Moon Craters and Grand Mountains

Hi all! I know it has been awhile since my last post (almost 2 months)! but we have been busy.
Alaska is now in the rear view mirror. It was a nice trip overall, but one we will not repeat for a very long time. Glad it is off the bucket list. Not that I will discourage anyone from going. It is A LOT of driving from place to place; the camping lots are very close together and gravelly; and if you have slides, very narrow. You really get to know your neighbors! But you are traveling at hyper-speed, so there's really no time. Most people fly in and rent a vehicle to spend about 6 weeks. And no joke, it is expensive. The food is higher priced because it's shipped or trucked in. And to see the bears or sea wildlife, you have to pay (at least $400 to fly to see the bears because that's where they are... not close to people, and boat cruises to see the sea wildlife at almost $200 pp). So save up your money if you want to go to Alaska.

Driving to Wyoming from Oregon and one of my favorite parks, I wanted to hug LOLA (our name for our GPS). She took us along Highway 26E, which allowed us to see Craters of the Moon National Monument. I had never heard of it! Surprise! It sort of came up on us out of nowhere in Idaho. But what a nice surprise. We couldn't stop to get my national parks passport stamped, but I did happen to get some great pictures. Enjoy!

So it's called Craters of the Moon because all of the black stuff is lava rock. It is is in piles and different "drifts" and things around the area. It looks like craters. And the area is pretty desolate, like the moon. I thought it was pretty spectacular and a nice surprise.

We are at one of my favorite parks.....The Grand Tetons National Park. We came here in 2012, 7 years ago. More people have come here, so more accommodations have been made; but the view is still the same. And I can't get enough of it~!

Got this view this morning while we were looking for wildlife. I got a full moon over the mountains with some low-lying fog and the sun coming up, glowing the sky off the face of the mountain. God is so amazing!!

Only saw a big elk herd this morning. Last time we were here we were blessed to see elk and moose. Not so much yet. We will keep looking. There is some construction on the road, and we are two months later than the last time we were here. Who knows?? We shall keep up our morning vigil.

Another morning view; all I can say is.....aaaahhh

the whole set

a close-up view

I promise more later. Again, I can't get enough of this priceless view. It leaves me speechless every  time I see it; and those of you who know me know this is tough! 😆

 😉