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(287, 2, '2011-09-22 02:11:26', '2011-09-22 02:11:26', 'Start:  Zion National Park, UT\r\nDestination:  Grand Canyon - North Rim, AZ\r\nOdometer: 105,719 (start)  105,976 (end) - 257 miles\r\nDate:  Sunday, September 11 - 12, 2011\r\n\r\nOur great experience at Zion left us excited to the see the most famous canyon in the world:  The Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, this ended up being the least enjoyable stop on the trip.\r\n\r\nThe day started with a nice drive featuring red rock mesas and nice cloud formations, but quickly turned on a bad note right upon entry to Arizona in the town of Fredonia.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-263\" title=\"100_2851\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-264\" title=\"100_2853\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nFredonia is a small town right over the border into Arizona and styles itself as the “Gateway to the North Rim (of the Grand Canyon).  Not having the Grand Canyon however, it seems they still profit from the tourists in at least one way:  speeding tickets.  The main road is part of a highway, and so many people, including myself, didn’t notice that the speed limit was dropped to 35 at some point.  Sure enough, the white SUV that was the only other car on the road at that early hour, going the opposite direction, passed us, made a sharp U-turn, hit the lights, and pulled us over.  Seems I was going 55 in a 35 mph zone.  The officer dropped it to 45, but I was still stuck with both a ticket for $118 and the annoyance/sense of violation of being stopped and fined for a victimless offense (BTW, I recommend people join the <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org\" target=\"_blank\">National Motorists Association</a>, which, amongst other member benefits, has a <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org/traffic-justice/\" target=\"_blank\">program</a> that will cover up to $300 for a ticket if you fight it and lose).  I also learned a few days later when I called Fredonia about the ticket that it seems any speeding ticket in Arizona comes with an automatic 3 points, and that would transfer to Maryland.  Fortunately, I called Allstate and learned they don’t re-check for tickets when renewing their auto-insurance policies each 6 months, so I guess I’ll be staying with them for the next three years (as I was planning to anyway).\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-265\" title=\"100_2848\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-266\" title=\"100_2849\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn addition to what I think is a fairly unique/annoying traffic point policy, Arizona also stands out for not following daylight savings time.  As such, for 6 months of the year, they are one hour behind all the other Mountain Time states.  We became aware of this when we saw the ticket was written for 7am, while our clocks said 8am.  It would have been considerate for Arizona to have declared this idiosyncratic time policy to their welcome signage.\r\n\r\nThe trip to the Grand Canyon was not without its good turn-of-events.  My cell phone’s battery had died earlier in the trip and when I plugged it in to charge through the USB cable connected to my laptop, nothing would happen.  The lights stayed off and it wouldn’t turn on.  In the past, I could take the battery out and put it back in, and somehow there’d be enough charge left for it to startup, at which point I could plug-in the phone to the laptop and it would charge.  This also wasn’t working.  It occurred to me that morning though that the physical power conducting lines should be connected when connected, so perhaps it’s just a software issue that the phone doesn’t indicate that it’s charging.  As such, I decided to connect the phone, and just leave it potentially charging for the ride.  Sure enough, when we arrived, I habitually picked up the phone to turn it on, and voila, the phone was good as new, as if nothing had happened.  Unfortunately, it would seem that the balance would have be restored for this bit of good fortune.\r\n\r\nWe arrived to the North Rim a little after 9am (Arizona time) and went from one poor customer service experience to the next.  First, we arrived at the entrance gate and were greeted with a gruff ranger who at a minimum, was not excited to see us.  This is in contrast to the other rangers at park entrances who have greeted us with smiles, gave us the park map and newspaper with a friendly attitude, and genuinely made us feel welcome.\r\n\r\nNext, we pulled into the gas station because we wanted to check the tire pressure and perhaps add air.  In addition to learning from the attendant that a horrendous storm had passed through the camp last night and that the camp had WiFi, we ended up paying $2 for air - the cost is $1.35 but no change was given/offered for the $2 proffered.  I get that it’s a gas station that targets tourists, but really, let us fill our own tires for free/50 cents or do it for free as part of being welcoming and good customer service.\r\n\r\nA little bit down the road after the station we saw the campground registration desk.  