One small step to Idaho, One long drive from New York

by chuckofish

Greetings from sunny Idaho! We’ve had a wonderful time visiting son #2 and his lovely lady here in Hailey and Ketchum.  We relaxed with a hefty brew at Grumpy’s, a local watering hole,

These guys don’t look very grumpy to me!

and visited the press room of the Idaho Mountain Express where our son works.

Things have changed a lot since His Girl Friday…

Yesterday, we ventured to the Craters of the Moon National Monument. What looks as if a giant did a bad plowing job, is actually acres and acres of amazing lava formations.

The three intrepid climbers (sans yours truly) scaled a cinder mountain,

Photo courtesy of Nicole Potter

Funky formations included lava fields littered with caves (here Nicole descends into the netherworld),

scatter cones or miniature volcanoes,

and a cinder field full of strange little monkeyflowers.

Another great photo from Nicole Potter

It was another super blustery day at 7000 ft and the altitude and wind made hiking a challenge, but we had a great time.

Alas, this morning the DH and I have to go on our way 😦 Next stop, a ghost town in Montana. Stay tuned for updates.