September 2

There is not much to see driving across the mid-section of Idaho. Yes, there are the mountains to the north, but desert terrain and vegetation most of the way from east to west. But one can tell that something is changing as they start seeing lava rock. This is the land of Craters of the Moon. The photos and television images us kids used to see from 1969 to 1972 when Apollo missions landed on the moon appear as if they could have been shot in this national park. The monument was established in 1924 by President Coolidge. He said the area had a “weird and scenic landscape.” I could not agree more with him. There are a handful of trails which takes visitors across the lava-scape. A few have pavement, while others like the Inferno Cone, are on bare rock. Even though the hike up Inferno Cone on crushed volcanic rock may look difficult, it is not. You are able to see the entire monument area from the summit. At its base are the spatter cones. Tourists paid no heed to their condition over the decades and the cinder structures are now in poor shape. The NPS restricts access in most of this area. When I was in the VC the number one question I kept hearing from incoming visitors was if they could go into the lava tube caves. The ranger had to be sure they were aware of white-nose bat syndrome and if any clothing they were wearing had been in caves within the past ten years. The NPS and entire bat scientific community is trying to stop the spread of this horrible fungus that is killing off millions of bats. Let’s be sure to do our part to help.

Some backroads and 1.5 hours later I was at the VC for Hagerman Fossil Beds. The building is also the VC for the Thousand Springs State Park of Idaho. The park is a joint venture of the two entities. A ranger in the VC was explaining a table of different fossils. At a nearby table a brother and sister were working on their Junior Ranger Badge activities. What caught my attention was the boy had one of the green park vests with about 30 different Jr Ranger badges. The family is from France and have traveled up and down the two coasts visiting various national parks. The two are off to a great start to getting all 425 badges. One aspect of this park is that the only place to see a fossil is at the VC. All dig areas in the park are off-limits. There are two overlook vantage points along the Snake River which lets you see the cliffsides where fossils have been found. Or more interest to me were the original wagon wheel ruts of the Oregon Trail. Yes, just like at Fort Larned NHS and Scottsbluff NMon, you can see original ruts on a path those 19-century hardy souls took when they went west.

Some more backroads around Twin Falls and Jerome and I was at Minidoka NHS in fifty minutes. Chris, a member of the National Park Travelers Club, was waiting at the park entrance for me. He had come to Fort McHenry earlier this year when I stopped at that park. This park is his #387 towards the current #425 target. He has been at this for 22 years. He has a plan for the last 38. Our plan today was to view the 30-minute film in the VC, check out the baseball field, then the Mess Hall and Residence Barracks. There were 12 barracks, one Mess Hall, and one Shower/Laundry Hall per Block, with 44 Blocks in the camp. The camp opened in 1942, continuing until 1945. Conditions in the camp were miserable; burning in the summer, freezing in the winter, and suffocating air in the barracks during wind/sand storms. 13,000 Japanese-Americans came through the camp during those years. Not until President Ronald Regan was a formal U.S. Government apology given to all 120,000 men, women, and children who were detained against their will. An annual ceremony is held where survivors of the camp return to tell their stories and educate the new generation. Let’s hope the people of our country have learned a lesson from the past and not repeat this mistake.