(15) Wendover, Utah/Nevada; Craters of the Moon NP, Idaho

Below is the picture of the main street in the little town of Wendover, which is situated literally on the border separating Utah from Nevada. We took a walk up the mountain visible on the left, from which we admired the panorama of the town and its environs (we had a beer or two on the top, but that's off the record;)( S)

(S) A view from the mountain: the plain (still Utah) bathed in the light of the setting sun. One can see a long row of wagons standing there, as if waiting for the engines (usually four) to pull them to their destination farther the West.

Wendover, with its population of slightly over 1500, owes its existence solely to the Transcontinental Railroad, as it served as a station stop on the Western Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific). The town is quiet, the people living here are rather less than well-off. One might say: "nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes";) (S)

(S) Union Pacific wagons in close-up:

However, life seems to focus in the western part of the settlement, which makes up a separate town called West Wendover, easily confused with Wendover, Utah. West Wendover belongs to Nevada, so it prides itself on casinos and a bigger population of almost 5 thousand. The lights are already on, inviting gamblers from Utah, or simply those who want to DO SOMETHING in this sleepy area.

The biggest casino in West Wendover was so kitsch inside that it was beautiful;) And, to my surprise, it was full... of older people: pensioners searching for a thrill and an opportunity to spend their well-deserved pension money. We were the youngest visitors to this temple of hazard in the middle of nowhere.

After the night in a Wendover motel we traveled north: our next destination was Yellowstone NP, so we had to make a trip through Idaho (S):

In Idaho we visisted Craters of the Moon. The area was once described as "the surface of the moon as seen through a telescope". The area's weird landscape made President Coolidge establish Craters of the Moon National Monument in 1924. We took a scenic ride along the park loop road, as illustrated on the map.

The strange landscape in Craters of the Moon is of volcanic origin (not of meteorite impact, as the name would suggest). However, the lava did not spew from a volcano but from the "Great Rift" - long fissures across the Snake River Plain, where the NM is situated (S).

The lava which produced this vast sea of rock started surfacing about 15 000 years ago, but about 2,000 years ago there was another eruption. Geologists say it's not over;)

The bizarre shapes made of basalt: the blocks of lava grow from the surface like trees in an orchard, except that they look ominous (S):

A walk along accessible trails felt like a walk on the surface of the moon indeed - not that I know what the surface of the moon looks like, but the view was unearthly (S):

Surprisingly, the lava fields only look so barren: plants and trees are quite frequent here:

A walk up this cone took me about half an hour (when you get to the top you see another hill of equal height but steeper!). Exposed to the heat and thirsty (I did not take the water, thinking my trip would end soon), I finished the climb almost crawling, but it was worth the effort (S):

A final glimpse at the lunar surface, which some might find even depressing (S):