Craters of the Moon

E wanted to use some of the remaining daylight after arriving to get a bicycle cruise in.

The next day she was game for biking to the visitor center, all uphill.

Ludwig in the cinder, from the visitor center

Our one full day was exploration day. We started with a level walk around Devil's Orchard.

Back to Ludwig

Our next stop was at a cluster of spatter cones. We got inside the one above. It was so cool; a tiny little volcano.

The whole lava field of CotM actually extends about 20 miles past all the developed stuff at the Northern edge. This view is looking into it. I thought maybe those most distant mountains were in Utah but the map told me otherwise. Almost, though.

More volcanism, Big Southern Butte

Big Southern Butte again, but really this picture was meant to show off the stand of Dwarf Buckwheat.

The last and longest walk of the day was to Indian Cave, past several types of lava.

Down into the cave

The pile of rocks used to be the roof where the skylight is.

Spelunker!

The cave was a big lava tube. This is its roof.

Back at camp, E wanted to do some more two-wheeling.

After dinner and before the stargazing activities, there was some card playing in Ludwig.

(continued...)