Arco, ID & Craters of the Moon National Park

State #11!!!  Idaho!!!
 When we went to this remote, little town, our plan was to visit the local National Park.  Little did we know, that this was also the weekend that is celebrated as, "Atomic Days!"  Every year, they have a plane fly over the downtown area, and during its parade, the plane drops thousands of ping-pong balls from the sky!  Some of the balls have a star on them.  If you get one with a star, you get a 50 cent piece from the local sheriff!  :)  Zach and Hannah got one!  Too cool!

Arco, is pretty special since it is about 50 miles away from the ACTUAL building and research center where the U.S. produced the atomic bomb.  The town was also 'lit' up years ago by the research, and has celebrated it during their town parade for years now.

We just LOVE these little town fairs and parades, with all the cool and classic cars, and ofcourse, CANDY!

The next day, we went to the National Park, Craters of the Moon.  Honestly, I did not know what to expect, but the name of the park sounded SO interesting, that we HAD to go!

If you are wondering what we are walking and standing on, well, it is actually cooled molten lava!  Yep.  This area has a volcano that is recorded to have an eruption about every 2000 years.  It is actually 'past' due for its next one, though.  :)  The park is SO clean and organized.  They even paint the sidewalks black to match the 'atmosphere.'


The most AWESOME part of this park, though, was Indian Cave.
The Shoshone indian tribes were known for living and hiding inside this cave; hence the name! :)

 As we walked down, we could feel a drastic change in temperature.  It was beautiful and a little creepy, all at the same time!

This was truly an unforgettable experience!  Oh, and though we did not SEE the bats.  We DID see their droppings......just in case you were wondering!  HA!

It was also a relatively easy Jr. Ranger program too, so that was a nice change of pace. 
Blessings,
Steph