Tuesday, July 1, 2025 | Day 12
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho

This morning I took the kids on a scooter ride to the Visitor Center at Craters of the Moon while Jonny got a teeny tiny bit of work done. They read books and we picked up some Junior Ranger booklets. In the gift shop Kaleo was especially fascinated with the “baby cups” for sale, which were actually shot glasses. He repeatedly asked Jonny and I to come look at them, and was definitely hoping we would buy him one. While I am not opposed to having him drink tiny amounts of juice from a shot glass, I couldn’t justify the $15 price tag.

The big news about today is Xiomara completed her activity booklet and took an oath to become a Junior Ranger. She proudly wore her pin and was quick to follow the many rules she learned including leaving things as nice as you found them. In the afternoon we hiked up Inferno Cone and she did not hesitate to tell a man in his 60s that he wasn’t allowed to take home the rocks he was carrying. I am still learning to confidently speak my mind. I hope she doesn’t loose that confidence.

We visited Sno Cone and Spatter Cones before hiking to Indian Tunnel. This hike was hot but well worth it. The landscape is super unique and the cave was fun to explore. At the visitor center they said they don’t recommend taking kids under 5 into the cave because the footing isn’t stable and the rocks are sharp. I had to carry Kaleo most of the way, but Xiomara did a wonderful job watching her step and we emerged without any injuries.

Back at the campsite Jonny did a HIIT workout (with Xiomara) while I made dinner (Yumm! Bowls). The kids had a blast climbing on the rocks around our campsite.