Journey back in time

Well, this morning's free breakfast at the Idaho Falls Sleep Inn wasn't quite as good as dinner last night, but it wasn't bad.  The cut up fresh fruit was a nice touch.  As I headed north on US 20, it rained on and off...not a good day for outdoor sightseeing.  So, I made it a museum day.  I visited a couple of them in Bozeman, MT.  The first was a historical museum housed in an old county jail built in 1911.  The Gallatin History Museum has exhibits on the county's colorful past, as well as the jail itself.  Before going inside, I spotted a couple of black-billed magpies on the sidewalk.  You can find them in eastern Washington, but not on the west side.

I found some of the artifacts in the museum rather interesting.  It makes you appreciate how we have progressed...or not.

 

The other museum I visited was the Museum of the Rockies, located on the campus of Montana State University.  This museum is one of the best in the country when it comes to dinosaur fossils.  They have a terrific collection of triceratops bones, and the exhibit emphasizes the science of dinosaurs, their origins and extinction.  The photos I have here are the real bones...not just casts of fossils.  Impressive!

 

Isn't that baby triceratops skull so...cute?  And, that last skull looks like it could have come from a sci-fi movie!  Well, it looks like the worst of the rain is over.  There might be a sprinkle tomorrow morning, but then clear skies for the rest of the day and the week, says the weather forecast. 

Craters Of The Moon revisited

I woke up this morning full of uncertainty.  I checked the weather forecasts on the internet and it said rain all day at last night's pit stop in Twin Falls, ID.  But, the area around my destination... Craters of the Moon National Monument...said cloudy and no rain.  What to do?  I decided to chance it and headed off to the park.  As I drove through rain, I was beginning to think I chose unwisely.  The closer I got to the park, though, the skies cleared and when I got there, it was fine.  I breathed a sigh of relief and made plans to check out the sights I missed when I visited last fall (see Rain, rain go away...).

At the Craters of the Moon visitor's center, I got a permit to check out the lava tubes, then headed out to the Tree Molds trail.  There was no one around as I hiked the two mile in and out trail.  It was a bit breezy and chilly...in other words, perfect for a walk.  

 

It's tough for vegetation to get a foothold in the lava rocks, but lichens can be found everywhere...on the rocks AND the trees! 

As I reached the tree molds area, a little sprinkle of rain came down.  My camera must have gotten a few drops on it because next thing I know, it's not working right.  I couldn't get the lens to open or close properly.  Thankfully, I had my backup camera with me.  The Lumix is old, but better than nothing.  I got my photo evidence of trees that were once embedded in the lava...and a red squirrel, too!

If I had my "good" Lumix, I would have gotten a lot better pic of that squirrel.  When I got back to the car, I tried to figure out what was wrong with it.  I thought warming the camera in front of the heater might work, since I thought it got wet.  It seems to work...briefly.  Then, I saw something strange.  It appeared the lens was getting hung up on something.  That something turned out to be a thin gasket, which somehow got pulled out by the lens and twisted.  Desperate to fix my camera...I managed to telescope the lens enough to remove the gasket.  And, it worked!  My lens could open and close freely again.  I know that gasket was probably there for a reason, but my vacation needs pictures, and getting that gasket out was worth the risk.

For the rest of the day, my camera worked fine, so all's good for now.  I was ready for lunch, but I decided it was best to see the lava tubes before the school kids I saw at the visitor center got there.  I skipped the Dewdrop and Boy Scout Caves because they looked a bit challenging, but tackled the Beauty Cave with flashlight in hand.

As I prepared to enter the large Indian Tunnel, I saw the school buses arrive in the parking lot.  Looks like I beat the hoards of children!  This lava tube is the largest in the park, and I didn't need a flashlight since there were multiple openings throughout.

 

After lunch, I did a couple of short hikes on paved trails.  The sun and blue skies were peeking through the clouds, which made my photos a little bit nicer.