Our notes said that registration wasn’t until 11am, but we saw that someone had pulled up and there was an attendant at the desk.  As such, we pulled up as well, Dad got out of the car, noted in a friendly manner that she was there early, that we didn’t expect anyone to be there until 11am, and jokingly asked if she was open to handle reservation check-ins.   The reply to the question, in a serious voice and face:  “Sir, you’re blocking the way, you’ll have to park over there.”  Now, this registration area is its own section of the entrance, with its own parking lot, which was empty, and no one was coming or going.  Again, I get that it’s the start of the workday and sure, under normal circumstances, we would have and should have parked in a proper parking space instead of the curb in front of her teller window, but you’d think the person staffing the face of the park campground would have a friendly enough personality to react with something like “Yup, I’m open.  I’d be glad to check you in, but can you please park your car in a space first.”\r\n\r\nWe also had less than desirable experiences at the general store and the deli.  The General Store was adequately stocked, though with price markups corresponding to the fact that they are the only town and store within about 60 miles - and that’s to Jacob Lake, which is mainly a park.  The main thing that stood out was the lack of eye contact, cliquish personality, and curtness.  Even when making a point to say hello, goodbye, or generally talk with the staff, they’d always be looking at something else (this wasn’t just with us).  The staff seems more interested in talking with themselves, and the customers just happen to be there.  And when I happened to queue up at what I thought was an open register that had a clerk behind it, a nearby staff person who I think might have been a manager, curtly pointed to a sign out of my view saying that register was closed and I had to go across the store.  Okay, you’re working at a store isolated in the woods where the weather seems to be rather dreary and the main/only community are co-workers, but that’s no excuse to be rude and dismissive to your customers.\r\n\r\nRegarding the deli, it had many of the same issues as the general store.  As we’ll get to later, the weather was such that cooking was not to be recommended, so Dad suggested we check out the restaurants at the Lodge.  The main Lodge restaurant was too overpriced for us to justify, so we went to the deli next door in the complex (again, these are the only places to eat within 90 minutes of the park).  The deli wasn’t inexpensive, but it was reasonable given the circumstances.  I was going to get a hot portobello mushroom sandwich and Dad would get some hot dogs.  That was the plan until I noticed that the “hot sandwiches” they offer are simply microwaved.   There isn’t a toaster.  It’s hard enough making a good mushroom sandwich, and microwaving is not a good sign.  We reconsidered and ended up deciding on sharing a 3-cheese pizza.  Now, we were kinda hungry and I wasn’t inclined to wait for the pizza to cook.  I saw that the per-slice display case had a whole cheese pizza, from which no one had yet ordered.  I inquired/requested that we just be served that one, but was told they could only sell us that one at over $3/slice.  They were unmoved when I criticized that policy, so we resigned ourselves to wait.  The staff at the counter at least made eye-contact and were somewhat personable, but I think the appropriate thing to have done here would have been to ask the manager if an exception could be made in this case (I’d think selling an already made pizza that had been sitting around for a bit and wasn’t selling would be an attractive proposition for them.)  We were then told they’d bring it out to our table, and we could pay at the register and get our drinks now.  After processing a few customers before us, Dad’s card was swiped and in the process, the point-of-sale (POS - funny what that acronym also stands for) computer crashed.  Great.  The manager came over, handled the restart, criticized the frequency of the system going down, and was disinterested in making small chat with my Dad during the wait about his son / my brother also being in the restaurant business and the complaints he’s had regarding the POS systems at his restaurants.  On the up side, the card eventually went through, the pizza was delivered to our table as promised, and was good.\r\n\r\nOn reflection, the best customer service was by the private concession at the Lodge for the mule rides down the Grand Canyon.  Dad really wanted to see the Colorado River, but the guide was upfront that his tour wouldn’t be what he was looking for, and directed us to the appropriate drive from which the river could be seen.  We didn’t make use of his services, but the guy was friendly and helpful, so we’ll recommend that if you still go to the North Rim after reading this blog, consider patronizing his mule rides.\r\n\r\nOK, enough about the them, and back to us and the sites.  The campground itself was nice, our campsite was right across from the bathroom, and Dad used the laundry facility without issue.  