June 30, 2025 | Day 11
Monday, June 30, 2025 | Day 11
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho
Wow, the drive from Redfish Lake to Sun Valley along ID-75 S is gorgeous. Be prepared to stop at lots of viewpoints along this route.
In Ketchum, Idaho we visited the grave of Ernest Hemingway. Jonny and I shared a blended iced coffee from Java on 4th as we meandered through downtown and visited the Ketchum Town Square. Our exploration was temporarily stalled while Jonny handled notifications that hackers were trying to get into his Gmail account and also his Coinbase account. Fun. Downtown Ketchum is charming and walkable, with lots of shops and restaurants. Unfortunately there was quite a bit of construction happening, so Main Street was closed to traffic and not quite as cute as usual with lot of fencing and traffic cones. We still enjoyed our time here. Honestly, fewer cars made walking through town with small kids a more pleasant experience.
Just south of Ketchum in the town of Hailey, Idaho we stumbled upon Snowbunny Drive-In. If you don’t know already, our family is a bit bunny obsessed. Jonny and I have had two pet bunnies, the second of which, named Pip, our kids met and remember through photos. Basically the only reason we don’t have a pet bunny right now is because we didn’t feel it would be fair to leave it in someone else’s care for the duration of this trip. Stay posted on our pet bunny status come spring 2026. But I digress. A restaurant called Snowbunny with a review saying the milkshakes are so thick they are hard to drink with a straw? Of course we had to stop. The food was what you would expect from a drive-in. Steaming hot fries, burgers and chicken fingers. American comfort food. Xiomara had her heart set on a marshmallow milkshake. It was very yummy, but if I hadn’t known better I would have thought it was vanilla. She was very pleased with her choice though, which was what mattered. Kaleo really wanted a green milkshake (it was the color that was important to him, not the flavor) but in the end he settled with sharing Xiomara’s and having sips (or the world’s longest swigs) of Jonny and my seasonal fresh strawberry milkshake.
Early evening we arrived at Lava Flow Campground at Craters of the Moon National Monument. What a cool place! The campsites are really unique - tucked among gentle slopes and surrounded by lava rock formations. We had a challenging time choosing a spot because there were so many good options available at this first-come-first serve campground. We ended up selecting a site which had a water spigot basically on-site, for the convenience of dishwashing and water bottle filling, but also as entertainment for the kids who found it very novel and fun. The campsites have paved parking pads, but are surrounded by black lava rock and gravel. Be prepared for everything to get very dusty. We had the kids wear their rain boots since lighter colored shoes would get stained with the black dust.
After dinner we hiked from the campground to the amphitheater, then down to the North Crater Flow Trail. The North Crater Flow Trail was great with kids as it was paved and offered signs with information about the surrounding landscape. However, there was no shade and was hot even in the evening.
