Out West Trip 2021 - Day 7 (Craters of the Moon, Idaho Falls, Driggs)

I love planning a vacation! I love the open atlas in front of us, finding something new and intriguing on the map and saying, "let's add this to our itinerary!". We google parks, towns, highways, etc. to see the google images and read up about the particular location. 

Case in point, while planning this trip, we found Craters of the Moon National Monument. Seeing that it wasn't too far from Twin Falls, we planned our next day to include Craters. Great choice - it was a favorite!

We arrived at Craters around 9:30 in the morning and spent a few hours walking around the lava fields (we'd never seen anything like that!). So crazy cool! We absolutely loved the brilliant colors - totally unexpected in the middle of a lava field! 

One of our first stops along the park Loop Road was at a pulloff right along the road. I asked Matt to pull over so I could see the flowers (all of the white splotches in the next picture) a bit more close up.

Alex found a friend. She was excited to have him along for the ride (even though her face says otherwise)

Here are the flowers, close up. I was baffled by these! I truly didn't think anything would be able to root and grow in this park. 

We stopped at the Inferno Cone Trailhead and Overlook. It was extremely windy and hot (especially with no shade). Alex & Maddie asked if they could walk up the hill and Matt decided to head up with them. I stayed closer to the trailhead with Will & Kaitee - looking at the rocks and plant life.

Here's Matt starting the walk up the hill - you can see the girls on the trail, just shy of the top.

At the overlook (at the top of the trail), Maddie & Alex walked over to this lone tree...

and promptly hugged it! Weirdos.

Coming back down the trail - you can see the parking lot below.

Back on the Loop Road again, the lava rocks piled up along the road were amazing...

The next stop was at the Snow Cone & Splatter Cone Trail(s)

Snow Cone (there was actually snow inside!!)

We hopped back on the road to finish out the park, making a few stops as we went - for pictures and quick walks.

We stopped at the visitor's center for a restroom break and to look through the gift shop. We left the park and started heading towards Blackfoot for lunch. 

One quick stop as we left the park -

After lunch, we continued north towards Idaho Falls. We made a planned stop at North Blackfoot Rest Area to find a letterbox and walk around Hell's Half Acre (north) Trail.

The kids playing the "untangle without letting go of each others' hands" game. Pretty comical to watch.

After finding the letterbox, we headed in to Idaho Falls. Our plan was to stop at a Walmart (where we needed to grab picnic supplies for our next two days) and then the $1 store to grab more snacks.

We saw this huge, beautiful statue/fountain (this was the middle of a roundabout near the Walmart)

Heading north out of Idaho Falls, we turned east onto 33 - as we drove between Clementsville and Tetonia, we got our first glimpse of the grand Teton Mountains.

We stopped at a pulloff along Hwy 33 - the view was breathtaking!

We spent the night in Driggs - the 3 younger kids had a blast swimming in the hotel pool, Kaitee enjoyed the quiet in the hotel room while they swam! Matt & I ordered pizza for the family then drove around the area a bit, exploring the resort town. It was wonderful to have the windows down and seeing the mountains at every turn. 

Favorites - Day 7

Matt - Inferno Hike with Alex & Maddie, Drive to get Pizza, Hearing Maddie say "Craters is my new favorite park" (there is something fulfilling about introducing something new to your kids and they love it!)

Becki - flowers and plant life at Craters, Seeing Tetons 

Kaitee - Hotel Room to herself

Alex - Craters of the Moon

Maddie - Craters of the Moon

Will - Swimming at the hotel