We also saw a new type of squirrel:  one with dark fur and a bright white tail.  We put the campsite in order and started our tour of the Grand Canyon.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-268\" title=\"100_2865\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOur first stop was the visitor center, but on the way we stopped to have brunch at some picnic tables overlooking the canyon.  We could see there was a long way down from where we were looking, but the view was partially blocked by trees, so we continued down the road, past the visitor center, until we came to a clear overlook and a path leading to further viewpoints.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-269\" title=\"100_2886\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe size of the Grand Canyon immediately hit us with awe.  It is huge in all directions:  deep, wide, and long.  One really doesn’t know where to start, so we started with just taking in the breadth of the canyon.\r\n\r\nIt should be pointed out that the Grand Canyon is a collection of canyons.  We’re not sure if this is technically true, but from our perspective it is.  While there is one giant hole in the ground, there are so many canyon nooks, each deep, wide, and amazing in its own right.  Moreover, because the Grand Canyon is so big, the scenes and stops are better understood as viewing points to a few of these nooks, rather than a location where one can view the entirety of the Grand Canyon.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-270\" title=\"100_2881\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nDespite the grandeur that was before us, we still wanted more, namely, to see the Colorado River running along the bottom of the canyon.  As my Dad put it, it’s not a canyon scene if you can’t see the river running along the floor.  The views from nearby the visitor center did not provide this opportunity, so we decided to drive up to the two main viewpoints:  cape royal and port imperial.  The road to Port Imperial turned out to be closed that day, so we went to Cape Royal.\r\n\r\nThe road to Cape Royal is a nice, winding road of about 23 miles (without buffaloes).  There are a few stop offs on the way, but the real stop is at the top.  Once at the top, there is a large parking lot and then a hike of about half a mile through wonderfully fragrant flowers and what we think were spice plants.  The view from Cape Royal is truly grand.  You cannot look out at what is before you and not feel the immensity and uniqueness of what has been created.  In addition, we were able to see a section of the Colorado River from the viewing perch.  We’d later learn that the section of the Colorado River and the bit of land near it was the site of many archaeological finds.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-271\" title=\"100_2913\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOur stay at Cape Royal also introduced us to the rapidly changing weather patterns of the canyon.  The clouds at the top of the canyon were great, as were the views and wide, colorful vistas that showed the height variations and variety of the canyon better than our view from the visitor center.  It was neat being at or above the clouds and seeing them move and change.  Indeed, when we arrived, it was a bright clear day, but while we were at the end of the trail, a distance from the car,  the storm clouds had formed/rolled in and the rain was starting.  Rather than waiting for the full rain to arrive, we double-timed it back to the car.  Moments after reaching our car, the cloud opened up.  Along with strong rain, there was lightning, hail, fallen rocks in the road, and a fog/mist/cloud that filled the canyon.  We never felt at risk, but were concerned about the tent.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-272\" title=\"100_2949\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-273\" title=\"100_2951\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-274\" title=\"100_2952\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe arrived safely back at the campsite to find the tent upright and seemingly in good shape.  I went inside to check for leakage, and only found a few drops on the floor.  I wasn’t sure where they came from until I looked up and saw that a pool of water had formed at the top of the tent.  I’m not sure if this is a design feature, a flaw, or the result of something we did or did not do (the lantern did not depress the top further than it would have been without it).  We were able to push out from the inside and drain the water off the top, but I was concerned about what would have happened if the rain had continued longer and the pool grew larger.  Feeling no harm no foul however, our esteem for the tent was not reduced and we went on with our day.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-276\" title=\"100_2954\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe next adventure occurred a few minutes later.  I decided that before we head out to the General Store to wait out the weather and hangout (I think to the General Store to hang out) I’d go to the bathroom by the campsite.  I was getting my things together from the car and put my camera in the side pocket of my orange hooded-sweat-jacket.  