Craters of the Moon

You may need to pull the kids out of school and call in an off day this week: because Wednesday is the birthday celebration of The National Park Service.

Much like most movies: visiting Craters of the Moon is worth seeing once, but only to say that you did, and you're expected to stay longer than you want to.

Idaho: the land of amazing rivers and lakes, lush green forests and fields, and endless beautiful outdoor adventure options. Yet people come here to see the barren lava fields.

Craters of the Moon is made up primarily of sagebrush grasslands and lava fields, which makes the annual bloom somewhat of a wonderous occasion due to the harsh surroundings.

Let me begin by saying...wow!

Napoleon Dynamite is Shakespeare in comparison!

"it doesn’t require white knuckle driving"

The most common complaint I hear when people come to visit is Craters of the Moon. I've been a few times and agree. Craters is my definition of a tourist trap.

50 years ago in July of 1969, Aldrin and Armstrong became the first men to walk on the moon.

It seems like we write about how great Idaho is at least once every week. There truly is so much beauty and adventure to take in.

It's National Park Week, and it's a good time for a road trip.

Ten bucks to see a lava flow?

The travel piece, written last month by staffer Andreas Wass, compares the preserve to visiting a "galaxy far, far away."

I’ve visited the park and not even so much felt a tremble beneath my toes.

Is Craters as good of a tourist spot as the Perrine Bridge, Redfish Lake, or Box Canyon? Not even close. But is it the worst in the state?

The actors (all but one) were people recruited off the street.

The Sawtooth Botanical Garden and Idaho Native Plant Society will host a wildflower walk on Saturday at Craters of the Moon.

Craters of the Moon is starting to get a lot of attention for a brand new reason. It has just been named the best place in Idaho to view the night sky. Even better, there are chances for you to experience it yourself.

In case you missed it, there was quite a show in the sky a few nights ago. Thanks to an incoming solar storm, the northern lights were visible in many parts of Idaho. One photographer captured some amazing pics over Craters of the Moon.

Here's more proof that you shouldn't pay any attention to those national sites when you're looking for good travel advice.