Craters of the Moon National Monument

A stop at Craters of the Moon National Monument is a great segue on my journey to Yellowstone. This lava strewn landscape is part of the volcanic processes that also shape\shaped Yellowstone.  So are Miracle Hot Springs at Buhl, ID where I spent a couple days relaxing.

In simplified form, the earth is in three layers, the super hot internal core, the mantle, and the crust.   That super heated internal area forms mantle plumes where the magma comes closer to the surface.  And then it escapes through fractures in the crust or as explosions when the pressure builds significantly.   Once it reaches the crust, the magma is termed lava.

While the core and mantle stay put, the crust moves slowly (and by that I mean geologically slowly, an imperceptible creep except to the trained eyes of geologists), over hot spots.   At this crust has moved, due to plate tectonics, a line of ancient volcanic activity traces a line across current northern Nevada, southern Idaho and completes, for the time being, under Yellowstone.  Craters of the Moon is one of the places the lava erupted and oozed through fractures in the Great Rift running 13 miles through what is now the park.  Different events and cooling have left behind cinder cones, spatter cones volcanic bombs, lava tubes and caves.   In places the lava  is what is called a'a, a Hawaiian term, which is usually very rough on the surface and fragmented.  Other areas are dominated by  Pahoehoe, a more liquid form that cools in flowing waves.   Within those two basic types are the manifestations of three kinds of rock, and multiple variations within those, including pumice, which is  filled with air, and floats in water, or obsidian which is also called black glass and is sharp enough to make long lasting knives and surgical instrument.

But enough of my primitive descriptions.  Here are some photos of the landscape at Craters of the Moon and the hearty plants and animals which are reclaiming this land.

We had some rain while I was there.  Idaho, like California had a dry winter and the newspapers are talking about drought and water restrictions.  But the farmers have not yet heeded the call, at least not the spots I passed by where the huge  irrigation systems where running full speed in the rain, rain which occcured over several days.   Besides not being needed during the rain, this area is often windy and much of it blows away.   Like farmers in California, new ways will need to be found.

While I traveled off the main roads onto dirt roads to get the incredible storm clouds over this agricultural valley between Craters of the Moon and Arco, ID, I also had a flat tire on the car.   Joy.  But as I dealt with it, a nice young couple stopped and the young man put the donut  on.  I was able to get a permanent fix in Arco the next morning.

I am posting this from Idaho Falls where I am parked at the Elks Lodge and doing final chores before the last leg into the park and another summer driving one of the historic yellow roll-top busses on photo trips.

Wasting water, the west's scarce resource.  It was only breezy this day, but I drove past another day when the wind was sending much of the water across the road and to an empty field on the far side.  This is rich and valuable crop land, including potatoes for which the state is famous, but the "times are a changing."

Rain at Last

At long last we had a rain, a good steady all night rain.  Chris had come to Coarsegold to spend my last weekend here with me and mid-morning on Saturday it stopped raining. There were reports of snow at Fish Camp so we though we would go take a look, cameras in hand.

Fish Camp had snow but the lighting was poor.  We were so close we decided to go on into the south entrance of Yosemite. We didn't go as far as the valley; we didn't need to.   The view from the lookout at the tunnel was stunning and kept changing as the storm cleared.  I'm including a whole series here.   If you run through them quite quickly you will get a feel for the changing light.  We were there for about an hour, although we spent 10 minutes in the car shortly after arriving as it rained.  Then we returned to our spot and shot again.  After going through quickly you can return and look more slowly.   The last two are of dogwood  which was in full bloom.

The light was magic.  Twice there were rainbows, one lying low in the valley.  Half Dome never made an appearance, but sometimes the light hit the valley, sometimes Bridal Veil Falls, sometimes El Capitan.  The first photo show how it looks when we arrived.  It was pretty socked in and we were not sure how it would photograph.  But after the rain, it was a constantly changing light show.

It rained just moments after taking this photo.

 The rain was welcome.  Hardly enough to ease serious drought conditions, and the snow didn't last, but it cleared the air, put a little moisture in the soil.  We loved it.  And in the motorhome, the sound is delightful.

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The rain began in the valley before it hit us, and created a low lying rainbow

El Capitan through the clouds

The Dogwood was in bloom

The blooms were prolific

 Other news.  I am ready to head out on April 30, for a leisurely trip to Yellowstone for another season as a photo tour guide, driving the elegant old 30's model White Touring cars, which are yellow.  White was the manufacturer.

