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2001 West -- September 4 through September 15, Part 3
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| The objective of this trip was to go to Glacier National Park, and touch the last three states I hadn't been to in the continental US. 12 days, 5400 miles. |
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Oregon
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Idaho
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June 15, 1903. "The country took on a new character. Soaring heights of denuded slopes. Monsterous cliffs and giant boulders scattered in magnficent confusion." -- Horatio Nelson Jackson, as he passed through what is today Craters of the Moon National Monument.
I was curious about Craters of the Moon, ever since I saw an exit sign for it on I-15 on my way to Yellowstone in 1998. Looking at a map, I found I could route myself right through the park. So I did.
I wasn't disaapointed. Craters is an old lava field, victimized by several eruptions over the past few thousand years. The hotspot under this area stopped erupting 2000 years ago, but it's generally agreed it'll erupt again. The hotspot under Craters, is the same hotspot that forms the Caldera in Yellowstone today.
Even though the Apollo astronauts came here in the late 60's to train for the moon landings, this place was named in 1924. It's one of those places that is so different, so unlike any other area of the country, that you wonder what Mother nature could do next to top this one.
Craters of the Moon National Monument
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Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
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Palisades Reservoir / US-26 / Snake River
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Grand Teton National Park
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End 2001 West Vacation Part 3
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