Craters of the Moon National Monument - Day 3

May 5
Dawn broke early over our camp at Silver Creek. Unfortunately, we slept through dawn and awoke at the break of, maybe, 8am. A fine morning. From camp, in most directions, there were no physical artifacts or evidence to suggest that anyone had ever been here before. I could see the snow capped Sawtooth Range dominating to the north. There was Silver Creek some 20 feet from the camper, riffling as it rushed by. There were miles of prairie between the two. But nary a structure or road or power line or anything that wasn't natural. From this point, this may have been the same scene I would have seen 100 or 200 years ago. Who knows?

Drove through Carey and made our way to Craters of the Moon NM. A brief stop at the Visitor Center was cut short by a swarm of kids from a local high school. Got campsite then went exploring. A series of short hikes... one to top of a cinder cone, another to a feature called tree molds - where hot lava inundates areas of standing and fallen trees, covers them with hot molten rock which then cools, leaving cavities that are essentially molds of the original trees. Observed lichen... all kinds, colors, and reflected on the similarity to life on this rock called Earth. Is life on earth analogous to lichen covered rocks?  Did a nature trail or two and had a picnic lunch at a trailhead. Overall, a grand day of exploration.