6.23.2011

CRATERS of the MOOOOOoooooooN!!

We were going to meet Kyle in Salt Lake City, but, it was about 6 hours, one way, out of our way, and, we weren't in a city mood. As we were looking at the map, debating what to do, we saw a big green patch, marking a State Park, that read, Craters of the Moon. Oooooh, that sounded up our alley. We told Kyle we would meet him in Jackson Hole instead, and headed to the park.

"Although there are many lava flows on Earth's actual moon, astronauts confirmed that most lunar craters resulted from meteorite impacts, not volcanism. The craters of Craters of the Moon, however, are definitely of volcanic origin. These vast volumes of lava issued not from one volcano, but from long fissures across the Snake River Plain that are known collectively as the "Great Rift." Beginning about 15,000 years ago, lava welled up from the Great Rift to produce this vast ocean of rock."

It really was like being on the moon. Black, lava rock as far as the eye could see. We used our guide map to spot Spatter Cones (miniature volcanos), pahoehoe lava (rope like), 'a'ā lava (crusty, rubble-like), iridescent cinders, and lava bombs (big globs of lava blown out of cinder cones that harden in flight). Flashlights in hand, we crawled inside Indian Tunnel, a lava tube formed as the lava hardened on the outside, while hot lava still flowed within.

As we walked back down to one of the day's trailheads, we found two men, in full, perfectly fitted leather suits, atop two gorgeous BMW motorcycles. The motorcycles were packed tightly with leather cases, holding camera equipment, and with cameras mounted on handlebars and helmets. Nicole exclaimed, "Whoa. Nice getup." The men said, "Do you know which way to Boy Scout Cave?" We helped get them in the right direction, but not before we asked what they were up to. These two guys were on a mission: to ride through each and every state, visiting the highest and lowest altitude points in each state. Our type of guys!

We had a fantastic time at CRATERS of the MOOOooooooN! (as we affectionately called it), feeling like exploratory astronauts, boldly going where no one had gone before. We made absolutely sure to follow the park rules, and not take any twisted, iridescent, sculptural lava rocks home with us. (So don't even bother asking to see our collection).


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