 

The North Flow Crater trail had great examples of different types of lava formations.  I particularly liked the one that looks like twisted bark.  See if you know which one I'm talking about from these pics.  

 

I know, that's a lot of photos.  I'm just making up for the slim pickings the past couple of days.  Tomorrow, it looks like rain again, which might make it a good museum day...

Crack in the world

It's interesting how you get a different perspective on things when you're forced to look at a crack in your windshield all day long.  Actually, there was a movie back in the 60s called Crack In The World.  When I saw it growing up, it really stuck with me, despite its improbabilities.  Yesterday, when the crack manifested itself, it was about 8-9 inches long.  This morning, it appeared to grow about an inch overnight...not too bad.  But, I made it a WHOLE lot worse!  After filling up gas, I decided my windshield washing job wasn't good enough so I used my car's washer and wipers.  Bad idea!  Before I realized it, the crack almost doubled in size!  Ouch.  After a long day of driving, the crack grew maybe another inch.  I'm almost hating to see what the morning will bring.  Anyway, here's a pic of the damage so far.

As I stated before, I did a lot of driving today.  With rain on the horizon, I decided to skip my only activity in Boise and continue on to Shoshone Falls State Park in Twin Falls.  Yesterday, I saw one of the nicest falls in Washington, and today, I viewed the best in Idaho.  Although not at its peak volume, the falls are still quite picturesque.

I didn't see any animals yesterday, but at Shoshone Falls, there are rock doves.  Most people would call them pigeons, but in the wild, they are rock doves.  They seem to really like the water for some reason.  The specks you see next to the falls in the following photo are the birds.  All the doves seemed to be the same gray color, but I captured a brown one!

One interesting fact about Shoshone Falls was that in 1974, daredevil Evel Knievel attempted and failed to jump the Snake River near there in a rocket powered cycle.  I decided not to walk the trail to see the jump off point.  I did find a natural bridge overlooking the canyon, though.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to visit Craters Of The Moon National Monument.  I have visited this park in the past, but the weather was so lousy, I didn't see much.  There's rain in the forecast again, so I'm crossing my fingers. 

Road tripping with a rock magnet

I have never been so ready to go on a road trip.  I had my car packed to go yesterday morning...the earliest ever!  I'm very happy that my new Outback is so roomy inside, and it's so much easier to get to things with four doors...my old Blazer only had two.  After saying goodbye to my cat Kimi...she was hiding, thinking she was going, too...I left early this morning and headed south.  My good mood didn't last very long.  Traveling on I-5 out of Issaquah, I suddenly heard the sound of something hitting my windshield.  I looked around, but didn't see any rock chip, so I figured it wasn't anything.  After stopping for a quick fast food lunch, I got back into my car...and saw it.  A CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD!!!  Apparently, the rock had hit out my line of sight.  From the impact point, there was a crack to the bottom edge and another crack radiating up about five inches!  The change of temperature from the cooler west side to the warmer east side of the mountains probably caused the crack to manifest itself.  I cursed quietly to myself,  but there's nothing I can do now.  I can only hope the crack stops growing, or if it continues, doesn't spider walk across my field of vision.  I didn't think to get a photo of my cracked windshield...maybe tomorrow. 

After a short visit with my parents to show off my Outback, complete with window crack, I continued on to my only activity of the day.  In the southeast section of Washington state you'll find Palouse Falls State Park. The one and only time I've visited this park was back in the mid-80s, but it hasn't changed.  It's an impressive waterfall, although there's less water flow this time of the year.  Still, I got some great photos of the falls and downstream of it, where you can see the geology of the area in the rock formations.  Just think, a long time ago, the water level was at the top of those cliffs!

Tomorrow, I'll be doing a lot more driving...not so much sightseeing.  There's rain in the forecast late in the afternoon, then more rain the next day.  That might put a damper on my outdoor plans, but I have a few alternatives.  That's important when you're road tripping...