I had thought at the time that it was not a great place for the camera because it could fall out, but figured I was just going to the bathroom, no problem.  Well, there was a problem.  As I was standing up after doing my business, the camera fell out of the pocket and into the toilet!  I immediately pulled it out of the water and used some toilet paper to dry off the outside.  This camera had been through some bad conditions before, so I thought it might have survived this dowsing.  I tried to turn it on, but got nothing.  I recalled that the battery was just about dead, so I took it to the car, plugged it in, and tried again.  No luck.  More drastic measures would be needed in the car.  I got out my mini-screwdriver set, unscrewed the incredibly small screws securing the case and protecting the inside electronics.  I tried drying the insides off manually, but with little effect.  I’d need something better:  a hand dryer.  I recalled that the bathroom by the visitor center had hand driers, so we raced there, I stopped the car in a no-parking zone in front of it while my Dad stayed with the car, and I rushed the camera to the bathroom/emergency room for its potentially life-saving procedure.   After what was at least 10 minutes of drying, I felt the hand drier had been able to do whatever it was going to be able to do to help the situation.  I returned to the car, Dad reinserted the screws, I plugged the camera in, and hit the on button:  nothing.\r\n\r\nI have had this camera, a <a href=\"http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/V530_Zoom_Digital_Camera/productID.146589200\" target=\"_blank\">Kodak EasyShare V530</a> , since 2005 and we’ve been on many adventures together.  I think I got it for my trip to Israel to replace the last camera I’d had since around 2000.  Now, I knew this camera would eventually have to be replaced and that it had power management issues (I was thinking of getting a new camera for this trip but just decided to buy a new battery), but this is not how I wanted it to go.  Like a valiant soldier getting killed while back-home by a drunk driver, this camera deserved a better end.  I more expected to lose the camera in action by dropping it down a canyon as a tried to get a cool picture.  But alas, here we were.  I had been careless with it one time too many and it finally cost it its functionality.  Let this be a wake-up call to all of you:  appreciate the time you have with your technology and be careful with it.  They deserve a better death than drowning in a toilet bowl.\r\n\r\nI had to move beyond the guilt however and deal with the resulting problem:  how to take pictures.  For the short term, we realized we could fall back to my Dad’s iPhone, which he’d been using when he wanted there to be some pictures from our Saturday hikes.  It could take pictures and movies, but the quality was not what we wanted for the rest of the trip.  We thought about going to a nearby town, but that was scratched when, as mentioned before, we learned that Page, AZ is at least 90 minutes away.  We therefore decided to go where we had intended in the first place:  the general store to use the internet.  I’ll spare you the details of the search process, communications, and logistical issues that arose, but we eventually settled on a CraigsList offer for a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Digimax-A7-Digital-Optical/dp/B00092RTXK\" target=\"_blank\">Samsung Digimax A7</a> for sale in Flagstaff, AZ, which we’d be driving through after leaving the Grand Canyon on our way to Sedona.\r\n\r\nBy this time, it was getting close to evening and the weather was still cold and damp, with rain a possibility, so Dad suggested we have dinner at one of the campground eateries.  As mentioned earlier, the Lodge restaurant was expensive, so we went to the deli and ended up having a three-cheese pizza.  We used the internet for a bit at the general store again and then went to bed, hoping that the weather would be better tomorrow.\r\n\r\nThe next morning was still cold and damp, so we went to the General Store and I worked on the blog until late that morning, when the weather had improved.    Our plan that day was to go back up to the top of the canyon and see if we could see what we were unable to see yesterday due to the weather.  Well, on the way up, we saw some good news:  the road to Port Imperial was open.  We took the road and were curious what new scenes would be available at the port.\r\n\r\nPort Imperial did provide some great new angles of the canyon, but will be remembered for the clouds that morning and the burnt forest nearby.  The skyline of the Grand Canyon always seemed to be a mix of briskly moving clouds of either the peaceful-white cloud variety or the dark-grey death cloud variety.  That morning, we could see grey rain clouds right at our level, and they were moving so fast, we could see them climbing over the walls of the canyon.  Much of the parks are also home or nearby managed forest lands.  Managed seems to mean burned at regular intervals.  We had seen many burnt out forests on the drive in (it wasn’t a good sign) but now we were able to see one more up-close since it was visible next to the parking lot.