Yup. #cratersofthemoon #nationalmonuments

The sunrise approaches in Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Nearby on the left the silhouettes of a couple of trees appear against the background of a deep red sky on the horizon. The lower third of the photo is devoid of light or color. Toward the top, the sky is still blue, with several wispy clouds passing by. Far away in the distance a flat mountain is visible. Everything seems still and quiet.

The sunrise approaches in Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. After a night (barely) sleeping under the stars, I went out to enjoy the whole place in solitude. August 2025.

#Stunday #CratersoftheMoon #Idaho #NationalParks #photography #sunrise #landscape #red

A bright, intense summer sun awakens the hilly landscape at the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. The sun, an orange half circle on the right of the image, illuminates hills with rocky outcrops, bushes and a few small trees. The ground and vegetation appear in warm colors, light browns and orange and yellow. The sky at the top of the photograph is light blue with clouds in a darker blue.

A bright, intense summer sun awakens the hilly landscape at the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. August 2025.

#Stunday #CratersoftheMoon #Idaho #NationalParks #photography #scape #dawn #hiking #sunrise #travel

Tonight's Quarter Moon. Clear & Bright! #quartermoon #moon #luna #bellaluna #nightsky #vail #craters #greencheese #orb #theorb #cratersofthemoon

The dawn is seen from the rooftop of a car at Craters of the Moon in Idaho. The sun is still below the horizon, but an orange band is visible on the east, which transitions up to a pale blue color. Both the warm orange and cool blue reflect on the roof and hood of the car. There are some small clouds in the sky, and the terrain seems to be all low hills and prairie.

This one goes to all of you freaks of nature who go to sleep late and get up before sunrise to take photos.

The dawn is seen from the rooftop of my car at Craters of the Moon in Idaho. August 2025.

#CratersoftheMoon #NationalParks #Idaho #dawn #photography #travel #camping

A lone tree leans to the left with a few scrubby bushes nearby atop a cinder cone volcano in Idaho, overlooking the lava fields that disappear into the horizon under fluffy clouds

Lonely #tree atop Inferno Cone

#Olympus OM-2, expired #Fujifilm Superia Xtra 400

#35mm #filmphotography #expiredfilm #CratersoftheMoon #nationalmonument #volcano #cindercone #publiclands #idaho

The light of dawn hits cirrus clouds just right for a beautiful palette of cool and warm colors. Photo taken at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Nearby there are green bushes and grass, with a few pines farther away.

The light of dawn hits cirrus clouds just right for a beautiful palette of cool and warm colors. Photo taken at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. August 2025.

#Stunday #CratersoftheMoon #Idaho #NationalParks #photography #travel #camping #dawn #clouds

Taken at Craters a couple of days ago. Sunspots. #cratersofthemoon #sun #sunspots

The angled framing makes this tilted limber pine appear as perfectly straight. The tree grows on the summit of the Inferno Cone, at Craters of the Moon National Monument, in Idaho. The soil is made of volcanic sand and some bushes appear close by. Photo taken at dusk.

The angled framing makes this tilted limber pine appear as perfectly straight. The tree grows on the summit of the Inferno Cone, at Craters of the Moon National Monument, in Idaho. August 2025.

#CratersOfTheMoon #NationalParks #Idaho #InfernoCone #pine #summit #photography #travel #tree #dusk

A pop of rust orange lichen in a sea of ruffle, flowery-looking, whitish-green lichen that has gray centers. All of this is covering a lava rock at Craters of the Moon in Idaho.

Just some lichen on the rocks. So pretty! #Lichen #LichenOnTheRocks #Fungi #FungiFriends #ID #Hiking #CratersOfTheMoon #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice

A wide shot of the sagebrush-covered lava landscape of Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. The sky is a dramatic partly cloudy with bright blue and white, puffy clouds. The foreground is a scratchy, mottled sage green. A series of black lava flows and cinder cones stretches across the horizon. I love this place so much, even though I’m a girl who prefers trees and lush, green temperate forests. There’s something about the wild, expansive, lava flows, stillness, and open sky that gets to the heart of this girl who once had her heart set on becoming a volcanologist.