There was one chore to complete before leaving, in addition to the normal ones.  The bed in my motorhome is next to the ceiling when I am not using it.  It goes up and down on a rail with a small cog motor.  Over the 11 years I have owned this house on wheels, the bed has gotten out of alignment, once because the old curtains caught in the cogs, once because I had failed to remove the fastener before bringing it down, once something else was in the way.   With help of folks here at the Park of the Sierras, the issue is fixed.  Ray Wiley led me to a chat room and then went through it, pulling up the pertinent instructions; Gia and Elaine were over one day and Gia looked at it and made some great observations, and then Ron Jones came over and actually did the physical fix.   Gia was right, the cogs were getting worn on one side and were only about a quarter of the way on the track. Now it is much better and I thank all my good friends.  Ron saved me once before.  I was at the Elks Lodge in Oceanside but needed to leave (mom had had a heart attack...I flew up but once she was stable I went back to get my motorhome and return to stay awhile).  The steps would not retract and stay put.   As I was trying to figure out how to bungee cord them, Ron and Val came walking across the parking lot.   They had pulled in the night before.   We were old friends, but had no idea we would meet up there.  Ron fixed it and I was on my way.  This is one of the joys of the people one gets to know on the road.

Colorado Springs

Sunrise view of Valley of the Gods is a public park in Colorado Springs which features sandstone, conglomerates and limestone, laid down in ancient sea beds but later tipped on their sides by the uplifting of the mountains.  Scouring of glaciers then left these  rugged peaks behind

Chris had the opportunity to attend a workshop in Colorado Springs in mid-April.  Since all expenses were paid for him and his guest, we both attended.  We flew into Denver where we were met by a car to transport us the hour and a half to the hotel in Colorado Springs.  This was all a first class operation with drivers, great hotel, side trips, meals, and the workshop sessions.

The sponsor, a major manufacturer of building materials, devoted this conference to Chris' area; roofing and waterproofing materials.  It was a discussion of what is available, what is in the pipeline, and a chance for roofing and waterproofing consultants to provide feedback. Besides representative of the firm, the guest speaker is a well known authority in the field.

 Since the company is an important contributor to the Paralympics and Olympics, part of the conference was held at the Olympic Training Center.  Our first evening was highlighted by motivational  speaker,  Melissa Stockwell, who was the first female armed services member to lose a limb in Iraq.  She has gone on to become a triathlon winner in the international paralympics and a career fitting prosthetic devices to others who have lost limbs, as well as pubic speaking.   She also led an option walk one morning through the Garden of the Gods, a superb open space area of rock formations.   Since the walk coincided with sunrise, I didn't do the fast paced walk, but met them back at the bus after delighting in ideal photographic lighting.  The red rocks lit up, the orange colors appearing to glow from within.

Wednesday morning as the consultants and staff met for informational sessions, I wandered about downtown Colorado Springs.  Some of the spouses had signed up earlier for a spa session. While I was too late to sign up for a massage, I did enjoy my time wandering.

We re-enacted the passing of the torch to light the Olympic flame at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

The woman in the dark glasses is Melissa Stockwell, a member of the Paralympic Decathalon team, a former US Army Lt., who lost her left leg above the knee in a explosion while riding in the lead vehicle in a convoy.

View during my walk around town

another view of downtown Colorado Springs.  The Olympic Training facility is on an approximately 50 acre facility.  This building on the right is the office building for the Olympics but is not at the same location

Olympians Horanyi and Moody demonstrate fencing for us.  We later practiced forward and backward exercises designed to help develop skills for this support.

Some members of our group volunteered to try some judo with the Olympic team members.  I DID NOT

One of the Paralympic competitions is sit-down volleyball, something that can be played by people who cannot stand and jump.  It is a whole lot harder than you might think.  Some portion of your seat must remain on the floor, no kneeling allowed.   Here some of our group play the game.

The conference ended at noon, allowing Chris and me just enough time to grab a cab to the Cog Railway Station for a ride to the top of Pike's Peak.   After sunny weather on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday presented us with a heavy spring snow storm.   On the lower end of the ride, everything was flocked with new fresh snow and was beautiful. At the top it was almost a white out.  Views from there are said to be spectacular.  A 14,115 feet, the peak rises from the plains to the east, giving an almost unlimited view, or rather an unlimited view when the weather cooperates.
   Maybe it was just as well we could not wander about the top to photograph the views.  The elevation hit me harder than I expected, and sitting in the heated gift shop, drinking fluids, was about all I could handle with a headache and lightheaded feeling.   I can handle Beartooth Pass as just under 11,000, although I admit that is after being in Yellowstone for awhile, living between 6000 and a bit over 7000. 

This, and next few, are taken from inside the car as we traveled .

In 8.9 miles the railroad climbs from 6570 feet in elevation to 14,115.  It is a steep climb and it takes a cog railway, not a standard track, to handle the ascent.

At the top.  Not much view on our trip.  But this view, achieved by riding a mule, on a sunnier day, inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write the words to America the Beautiful.