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-277\" title=\"IMG_0061\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-278\" title=\"IMG_0066\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe drive back up the path to Cape Royal was definitely better today than it was yesterday.  We stopped at the “Greenland Lake,” which wasn’t that impressive a site, but apparently is of geologic interest as a sinkhole according to the information placard.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-279\" title=\"IMG_0073\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-280\" title=\"IMG_0076\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe also stopped at the overlooks that we had skipped previously on the way down.  Again, there were some nice views of the canyon from different angles, but nothing particular new.  We made it to the summit again, but the rain clouds were already there to meet us.  We watched the rain, hail, and lightning storm from the car, both because it was neat to watch and because it was too misty to drive down safely.  We were definitely glad we didn’t go on the mule ride.  The storm eventually lessened (these giant storms come and go and don’t seem to last more than an hour) and we went back to our hangout at the General Store (we were glad they weren’t charging rent to us, and the many others who were taking refuge / loitering there).\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-281\" title=\"IMG_0097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nSpace was a a premium at the store for tables and internet, but there wasn’t much else to do (there was little to no cell service) and we were committed to working on the blog.  What should have taken less than an hour in normal circumstances, took several hours and the rest of the day at the store.  The WiFi was fast at times, but most of the time, the signal would fluctuate between 0 and 4 bars, usually towards the lower end.  We kept our patience though and got done as much as we could.\r\n\r\nWe took a break for dinner around 6:30 and decided to make our last two <a href=\"http://www.heatermeals.com/\" target=\"_blank\">ready-heat meals</a> and eat in the car since the weather was still unpleasant.  Dad had the pepper-steak and rice and had the vegetarian lasagna.  We joked while we ate about the context that these were intended for, e.g. let’s see what spices we’ll have while we wait out the apocalypse in our bomb shelter.\r\n\r\nAfter dinner, I took a nice hot shower while Dad worked on the computer until the General Store closed at 8.  Bored and tired, we went to bed early that night, anxious to leave, pickup my camera in Flagstaff, and enjoy Sedona.\r\n\r\nOverall, I’m glad to came to the Grand Canyon, but several things could have been better.  The Grand Canyon is viscerally and geologically impressive, but aesthetically, the canyon’s we’d seen earlier at Zion and Yellowstone, were better.  The Grand Canyon is some ways suffers from what makes it great:  it’s just too big.  We couldn’t really see or get to the floor to fully experience its depth, the rock walls are most of the same color and texture without much diversity or spectrum, and the wall are more like steep hills rather than sheer drops.  I also wasn’t aware of the weather patterns at the Grand Canyon.  For obvious reasons, the picture I’d seen of the canyon have been of a warm, clear, sunny day, and so I figured storms like that we experienced were rare, as opposed to the norm.  The weather did not make for an enjoyable stay at the canyon or the campground.  Also, I figured the North Rim would have a tourist town around it, but it is rather isolated and the people and amenities at the park left things to be desired.    Our desire to see the Grand Canyon though was fulfilled and did lead to many great stories and shared experiences with my Dad, so in the final sum, I’m glad we went.  Your results and reaction may vary.\r\n\r\n<embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&noautoplay=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5654995807545767889%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\"></embed>', 'Day 13 and 14:  The Grand Canyon - North Rim', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '260-revision-9', '', '', '2011-09-22 02:11:26', '2011-09-22 02:11:26', '', 260, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=287', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(291, 2, '2011-09-22 14:07:40', '2011-09-22 14:07:40', 'Start:  Zion National Park, UT\r\nDestination:  Grand Canyon - North Rim, AZ\r\nOdometer: 105,719 (start)  105,976 (end) - 257 miles\r\nDate:  Sunday, September 11 - 12, 2011\r\n\r\nOur great experience at Zion left us excited to the see the most famous canyon in the world:  The Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, this ended up being the least enjoyable stop on the trip.\r\n\r\nThe day started with a nice drive featuring red rock mesas and nice cloud formations, but quickly turned on a bad note right upon entry to Arizona in the town of Fredonia.