Wednesday morning we got an early start driving the nearly 4 hours to Craters of the Moon National Monument where we spent the day exploring the lava fields and tunnels that make up this unique landscape. We started with a loop hike called Broken Top Loop that took us around an old volcano and by some of the lava tunnels that if you wanted to crawl you were free to explore. We would have been all over that in our childless days... but not so much now. Of course, if you ask Micah, the highlight of the hike was getting back to the parking lot and having a school bus parked near our car. He was SOOO excited and had to touch it and walk around it and show us where the engine was.... cutest little boy ever. After the loop hike (and the bus excitement) we hiked Indian Tunnel, which is a giant lava tunnel that has some holes in the ceiling that act as skylights allowing you to walk the cave without a flashlight. It was perfect with the boys, and Micah thought it was really cool because he loves tunnels. He's a pretty fearless explorer!
After spending the afternoon hiking we still had to drive a couple of hours up Sun Valley to Stanley, ID where we would be staying the rest of the week. It was a beautiful drive, and Stanley sits in the middle of a valley surrounded by multiple mountain ranges. Hiking here we come!