Craters of the Moon, Again

After the cold, wet weather and bad luck in Jackson, we were not at all sure we were up to camping at Craters of the Moon, like we'd planned. But it's no farther to drive past Craters instead of through Twin Falls, so we decided to take that route and play it by ear.

When we got to Craters about dinner time, it was cold and windy (it's ALWAYS windy there!), but somehow the boys persuaded me to stay the night. Besides, there isn't anywhere to eat for the next two hours of driving, so we either got to eat late or cook in camp.

We got the new gigantic tent set up rather easily, and marveled at all the space! We may have to call the thing our "circus tent."

There's another "wing" at the back!

Ryan braved the cold to cook us dinner on the camp stove while I got some things situated in the tent. After our food cooked, Ryan had to warm it up again because it got cold before he could bring it into the tent! And the wind got under the tent and lifted the pan, nearly dumping our food onto the floor.

Then we immediately changed into our pajamas, putting even more clothing on top, and climbed into our sleeping bags. I stuck hand-warmers in my socks, and I was warm from the waist up and the ankles down, but it took an hour of moving a body warmer around my legs to finally get toasty. It was cold!!!

The boys (all of them) seemed to stay warm all night. Luke had to get in my sleeping bag a few times to warm up, but I was afraid he'd suffocate in there, and we really just don't fit in there together.

I woke up first in the morning, but stayed in my bag and listened to the silence. The wind had stopped in the night sometime. Then I heard the cold tinkling sound of snow falling on our tent.
Thankfully, it didn't last long. We all woke up and put on our clothes over our pajamas, for an extra layer of warmth.

Warming up the baby's hands.

We ventured outside for breakfast. Hot oatmeal and hot chocolate helped ward off the chill until the sun broke through and the weather turned gorgeous.

We went to the Visitor's Center, then broke camp and took a stroll through Devil's Garden, which we hadn't had the energy to visit last time.
We had missed another attraction last time we were at Craters. This time, we were sure to summit the Inferno Cinder Cone. They think that this entire huge hill was formed as a nearby vent spewed cinders into the air. The cinders were blown (huh, I can't imagine how that could possibly happen. I mean, it's not like it's windy there or anything!) against an existing hill, burying it almost completely. It's pretty strange.

Zach at the top. The red rock is the tip of the hill that was buried in cinders.

See how huge this is?

Zach threw a fit all the way down the hill. He was tired and fell asleep almost immediately when we got back to the car.

All tuckered out, we headed for home. The trip to Boise sure is a beautiful one, through Idaho farmland. I wonder how they manage to farm there, since Spring is just making an appearance now, in late May.
We're glad to be home, and I am feeling a bit weary of trips. I'd like to stay home for a long time!

See all of our photos from our Jackson/Craters trip here.