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-263\" title=\"100_2851\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-264\" title=\"100_2853\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nFredonia is a small town right over the border into Arizona and styles itself as the “Gateway to the North Rim (of the Grand Canyon).  Not having the Grand Canyon however, it seems they still profit from the tourists in at least one way:  speeding tickets.  The main road is part of a highway, and so many people, including myself, didn’t notice that the speed limit was dropped to 35 at some point.  Sure enough, the white SUV that was the only other car on the road at that early hour, going the opposite direction, passed us, made a sharp U-turn, hit the lights, and pulled us over.  Seems I was going 55 in a 35 mph zone.  The officer dropped it to 45, but I was still stuck with both a ticket for $118 and the annoyance/sense of violation of being stopped and fined for a victimless offense (BTW, I recommend people join the <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org\" target=\"_blank\">National Motorists Association</a>, which, amongst other member benefits, has a <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org/traffic-justice/\" target=\"_blank\">program</a> that will cover up to $300 for a ticket if you fight it and lose).  I also learned a few days later when I called Fredonia about the ticket that it seems any speeding ticket in Arizona comes with an automatic 3 points, and that would transfer to Maryland.  Fortunately, I called Allstate and learned they don’t re-check for tickets when renewing their auto-insurance policies each 6 months, so I guess I’ll be staying with them for the next three years (as I was planning to anyway).\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-265\" title=\"100_2848\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-266\" title=\"100_2849\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn addition to what I think is a fairly unique/annoying traffic point policy, Arizona also stands out for not following daylight savings time.  As such, for 6 months of the year, they are one hour behind all the other Mountain Time states.  We became aware of this when we saw the ticket was written for 7am, while our clocks said 8am.  It would have been considerate for Arizona to have declared this idiosyncratic time policy to their welcome signage.\r\n\r\nThe trip to the Grand Canyon was not without its good turn-of-events.  My cell phone’s battery had died earlier in the trip and when I plugged it in to charge through the USB cable connected to my laptop, nothing would happen.  The lights stayed off and it wouldn’t turn on.  In the past, I could take the battery out and put it back in, and somehow there’d be enough charge left for it to startup, at which point I could plug-in the phone to the laptop and it would charge.  This also wasn’t working.  It occurred to me that morning though that the physical power conducting lines should be connected when connected, so perhaps it’s just a software issue that the phone doesn’t indicate that it’s charging.  As such, I decided to connect the phone, and just leave it potentially charging for the ride.  Sure enough, when we arrived, I habitually picked up the phone to turn it on, and voila, the phone was good as new, as if nothing had happened.  Unfortunately, it would seem that the balance would have be restored for this bit of good fortune.\r\n\r\nWe arrived to the North Rim a little after 9am (Arizona time) and went from one poor customer service experience to the next.  First, we arrived at the entrance gate and were greeted with a gruff ranger who at a minimum, was not excited to see us.  This is in contrast to the other rangers at park entrances who have greeted us with smiles, gave us the park map and newspaper with a friendly attitude, and genuinely made us feel welcome.\r\n\r\nNext, we pulled into the gas station because we wanted to check the tire pressure and perhaps add air.  In addition to learning from the attendant that a horrendous storm had passed through the camp last night and that the camp had WiFi, we ended up paying $2 for air - the cost is $1.35 but no change was given/offered for the $2 proffered.  I get that it’s a gas station that targets tourists, but really, let us fill our own tires for free/50 cents or do it for free as part of being welcoming and good customer service.\r\n\r\nA little bit down the road after the station we saw the campground registration desk.  Our notes said that registration wasn’t until 11am, but we saw that someone had pulled up and there was an attendant at the desk.  As such, we pulled up as well, Dad got out of the car, noted in a friendly manner that she was there early, that we didn’t expect anyone to be there until 11am, and jokingly asked if she was open to handle reservation check-ins.   The reply to the question, in a serious voice and face:  “Sir, you’re blocking the way, you’ll have to park over there.”  Now, this registration area is its own section of the entrance, with its own parking lot, which was empty, and no one was coming or going.  