Day 410: Craters of the Moon National Monument

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Ben

Today we reluctantly left our amazing Shabbos camping location at Magic Reservoir and drove North and East to Craters of the Moon National Monument. The monument preserves a number of lava flows, the youngest of which are about 2,000 years old. We first visited the spatter cones:

Looking down into the spatter cone:

The terrain is other-worldly, and was used for lunar surface training for the Apollo astronauts:

We hiked up to view a couple larger cinder cones:

Pumice is highly aerated, so it’s much lighter than you might expect. Some pumice even floats!

Looking into another spatter cone:

Next we drove out to the trailhead for a lava cave:

We explored a short section. The kids are off to the left exploring a tight little side passage:

In the visitor center parking lot, Trish befriended our neighbor:

The kids completed their Junior Ranger books and received their patches:

While Trish made a late lunch, I took the kids to another trailhead for a short hike:

It’s easy to imagine the lava flowing across the land:

Eventually, wind-borne soils settle into crevasses and plants begin to grow:

This 3” long praying mantis blended right in:

After leaving the monument, we drove South and West to overnight at a truck stop in Bliss, Idaho. See the trip map for driving details.

Update: The kids produced a podcast for today’s adventure:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Day 408: Low Density Housing at Magic Reservoir

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Ben

We got off to a late start this morning and drove North, crossing into Idaho and stopping in Twin Falls for diesel and groceries. Thanks to a post on Technomadia, we decided to overnight at Magic Reservoir. I can’t say we’re disappointed with the location:

Not only do we have lakefront parking, but the weather here is blessedly cooler than what we’ve experienced since arriving in Las Vegas three weeks ago. The forecast calls for lows in the high 40s, and highs in the high 70s tomorrow. And this looks like an ideal PPG location to boot! Maybe on Sunday….

Good Shabbos from Magic Reservoir, Idaho! See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.

Day 407: Flat Out at the Bonneville Flats

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Ben

We left Great Basin National Park this morning and drove North to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats:

The Salt Flats are submerged beneath an inch of water over the winter. In the summer this water evaporates and leaves a smooth surface which is perfect for setting land speed records. The flats are over 46 square miles in size:

‘We got the truck up to 75MPH, which felt plenty fast. Hard to believe vehicles have been driven here in excess of 600MPH.

We also verified that the truck’s “ESC off” mode works, though it does take a bit of doing to do a doughnut in a one-ton truck.

We also took the kids for a slow ride in the bed of the pickup:

Lightning was moving in, so we got off the flats and back to the RV:

From the flats, we continued West and North to overnight behind a casino in Wells, Nevada. See the trip map for driving details.

UPDATE: The kids produced a podcast for today’s adventure:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Day 406: Great Basin National Park

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Ben

Today the kids did some cookie decorating in the RV:

Trish made mini apple pies:

Meanwhile, I decided to ride to the summit of the road up Wheeler Peak. The ride starts in town at 5,318 feet and ends 15.6 miles later at 10,163 feet, a vertical gain of 4,845 feet. Outside Magazine listed this ride as one of the five best North American hill climbs. The climb is longer and as steep as the Tour de France’s Hors Categorie climb of Col d’Izoard.

I left at 11am, and the first half of the climb was really hot. Eventually, I climbed past 8,000 feet, and the temperature dropped considerably. Up here, it’s already Autumn:

Looking at the switchbacks in the foreground and the start point, the town of Baker, in the background:

The higher I went, the deeper into Autumn I travelled:

At last I reached the summit, nearly one vertical mile above my start point. The climb had more vertical than Whitney Portal but less than Horseshoe Meadows:

Wheeler Peak in the background:

I suffered two flats on the way down, but it was still a great ride!

Back at the visitor center, the kids received their Junior Ranger badges:

We watched the Park’s excellent video in the modern visitor center:

It was a little late to drive on to a new location, so we settled into a great dispersed camping spot I found on BLM land:

As I write this I can hear the swiftly flowing stream a few feet from the RV as well as a host of crickets. Good night from Great Basin National Park!

UPDATE: The kids produced a podcast for today’s adventure:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Day 405: Cathedral Gorge State Park

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Ben

This morning we woke up to our first view from our lakeside campsite at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge:

It’s pretty hot here, so we’re moving on this morning, but first we went for a short hike:

Continuing North, we arrived at Cathedral Gorge State Park. I first visited this park as a junior high school student while on an OMSI summer trip. I’ve wanted to come back ever since to revisit the amazing slot canyons here:

The formation is eroded volcanic ash. Rains wear down the ash into spires:

In some places, surface water has eroded slot canyons into the formation:

The slot walls are about 50 feet high:

It does get narrow in spots:

Looking up:

The slot canyon walls have a variety of textures, depending on how much water flows over them during rain storms:

M found a tunnel:

I crawled through first:

The tunnel opened up into another slot canyon:

There was a rope that could be used to climb up to a hanging cave above:

Working my way back out of the tunnel. It was a tight fit!

We managed to get on top of the formation, but we had to be careful to avoid falling into slot canyons below:

We found more canyons:

Walking around outside:

CCC water tower:

We all really enjoyed exploring the slot canyons here!

Continuing North, we arrived after dark at Great Basin National Park and overnighted on adjacent BLM land. We had trouble finding a spot in the dark that would work, but it should do for just one night.

See the trip map for driving details.

Look Before You Live!

Author Archives: Ben

Day 410: Craters of the Moon National Monument

Day 408: Low Density Housing at Magic Reservoir

Day 407: Flat Out at the Bonneville Flats

Day 406: Great Basin National Park

Day 405: Cathedral Gorge State Park