Thursday, October 18, 2012

Craters of the Moon

We started our 4 day tour to Yellowstone on a Thursday(4th October'12). There was great excitement and expectation in the air. Rohit felt that his Subaru Legacy would be a bit cramped for such a long journey and therefore rented a Chevy Malibu instead which has has about the same engine HP as Legacy, but more comfortable leg and head room and extra boot space. The Malibu is powered by a 2500 cc engine and fitted with automatic transmission and has special features like digital dashboard and cruise control. We left Boise around 9.30 am, crossed Mountain Home veered off the freeway and reached Twin Falls around 11.30 am and stopped at Starbucks for a beverage break. I had my usual Chocolate Mocha while others went for Cappucino/Coffee Latte. This gave us time to stretch our limbs and use the washroom. Then we resumed our journey towards Craters of the Moon ( a volcanic region) which is a National Monument and National Preserve in the Snake River plain in Central Idaho. We reached around 1.30 noon had another washroom break and we decided to have lunch before proceeding on a conducted tour of the Lava fields. We had worked up a voracious appetite by then, located a comfortable niche surrounded by black lava soil and a bleak but beautiful landscape and tucked hungrily into the delicious egg biryani prepared earlier in the morning.

I have packed my bags
The Egg Biryani is ready too
The Chevvy Malibu - Rent-a Car @ $ 25/day
Rest Rooms Stop at Craters in the Moon
We have entered Craters of the Moon - see the black soil !
I love to climb on these rocks but I am hungry - How about finding a nice place to eat  ?
Okay lets look around
Ah we have located a good place
I am really ravenous - the Biryani is heavenly
Volcanic soil does not support vegetation - hence the sparse and bleak landscape

39 comments:

  1. Man...That is some place....There is some island - "Pico" - AÇores, alike.

    But ...I thing I would eat that rice and eggs...yummy!!!

    great! Enjoy!

    Hugs
    BShell

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Isabel ! You are visiting after so long. Have a great weekend. Ram

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  2. So cool. I'm enjoying this trip almost as much as you are, Mr. Ramakrishnan. :)Some of those pictures remind me of my visit to Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii.
    Can't wait to see and hear about Yellowstone.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Divya. Glad to see that you are enjoying the tour too :)

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  3. Replies
    1. Thank you Sridharan. Havent seen any new posts from you for many months.

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  4. wow...a lovely tour cum picnic!!!
    Prathima Rao
    Parts Corner

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  5. superb!!!!!
    girls are beautiful and so is the sight...
    that dried tree trunk is giving poetic thoughts :-)

    regards

    anu

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Anu. I always look forward to reading your beautiful poems.

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  6. Lovely photos of the landscape.......the food looks pretty good too!

    Ruby

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  7. those trees are so striking. your granddaughter is adorable. :)

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  8. Wonderful post; such lovely photos!

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  9. Great pictures, and the Biryani, yummy.

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  10. What a nice outing Ram . the Biryani really looks very good, must make us one too! Hope your weekend is just as nice!

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    Replies
    1. Yes it was a fun outing Martina. Do you like Indian food ? Hope you are having a great weekend. Ram

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  11. This reminds me of the Devastation Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii. A volcano is still erupting on that island.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Gigi. The next post is the real tour. Hope to visit Hawaii sometime in future.

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  12. Thank you for the lovely virtual tour!

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  13. Is this place near the perimeter of the Yellow Stone? I'm sure it is not within as I do not remember the guide taking us ( I& my wife) there.
    I look forward to your adventure inside the park- game sighting. I was lucky to see Moose, Brown bear that blocked our path for a few seconds , besides Coyotes and herds and herds of bison. Since it was only autumn, the Elks were not down from the mountains.
    Teton ranges would have beckoned you, but it pales in comparison to even Anamudi.don't they? Nevertheless!

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    Replies
    1. This place is in Idaho about half way to Yellowstone which is which is primarily in Wyoming and extends a bit into Montana.

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  14. Great outdoors. Lucky you to be there enjoying it all!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Keats
      There was plenty of sunshine here. Hope you are having a great weekend. Ram

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  15. Beautiful photos!
    The Biryani looks good.
    And your granddaughter is so beautiful.
    Thanks for sharing from your visit.
    Mette

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