Back on the road, traversing the lava flats. Made extra sure to thank all the NPS staff we encountered. #Sky #Clouds #RoadTrip #CratersOfTheMoon #ID #Nature #Photography #Desert #Explore #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #NPS #ThankYou #YouMatter #Don’tGiveUp #ILoveLava

Closeup of a 6-centimeter section of basaltic lava rock at Craters of the Moon in the wilds of Idaho. It’s absolutely covered in a bright quilt of lichen in different colors. Diagonally across the upper left is a deep, older orange-peel colored section and a narrow swath of uncovered black, bubbly rock at the top and in the middle. Diagonally through the center, there are pieces of light gray and tan lichen. In the lower center is a pale, sea-green splotch with wrinkly edges and a central cluster of rimmed black, squished dots. A darker, rust-colored piece takes the lower right corner, and the lower left corner has a small, round bit of yellowish lichen. Years ago, on another, ranger-guided hike here for my kids, I remember how exited the ranger was to tell us about the lichen, and at the time, I just did NOT get it. If I could get into a Time Machine and go back, we’d totally geek out together and I’d have a lot of questions for him. I was more worried about whether my autistic boys would go running off suddenly after a bug at the time, so, I give myself (and the boys and the ranger) grace. But honestly, I’ve often thought about that Junior Ranger hike and the lichen, and especially now, just fervently wishing all of those friendly, wise, helpful, smart rangers who helped us during those years - wishing them well and hoping they are ok in these nasty times. Sending them all so much love and solidarity.

So may different #Pieces of #Lichen on this big, chunky lava boulder in the high desert. Story in the alt text. #BlueSkyArtShow #Fungi #FungiFriends #ID #Hiking #CratersOfTheMoon #GoOutside #Breathe #Notice #YouMatter

A Giant Blazing Star (Mentzelia laevicaulis) grows on the volcanic soil of the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. The flower is bright yellow, has five long pointy petals.

A Giant Blazing Star (Mentzelia laevicaulis) grows on the volcanic soil of the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. August 2025.

#GiantBlazingStar #MentzeliaLaevicaulis #flower #CratersOfTheMoon #Idaho #NationalParks

Dawn arrives at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Jupiter (higher) and Venus are still visible in the violet sky, among the wispy clouds. The eastern horizon appears as a wide dark orange band, with black silhouettes of trees against it

Dawn arrives at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Jupiter (higher) and Venus are still visible in the violet sky, among the wispy clouds. August 2025.

#BlueskyMonday #CratersOfTheMoon #NationalParks #Idaho #photography #camping #travel #dawn #silhouette #AmericanWest

The midday sun filters through to the ground of the Indian Cave at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. The temperature differential can be as much as 30° F with the surface. The cave rocks have different colors due to the lichen, and the blue sky is visible through the opening at the top.

The midday sun filters through to the ground of the Indian Cave at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. The temperature differential can be as much as 30° F with the surface. August 2025.

#CratersOfTheMoon #NationalParks #Idaho #AmericanWest #photography #caves #travel #hiking #camping

Finally made it out to #cratersofthemoon

Exploring the basalt fields, lava tubes, and caves was both incredibly rewarding and extremely fun. I love being outside and exploring our world. I highly recommend visiting and checking out this incredible nature preserve!

