Upon leaving the Teton’s we had an easy day of driving to another National Park, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. We took a chance that there would be spots available at the campground and luckily we were able to get one, but the campground soon filled up – we had good timing that day.
First impression: Are we on the moon?
The area encompasses three major lava fields covering and area of 1,117 square miles. The lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho and has the deepest known rift on Earth at 800 feet. Some of the features to see include; basaltic lava, tree molds, lava tubes (caves), and spatter cones. The lava flows at Craters of the Moon range in age from 15,000 to just 2000 years. The whole area is black rocks and sand as far as the eye can see.
As you drive in, there is a visitor centre with educational exhibits and a film. The campground is called Lava Flow, and it is like camping on the moon. There are 42 First come/First serve sites, no hook-ups and few sites for larger rigs – toilets but no showers, and absolutely no fires allowed. They do provide a BBQ and picnic table at each site. The washrooms are primitive wooden buildings that are outdated, but clean.
To see the area there is a 7 mile loop road with waypoints, hikes, and picnic areas. At each stop is a parking lot and interpretive signs. Overnight backpacking is also allowed and there are lava tubes, or caves, that can be traversed with special permits. Each waypoint offers a unique feature of the lava fields – we walked a couple of the shorter trails and Chris climbed to the top of an inferno cone – a very steep but short hike.
The next day we drove a very long roundabout route to our next destination 35 miles south of Boise. The Morley Nelson Birds of Prey Conservation Area had been recommended as a great place to camp (can’t remember from where, but it was ear marked). We soon realized there is no direct route, but once committed we continued onward. Arriving at the coordinates we saw that the area is in a deep canyon with a very steep road downward. Chris decided to ‘take the plunge’ and down we went – me nervously clinging to the door handle. The drive down thankfully is short, with one curve near the bottom. The area is managed by BLM and camping is free. There is a dam on the Snake River and all the campsites are along the river on either side of the dam, well spaced out. A large day-use area with washrooms is available and a well used boat launch. With the traffic to and from it is clearly a popular boating spot.
The deep canyon of the Snake River, with its crags and crevices and thermal updrafts, is home to the greatest concentration of nesting birds of prey in North America – and perhaps, the world. Some 800 pairs of hawks, owls, eagles and falcons come each spring to mate and raise their young. Cliffs towering up to 700 feet provide countless ledges, cracks and crevices for nesting raptors. In the 1940s Nelson began to document birds of prey along the Snake River canyon on film, influencing public opinion about the importance of these species. Nelson was also instrumental in convincing Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton to give the area special protection in 1971.
As we settled in for the day, four para gliders took off from the top of the cliffs and sailed the thermals for a couple hours. Unfortunately we saw no birds of prey – spring, not fall, is the time to view them apparently.