Elk Mountain RV Resort

I had the most restful night's sleep last night. The daylight got me up especially early due to the fact I left the rain fly off the tent.

I set out on a short hike around the North Crater Trail and was rewarded with views into several large volcanic craters that had erupted only 2000 years earlier. It seemed life was just beginning to take hold in the area; the dark rugged landscape was covered with the luminescent yellow flowers of the dwarf buckwheat. I spent several more hours at Craters of the Moon and visited almost all of the points of interest. Names included: Devil's Orchard Nature Trail, Spatter Cones, Inferno Cone. I expected Old Scratch himself to appear, but fortunately he did not. The most interesting feature to me were the caves located at the south end of the park. Technically, they are lava tubes formed by the flowing lava from the nearby volcanoes. I walked through Indian Tunnel, a cave with an opening at both ends. Periodic openings in the rocks overhead allowed just enough light in so I could see where I was going.

I was pretty pooped by the time I left the monument. I traveled southwest on highway 20 then 75 north to the Sawtooth National Forest. I am beginning to develop a really good tan on the left side of my body. I passed through Ketchum and within spitting distance of Sun Valley. I hadn't realized what a swanky ski destination the area is until I saw all of the ski shops, condos, and chalets. The road north of there cut along the Salmon River then back and forth to the top of Galena Pass. I pulled over for a great picture of the Sawtooth mountain range, then descended into Sawtooth National Recreation Area. There must not be many Idahoans interested in recreation, because my entire ride through the area was void of people and cars. I stopped at the visitor center in Stanley and Dee and Dale pointed me in the direction of Elk Mountain RV Resort. Jackpot! I hit the trifecta of accommodations; 1) Hot shower; 2) Flat tent site; 3) Wifi internet access - all for $12.50. Jim and Jan, the proprietors of Elk Mountain were very welcoming and grilled me a wonderful "cowboy cut" of ribeye steak along with buttery garlic toast, miners' beans, and potato salad. Their son works for IBM, hence the wifi, they told me. I recommend this place without reservation to anyone passing through the area: http://www.elkmtnrv.com/

I stayed up later than usual blogging, chatting with the staff (Jim and Jan's family), and planning. I decided to hike up to Sawtooth Lake, an alpine lake, in the morning to get up close to the Sawtooths (or is it Sawteeth?)