IDAHO BUCKET LIST 💥 10 epic places you have to see this summer: Sawtooths, Bear Lake, Shoshone Falls & more. Save this list and start planning! 🌲

https://sawtootht.com/

#IdahoBucketList #VisitIdaho #SawtoothMountains #LakePendOreille #ShoshoneFalls #HellsCanyon #IdahoHotSprings #CratersOfTheMoon

Two children, 8&10, on top of some very high lava rock

My niece and nephew found lots of rock to climb at the campground. #cratersofthemoon

Craters Of The Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho, 2025. The Ancient Lava Flows Of Idaho. 🌋 #Photography #Idaho #Art #Lava #TheFloorIsLava #Dog #ServiceDog #NationalMonuments #TravelPhotography #Explore #CratersOfTheMoon #AncientMonument #History #LandscapePhotography #CarCampingChronicles

Craters Of The Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho, 2025. #Photography #Idaho #CratersOfTheMoon #Noir #Nature #LandscapePhotography #Art #MountainsidePhotography #SkyscapePhotography

Craters Of The Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho, 2025. Donnatella At The Top Of The World. #Photography #Idaho #CratersOfTheMoon #Art #LandscapePhotography #ServiceDog #Dog #Nature #NationalMonument #BeagleTerrierMix #HappyPup #LavaRockLandscape #WindyWeather #MountainRangePhotography

Craters Of The Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho, 2025. I’ll Take You To The Moon, Baby! 🌙 #Photography #Idaho #CratersOfTheMoon #FlyMeToTheMoon #FrankSinatra #Art #CloudArt #SkyscapePhotography #NationalMonument #LandscapePhotography #TravelPhotography #LunarTravelPhotography #CloudCover

Craters Of The Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho, 2025. Find Your Path In Life. #Photography #Idaho #CratersOfTheMoon #Nature #Explore #TheOpenRoad #CloudArt #LiveLife #LoveLife #CarCampingChronicles #RoadPhotography #MentalHealthAwareness #Peace #LandscapePhotography #TravelPhotography

Craters Of The Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho, 2025. #Photography #Idaho #CratersOfTheMoon #ConvoyArt #RoadPhotography #MotorcyclePhotography #NationalMonument&Preserve #LandscapePhotography #TravelPhotography

The top half of this picture is a deep blue sky with bright wisps of white clouds. The bottom half is a blackish brown rocky landscape of lava flows about 2000 years old with only a dot of sparse vegetation in the lower left corner and a scraggly tree silhouetted off on the left horizon. A series of messy spatter cone volcanoes strings along the horizon. As barren as this looks, there is a lot of life here. Lichens, bats, lizards, insects, birds, pikas, hardy wildflowers, and pine trees make this odd place their home. It’s also a designated “dark sky” area, so if you camp here (which we have), the stars and Milky Way just pop at night. The astronomical society from Idaho Falls often comes to do night presentations where you get to look into their telescopes and see other planets and nebulae and stuff. Although I prefer lush green tree landscapes ordinarily, I’ve got to say, the volcanologist in my soul loves this odd, vibrating place so much. I chose it to be my Earth submission for BlueSky Art Show because it represents the very furnaces of the earth that have the power to destroy and create - and the plucky determination of nature to thrive in spite of adversity, and sometimes because of it. Gives me a lot of hope.

It looks totally barren, but there’s a lot going on here at Craters of the Moon. This is my #BlueSkyArtShow for #Earth. Deets in the Alt text. #CratersOfTheMoon #Idaho #Volcanic #Geology #NaturePhotography #MoreThanMeetsTheEye #Volcanoes #GoOutside #Explore #NatureTherapy #Breathe #Notice #Hope

An elevated trail over a lava rock field in Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument on color 35mm film

An elevated path in Craters of the Moon National Monument

📸Nikkormat FTN 🎞️Gold 200

#filmphotography #35mm #idaho #lavafield #kodak #nikon #cratersofthemoon

Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, USA. Spring of 2011, I think. When the spring is wet the wildflowers bloom in the ash and cinders. Spring is the best time to visit, IMHO. So what are you waiting for? 😉

#photography #landscapephotography #CratersoftheMoon #Idaho

A winding footpath up the lava sands on the side of a volcano in Idaho on 35mm color film

A trail up the volcano

📸Nikkormat FTN 🎞️Gold 200

#filmphotography #nikon #kodak #volcano #idaho #cratersofthemoon #analog #35mm