7/5 Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID

Visiting this place is like visiting another planet. There's a big chunk of land in Idaho (around 50 miles long) that as recent as 2000 years ago, used to be hotbed for volcanic activity. Countless cinder cones and evidence of fissure eruptions are all over the place. Looking across the land, it's a sea of black lava rock. Truly amazing to see.

Hiking up a big cinder cone.

The view from atop that big cinder cone.

Wildflowers grow like crazy in this strange soil.

Looking inside a smaller cinder cone.

The old lava tubes collapse and often form hollow caves where you can climb into and explore.