Start:  Sedona, AZ
Destination: <a href="http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html" target="_blank">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM
Odometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles
Date:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011

We arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.

The drive that morning took us back north to Flagstaff and then east on route 40.  The landscape makes an abrupt shift after Flagstaff, from a hilly/mountainous and rocky desert to flat planes similar to the mid-west.  I  was driving and unfortunately didn't take pictures.

The original plan had us stopping at <a href="http://www.meteorcrater.com/" target="_blank">Meteor Crater,</a> but we began second-guessing ourselves that morning and decided to skip it in order to have more time at other spots.  The tickets were $15/person and felt we'd seen enough holes in the ground.  That is, until we were hit by their advertising campaign.  First, there is their radio station which airs a loop listing all the amazing attractions, from an actual piece of the meteor to having a Subway sandwich shop.  Then there are the billboards, listing facts about the meteor and the crater.  Lastly, there's just the uniqueness of the place as the "world’s best preserved meteorite impact site."  One of the guiding philosophies/rules of the trip was that we'd not have regrets of "oh, we should/could have done that, but didn't."  The closer we got to passing the crater, the more I felt that I would be felling that, and so I caved and made the turn onto Meteor Crater Road.

The drive to the crater is on a nice several-mile road, empty at that early hour of the morning, through flat grassland, leading towards what looks like an average hill.  As we'd eventually learn, that grassland was eviscerated 50,000 years ago and that hill is the rim of the giant crater.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70251.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-329" title="STA70251" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70251-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

We arrived just as the ticket office was opening.  I bought the tickets (again, we benefited from a senior discount) and received an informational tri-fold.  I read this while Dad made some business phone calls.  I must say, this was a lengthy, but very well written tri-fold, that explained:  a) the science about the meteor, the impact, the resulting geology, and insights gained from it about the universe b) told the story of its discovery, mining attempts, controversy over what formed it, its use by NASA, and how/why it was turned into an attraction, and c) raised excitement about what we'd be able to see from the public vantage point and the Visitors Center.  As rare as the meteor is, it's also rare to find such a detailed yet readable pamphlet to a natural attraction.  I think my Dad still has it in his trip document folder if you're interested ;-)

When we entered the visitor center, we were informed that a short movie was going to be starting in a few minutes, so we headed towards the theater instead of the exit to the crater.  The film was neat, but I had already learned most of it from the pamphlet...which came in handy when answering the pre-film quiz questions.  The film did add better insights about how the crater helped improve scientific understanding of collisions and the role they play in the universe.

Finally, we were outdoors and standing atop the crater.  At first, it's rather unimpressive:  just a big hole in the ground.  Then the reality and scale sinks in:  more than three football games with over 2 million in the stands around the circumference could be held there, the spec at the base is the size of person, a boulder along the rim (pictured below) is the size of a house, and last but not least:  this whole thing wasn't caused by erosion, an earthquake, a volcano, or some terrestrial phenomenon, but from a rock, only 150' wide, from deep in the universe slamming into the ground just 50,000 years ago.  And just think, now it's next to a Subway - there's something either crass or poetic about this intersection of human civilization and the univ

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70223.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-333" title="STA70223" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70223-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70236.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-334" title="STA70236" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70236-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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My ambivalence was broken and we put in to effect our philosophy of the trip that we shouldn't have regrets about not going to have gone somewhere we passed

left @ 5:50
after discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated
550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old
there was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes
perspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater
we were glad to experience the crater in person
exhibits were informative
an actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch
discussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor
one of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students
we ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days
then we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert
during our tour, it rained of course, but this time with hail.  rich loves the hail.  brought some into the car (and went out in it).  We went into a store and Dad bought a sample of petrified wood to bring home.
the minerals produce the colors
spent over three hours going along 28 mile road
the pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful
at dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details
went to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store
more rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep

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