July 26, 2010

Arco and Craters of the Moon National Monument

After visiting EBR-1 we moved on to Arco, Idaho and Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Arco was the first city in the world to be powered by nuclear power.

On the hillside of Arco, the dates of all the high school graduating classes are displayed.


It is fitting that just 18 miles from Idaho National Laboratories, you can find a submarine sticking out of the ground.

In fact, the USS Hawkbill is a nuclear-powered submarine decommissioned in 2001. Since the Cold War, nearly 40,000 sailors have been trained at nearby prototype power plants.

A memorial commemorating how many submarines have been lost was erected in 2004.

This was the first launch of the Hawkbill.

This type of container is used to transport low-level nuclear waste.

Overall view of the park which has a small Visitor Center.

Here is a reminder of how meth is everywhere, not just in large cities. We often see billboards and other things such as this trailer telling everyone the dangers of getting hooked on it.

Our next stop was Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Upon entering Craters of the Moon, you will see its unique campground.

Looks like some of the pictures you would see of the moon...hence, its name.

See the people at the top? Time to hike up.

A view looking back at the car.
A great view of the park from the top.

Temperatures on the rocks can get as high as 150 degrees in the summer. Thankfully, the sun was not out today.

Looking down into this spatter cone reveals a much cooler place. Snow leftovers from the winter.

Remember the land rover pictures from the moon?

This path leads us to five different caves open for explorers.

Four of the caves require flashlights and extra batteries, this being one of them. Unfortunately, our flashlight had NO batteries, good or otherwise.
The Indian Tunnel is a cave you CAN explore without a flashlight.
An opening at the top of the tunnel is a great place for a picture.

No rush hour out here.
The sunset gives one more picture for the night.
For more pictures, click here .

To be continued...

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