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...