Moon Walking

 Craters of the Moon National Monument

Michael Jackson may be renowned for his signature "moonwalk" dance move, but MJ's got nothin' on us. We followed in the footsteps of Alan Shepard and other Apollo 14 astronauts as we explored Craters of the Moon National Monument near Arco, Idaho. 

"Here's your sign."

What in the world (moon?) brought NASA to Eastern Idaho for Apollo exercises? The crew studied the volcanic geology of the area in preparation for their scientific roles on the lunar surface. In short, they needed to know which lunar rocks would be the most valuable once brought back to earth. After all, they were limited to only 850 pounds of samples, and they needed to choose the best ones. (I can relate. I was limited to only 850 pounds of warm socks for this trip.)

Wait a minute. Arco, Idaho? I've heard of Arco. Let me Google that. Yep, I thought so. Arco was the very first town 100% powered by nuclear energy. Why Arco? Well, when you want to experiment with nuclear stuff, you have to find a place as remote as possible. A place where the townspeople don't mind a little nuclear meltdown. Just in case. (By the way, it happened.) Arco fit the bill.

Would you want your kids growing up here?

Arco was a side trip between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. Why this particular detour?  "I saw a special on TV about it..." That's all it takes for me to go on an educational rabbit trail into the great unknown of Idaho. Nuclear Idaho.

We saw a lot of rocks. Hey, what else is new on this trip?

Cinder spatter rocks

 

Cinder spatter with a little interest in the foreground.

Cinder spatter with even more interest in the foreground.

There were other types of volcanic rock that begged us to explore. One was a cinder cone. The largest (700 feet across at the base) and highest (800 feet tall with a 14.9% grade) was Inferno Cone. I believe it got its name from the burn you feel in your legs as you hike up.

NPS says this is a "steep but rewarding hike."
We'll see about that.

This is my "Ha! You-didn't-think-I-would-make-it" smirk.

Leave it to the arborist to find the only tree on the top of the volcanic rock.

This white fluff was growing all over Inferno Cone.

I sent this picture to my almost 4-year-old granddaughter, Carly. She has been into unicorns lately so I told her I thought this looked like it might be unicorn poop. She agreed. It's actually Cushion Buckwheat. But I like Unicorn Poop better. Or maybe Unicornus Poopus. 

This is a view of Inferno Cone from about 1/4 mile away. See those tiny people up there? Yeah, that was us. Well, it was us about an hour earlier. I knew my 2 titanium knees would come in handy!

It burned coming down, too.

One more volcanic rock type and I'll leave you alone. My fav is this rippled pattern named Pahoehoe lava, pronounced pa-hoy-hoy. It was identified and named in Hawaii. The geologists studying this region recognized the similarities and kept the Hawaiian name.

Pahoehoe lava looks like rope but in the shape of ripples on a pond.

You will be pleased to know that the TV special I saw is now on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWT9Ie36boTZr_Z08sW4heA. 

Check it out! Better yet, make Craters of the Moon your next rabbit trail.