is a well known "Atomic" burger in town at a restaurant called "Pickle's Place" that I decided to try when I come back through heading home.

I stopped at the visitor center coming into the park. I grabbed a map and a cave permit from the ranger and asked for suggestions on where to go. He told some spots and I marked them on the map. The places I went to were North Crater trail, Indian Caves, and Tree Molds Trail.

There is an $8 fee to enter the park per car. The roads are nicely paved which is very nice. I stopped along the way to take pictures of the nice landscape. I stopped at North Crater trail and parked my car in that little parking lot. I did the 1.8 mile hike to see the big craters which was really cool. Near the end before the spatter cones I stopped at the top of the trail by the big craters to eat my lunch. I loved looking out over the huge landscape and pondering while I ate. Once I got to the spatter cones I hiked back to the car which was another 1.8 miles back. It is more strenuous with some steep inclines and declines in the trail.

I then drove over to the cave trails to visit Indian tunnel and go through there. There are 4 caves you can do but Indian tunnel was the only one I could do without a flashlight. It was a really cool experience and I recommend going through the tunnel all the way. I went into the Beauty cave a little ways and found out quickly it was way too dark for my phone flashlight and I wanted to take someone with me for that one. I wasn't scared or anything…

I then headed over to do the Tree Molds trail with the time I had left. I took lots of pictures because the trail was a hit! I hiked the two miles and went a little further on unmarked trails. The view was spectacular as it looked out for miles and miles. The mountains were off to the right the entire time. The hike was much easier than the North crater trail and was a little bit longer at 2.0 miles one way. I took lots of panoramic pictures because I just couldn't help it.

When I was done with my adventures at the park, I stopped in Arco to eat at Pickle's Place, home of the "Atomic" burger. I love traveling the road and stopping in little towns to try their food and learn some history about the place.

A few things I found out about Arco. It's powered off of atomic power from the INL plant on the outside of town. There is a graduate hill where each graduating class puts their number up there.  The "Atomic" burger was okay but nothing over the top for me.

Overall this was a great day adventure. I highly recommend it to check out and enjoy the place. I want to go back and explore the remaining caves with another person and a strong flashlight.