Two things from today. Starlink for my next out-west journey, I've not had cell service for most of the past two days. Sometimes that's a good thing, but for navigation it's nice to be able to map my path! And the other is plan your gas, people! Get gas at every opportunity, the stations are few and far between out here
Weather forecast
Wed, Jun 24Start
Cooke City, MT
69°
43°
💧 40% · 0.31″
En route
Craters of the Moon
90°
63°
💧 2%
Overnight
Butte, MT
75°
49°
💧 17%
Forecast via Open-Meteo
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The daily timeline, drive details, and lodging are private to the family.
Craters of the Moon National Monument
Jr. Ranger Badge
Junior Ranger badge — visitor center closes 4:30 PM
Game Plan
Arrive ~12:45 PM. Get badge books AND the free cave permit at the VC desk on arrival.
- Inferno Cone (0.4 mi RT · steep) — Short stomp up a black cinder cone; 360° view of the whole lava field. Kids love it.
- Devils Orchard (0.5 mi loop · paved) — Easy walk among lava fragments — good badge-book stop.
- Indian Tunnel (0.8 mi RT + cave) — 800-ft lava tube with skylights; the trip's most adventurous easy walk. Permit is free at the VC.
- North Crater Flow boardwalk (first loop stop) — touchable lava textures
- Snake River Plain scenery on US-20 — watch for the Tetons' back side near Ashton
Sunrise, Sunset & Golden Hour
Sunrise
5:54 AM MDT
Sunset
9:19 PM MDT
Be set up by (sunrise)
5:24 AM
Be set up by (sunset)
8:59 PM
Sunrise spot — You're driving through Yellowstone at sunrise — same Lamar Valley golden opportunity (see Day 4). The drive from Cooke City at 6:15 AM catches it perfectly.
The 6:15 AM departure puts you in Lamar Valley at sunrise — same magic as Day 4 if you lingered, but this morning you're heading west through Yellowstone.
Sunset spot — You'll be on US-93 between Mackay and Arco ID heading toward Butte at sunset. The Pioneer Mountains east of Mackay make a dramatic backdrop across the Snake River Plain.
Pull over on US-93 near Mackay ID around 8:55 PM — wide-open Snake River Plain with the Pioneer range to the east catching the last light.
Heads Up
Longest drive day (~10 hr) and the one exception to 8:30 departures. 7:30 AM is the sweet spot: keeps the cave + full loop while still giving a decent morning. An 8:30 start would mean skipping Indian Tunnel or cutting the loop — your call if the family needs the extra hour.
Cave permit is free but required, and screening is for white-nose syndrome (don't bring gear/clothes used in other caves).
Lava fields hit 90°F+ with zero shade in late June — hats, sunscreen, and more water than you think.
Trip Journal — Day 5
👨 Jason
📝 Day summary
Memory of the day
We contemplated skipping Craters of the Moon because the drive was mostly out of the way. So glad we didn't! Hiking in the lava fields was otherworldly. The pictures just can't capture how strikingly different this is. We descended into the Indian Tunnel cave to play but climbed back out. Others informed us you can hike through it, then slide on scrabble down and out through a smallish hole and then hike back on top on the lava rocks to the entrance. I'm sure glad they enjoyed that!
We have mostly eaten food from what we packed, but we stopped at a roadside diner for a late dinner. Michelle and the kids had breakfast for dinner, and I had a pastrami philly. We hadn't had much to eat and probably did our most hiking, so we ate very heartily. We also saw legit cowboys with spurs on their boots!
Grateful for
diverse landscapes, hiking, hot meals
🎹 Sunrise / sunset moment
we've missed all the sunsets and sunrises with mountains blocking them, and tonight a storm mostly blocked the sunset as well. But there were a few pockets of radiant red and orange right above the horizon, and we still saw the final strands of light even at 11pm on our way into Butte, Montana
Notes
Why does Arco, a very small and very remote town in Idaho, have a fairly long runway strip and port of entry trucks on standby? Something to research...
👩 Michelle
📝 Day summary
Memory of the day
Sometimes one looks for danger, and sometimes danger just finds you!!
Today’s adventure began just feet from a black bear on a Yellowstone road (we were in our car thankfully!!) and ended in a sea of lava (cooled lava, of course!) at Craters of the Moon!! I have never seen a landscape like Craters of the Moon - with lava as far as the eye could see, cinder cones and opened earth, collapsed lava tubes, big boulders of lava rock, and giant caves created by molten lava!! We climbed to the top of a cinder cone, hiked the barren wasteland, and explored caves carved out by volcanic activity!!
And you know what? We found the most beautiful flowers growing in the middle of the rock!! I think there must be a lesson in that…
“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12b-13
Notes
🚂 Elijah
📝 Day summary
Grateful for
climbing on rocks
🙂
“Getting to climb around in the lava tube caves was the best part. 3 stars because I didn't get to go inside the volcano.”
★★★☆☆
🏅 Badge earned
Notes
📷 Photos
💜 Nevaeh
📝 Day summary
Grateful for
climbing in the lava tubes, exploring Dewdrop cave, climbing up the spatter cones
🙂
“The Indian Tunnel Cave at Craters of the Moon and seeing a bear on our way out of Yellowstone was the best part of my day!”
★★★★★
🏅 Badge earned
Notes
📷 Photos
🏎️ Greyson
🙂
“Climbing down into lava tubes and seeing a black bear was the best part of my day”
★★★★★
🏅 Badge earned
Notes
📷 Photos
