Craters of the Moon

“If anyone ever asks me the best day of my life is so far, I’m going to say July 1, 2026!”

Kai doesn’t hesitate in the moment to assign some days as “the worst” or “the best” days of his life. Often it’s the same day. “The best” when we’re having cookies, then “the worst” when I say it’s time to go to bed. But this full declaration was new, in the moment and even repeated after the fact.

We wondered if it was worth the extra time it added to our drive. We wouldn’t have long to spend there before the sun went down. When we drove up he complained that he didn’t want to be there. Discouraged, I considered just turning around and continuing the productive part of our road trip.

Forward we went, driving into Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. In theory (which doesn’t always come true when kids are a factor) it was the perfect spot to visit. He loves outer space. He loves volcanos. He loves rocks and minerals. It’s a lot cheaper than taking him to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Before we even passed the visitor’s center, he overheard the word “cones” and all he could think of was ice cream. All of a sudden he wanted ice cream. All he wanted the rest of the day was ice cream. He didn’t want to get out of the car at all. Until we parked at the first stop, I had no expectation that any of us were going to enjoy this. He finally got curious when he saw the lava flow. That first experience was enough to bring about a full 180 of attitude.

We walked through lava flows, climbed to the top of Inferno’s Cone, and looked deep into the vents of spatter cones. It turns out this connection with the land that I dreamed up for him was exactly the experience he chose to enjoy for himself.