Cratering on the Moon

I have spent almost the entire month of August meandering my way through western Montana and central Idaho. I hiked, camped, and poked around. It was great. There are lots of pictures and stories to share, especially from my time in the Sawtooth Mountains, but those will wait until another time. Today, instead, I want to tell about my time last weekend at Craters of the Moon in Idaho.

As some of you already know, I have been traveling with some small friends. My nieces and nephews graciously loaned them to me, and the friends appear in pictures every now and then. Aside from one friend going missing (I really am sorry, Sonia), they have been problem-free and fun to have around. As I explored different places, they cooperated beautifully as I took pictures, and even offered a helping hand from time to time.

On top of a pass at the MT-ID border, Bitterroot National Forest

Cooling off at a mountain stream

Giraffe, Bulldozer, Nick Fury & Pikachu posing nicely at the remains of mill in an old ghost town

Pikachu checking out an old chain (and a temporary friend for Sonia!)

Giraffe liked how her voice echoed.

Bulldozer putting his digging skills to good use while backpacking.

Nick Fury volunteered to guard the food all night.

See, they are friendly and pleasant group. A constant joy to be around.

Uh-huh. Yeah.

Upon arriving at Craters of the Moon Saturday afternoon, everyone was excited to see such a strange place. Due to blistery abrasions along my Achilles tendons, I was moving much. slower than usual, but the friends were in good spirits. They even insisted on taking a picture of the campsite.

The next morning, everyone was cheerful and eager to explore the park. Our first stop was a large cinder cone. The friends, especially Pikachu and Nick Fury, were ready to race to the top. Still wincing, I determined the climb was too steep for me. I wanted to save my limited steps for things I really wanted to see. In light of this, Nick and Pikachu reluctantly agreed it was best to pass. However, some of the cheerfulness left the group.

At the base of a cinder cone. Not being able to climb it led to some disgruntled feelings.

Our next stop brought us to the a large crater. Curious to see inside an extinct volcano, we carefully made our way up the steep path to the rim. Nick Fury got excited thinking about the amount of fire power it took to blow a hole in the earth that size. Pikachu claimed it wasn't that big of a deal because he could create a crater that size all on his own. Nick didn't believe Pikachu.

The pair debated this for quite some time.

Nick Fury expounding upon the violence that made this crater.
(Yes, he is in this picture).

Pikachu bragging about a time he made a crater twice this size.

Meanwhile, Giraffe and Bulldozer wandered off separately. In their own ways, they had trouble following the "Please Stay On Trails" signage. Enticed by all the new and different plants, Giraffe continually tasted the local flora. On the other hand, Bulldozer saw many ways he felt he could improve the terrain. He kept leaving the path in order to do so.

Giraffe sampling a bitter brush.

Despite the sign, Bulldozer wanted to make a path that circled the top of the entire crater.
It took me several minutes to chase him down.

Giraffe munching on some past-their-prime wildflowers, while Nick Fury yells at her to stop.

Leaving the crater, we made our way to the splatter cones. Splatter cones are small volcanic cones made when thick clumps of spurting lava stuck together. Bulldozer liked how they looked and wanted to make more. He didn't believe there were enough.

In an attempt to build more splatter cones, Bulldozer left the path again.

Pikachu did not appreciate the aesthetics of the spatter cones in the same way as Bulldozer. He declared they looked like piles of poop. He was amused by this joke longer than the rest of us.

"It's poop!"

All four on the side of a splatter cone. Pikachu said it smelled like a toilet. Nick told him to shut up. He was ruining the splatter cones.
Pikachu replied, "if you don't shove it, I'll splatter your cones!"
Bulldozer and Giraffe just rolled their eyes.

Leaving the splatter cones, my heels were sore but I wasn't ready to call it quits yet. When would I have a chance to come back? Finding a trail that was both short and level, we decided to give it a try.

This may or may not have been a good idea.

First, Giraffe's desire for snacks reached new heights. Every time I turned around, she was off eating another plant.

Giraffe sampling the sage.

Eating the dwarf buckwheat.

Second, Bulldozer insisted that various rocks and features need to moved, cleared, filled in, or rearranged. He just could not grasp the concept of Leave No Trace.

I caught Bulldozer trying to fill in the entrance to a lava tube.

Here he is rearranging the rocks.
Also notice that Giraffe is eating the bitter brush again.

Thirdly, Pikachu's poop jokes continued...

"Know what this looks like?!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" -Pikachu

Fourth and lastly, Nick Fury wouldn't leave anyone else in the group, infuriating everyone with his bossy comments. He and Pikachu were especially snarky with each other.

Nick stands on the rock that Bulldozer is trying to move, yelling at him to stop.
Giraffe wandered off to try the rabbit brush, while Pikachu announced to anyone who was
listening that at least he knew how to behave.

Here I was trying to determine if the plants to the left were a kipuka. Kipukas are islands of vegetation
surrounded by lava flows. Pikachu was convinced the word "kipuka" was coined to make fun of his name.'
For the rest of the afternoon, Nick would whisper "kipuka" then deny speaking.

Nick stood straddling this crack, claiming his powerful strength had created it.
Pikachu called him out for being a liar.
Giraffe ignored them and ate another bush.
Bulldozer just tried to fill in the crack.

Bulldozer took off, determined to fill in the cave up ahead.
Both Nick Fury and Pikachu yelled at him to stop.
Giraffe dramatically collapsed. It had been over five minutes since her last snack.

It may have been the longest two mile hike of my life. When I passed the entrance to the wilderness area, I was tempted to leave them all and just go.

After all the bickering, it took all my strength not to leave everything wander out into the wilderness.

Instead, back at the campsite, I accepted an invitation to have dinner with a couple from Colorado. I left the "friends" to fend for themselves.