July 28th, Drive to Meteor Crater

  

  

  

  




  


Friday, July 28, 2006
Day 33
Drive to Meteor Crater Landmark

The photos above are in "REVERSE" order. The bottom one is the dinosaur track, so as you read look back at the photos in reverse. If you don't know, you can click on the photo and it will come up as a bigger photo.

Today we left the Grand Canyon. I was sad to go because it was just so beautiful there, but we had a great day! We drove from the North Rim past the Vermillion Cliffs and saw the Colorado River where people often begin river trips on the river. We saw Marble Canyon and Echo Cliffs and then headed South toward Flagstaff. We stopped at Dinosaur Tracks, a place that is owned and operated by the Navajo Indians. It was really neat to see dinosaur tracks and eggs and fossils in their natural setting, but so sad to see that this area is not being properly preserved for future study. People come in a actually steal the dinosaur tracks and the place is not well publicized at all. It just looks crummy and is not well-run, but it was still neat to see the area. I was sad that no one in the Navajo tribe has taken more initiative to spruce up the area. This could be a real money-maker.

We drove a little futher and came upon the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center and the kids stamped their Passports. This is the first volcano I have ever seen and it was really cool. It erupted in about 1064 and it is just amazing to see the cinders and rugged looking igneous rocks everywhere. The cinders look like black snow on a mountain. It looked like a black ski run on the hillside. We drove to two turnouts to see the valley and the side of the volcano, and then we turned around and continued our trip to Meteor Crater.

The RV park here at Meteor Crater is very nice and it felt great to take a shower. We did not use the showers at the Grand Canyon because they cost $1.50 for 5 minutes. Here they are free. I would definitely recommend this RV park, it is very reasonable and the bathrooms are very nice. Anyway, we had to unhook to drive the 6 miles up the road to Meteor Crater, also known as Barringer’s Crater after its discoverer. The man who discovered this Crater in 1903 or 1906 (I forget) bought the rights to it back then and it has been owned by his family ever since. It is well managed and maintained, but expensive to get into. It cost us $40.00 to get in. That is almost as much as it will cost us to go to every National Park, since we purchased the National Park Pass for $50.00. But, it was very interesting. There is a museum there and they show a 10 minute film about the crater. Astronauts trained here for the moon landings! The crater is HUGE, but it is hard to tell that until you actually start looking at things that you know the size of. It is about 2.4 miles in circumference and ¾ of a mile in diameter. It’s about 550 feet deep which would hold a 60 story building. 20 football fields would fit inside the crater.

While we were looking at the crater, a big thunderstorm was brewing in the not-so-distance. We were able to watch it coming in from the meteor-crater observation deck. It is so awesome to see storms from such a distance! I found out that it is “monsoon” season here in Arizona. That seems so weird. I can’t believe how little I knew about this country and what it looks like. I thought I knew so much, but I had no clue. By the time I get home I will really feel like I know what the United States looks like. I feel so fortunate to have been able to take this journey. Tomorrow we are going to look at old Route 66, here right next to the RV park is an old section of it that is no longer maintained at all. Then we will drive through the Petrified Forest in Arizona and continue on toward New Mexico. We have reservations at the KOA in Grants, NM. That is near another National Monument called El Malpais.

So, I’m sad to have left the Grand Canyon, but excited about our still-up-coming adventures. Today Brownie was “set free” by Rod to chase a rabbit. He told her it was a squirrel and she went nuts chasing it. He thought she was going to get lost because she ran so far. Thankfully I was in the shower at the time, or I might have gotten upset. Anyway, she didn’t catch it and she did return in a very happy mood. Now Rod is in the shower and he took the dog with him to try and get her less doggy-smelling. Not really supposed to do that, but she needs it…