Again, I get that it’s the start of the workday and sure, under normal circumstances, we would have and should have parked in a proper parking space instead of the curb in front of her teller window, but you’d think the person staffing the face of the park campground would have a friendly enough personality to react with something like “Yup, I’m open.  I’d be glad to check you in, but can you please park your car in a space first.”\r\n\r\nWe also had less than desirable experiences at the general store and the deli.  The General Store was adequately stocked, though with price markups corresponding to the fact that they are the only town and store within about 60 miles - and that’s to Jacob Lake, which is mainly a park.  The main thing that stood out was the lack of eye contact, cliquish personality, and curtness.  Even when making a point to say hello, goodbye, or generally talk with the staff, they’d always be looking at something else (this wasn’t just with us).  The staff seems more interested in talking with themselves, and the customers just happen to be there.  And when I happened to queue up at what I thought was an open register that had a clerk behind it, a nearby staff person who I think might have been a manager, curtly pointed to a sign out of my view saying that register was closed and I had to go across the store.  Okay, you’re working at a store isolated in the woods where the weather seems to be rather dreary and the main/only community are co-workers, but that’s no excuse to be rude and dismissive to your customers.\r\n\r\nRegarding the deli, it had many of the same issues as the general store.  As we’ll get to later, the weather was such that cooking was not to be recommended, so Dad suggested we check out the restaurants at the Lodge.  The main Lodge restaurant was too overpriced for us to justify, so we went to the deli next door in the complex (again, these are the only places to eat within 90 minutes of the park).  The deli wasn’t inexpensive, but it was reasonable given the circumstances.  I was going to get a hot portobello mushroom sandwich and Dad would get some hot dogs.  That was the plan until I noticed that the “hot sandwiches” they offer are simply microwaved.   There isn’t a toaster.  It’s hard enough making a good mushroom sandwich, and microwaving is not a good sign.  We reconsidered and ended up deciding on sharing a 3-cheese pizza.  Now, we were kinda hungry and I wasn’t inclined to wait for the pizza to cook.  I saw that the per-slice display case had a whole cheese pizza, from which no one had yet ordered.  I inquired/requested that we just be served that one, but was told they could only sell us that one at over $3/slice.  They were unmoved when I criticized that policy, so we resigned ourselves to wait.  The staff at the counter at least made eye-contact and were somewhat personable, but I think the appropriate thing to have done here would have been to ask the manager if an exception could be made in this case (I’d think selling an already made pizza that had been sitting around for a bit and wasn’t selling would be an attractive proposition for them.)  We were then told they’d bring it out to our table, and we could pay at the register and get our drinks now.  After processing a few customers before us, Dad’s card was swiped and in the process, the point-of-sale (POS - funny what that acronym also stands for) computer crashed.  Great.  The manager came over, handled the restart, criticized the frequency of the system going down, and was disinterested in making small chat with my Dad during the wait about his son / my brother also being in the restaurant business and the complaints he’s had regarding the POS systems at his restaurants.  On the up side, the card eventually went through, the pizza was delivered to our table as promised, and was good.\r\n\r\nOn reflection, the best customer service was by the private concession at the Lodge for the mule rides down the Grand Canyon.  Dad really wanted to see the Colorado River, but the guide was upfront that his tour wouldn’t be what he was looking for, and directed us to the appropriate drive from which the river could be seen.  We didn’t make use of his services, but the guy was friendly and helpful, so we’ll recommend that if you still go to the North Rim after reading this blog, consider patronizing his mule rides.\r\n\r\nOK, enough about the them, and back to us and the sites.  The campground itself was nice, our campsite was right across from the bathroom, and Dad used the laundry facility without issue.  We also saw a new type of squirrel:  one with dark fur and a bright white tail.  We put the campsite in order and started our tour of the Grand Canyon.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-268\" title=\"100_2865\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOur first stop was the visitor center, but on the way we stopped to have brunch at some picnic tables overlooking the canyon.  We could see there was a long way down from where we were looking, but the view was partially blocked by trees, so we continued down the road, past the visitor center, until we came to a clear overlook and a path leading to further viewpoints.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-269\" title=\"100_2886\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe size of the Grand Canyon immediately hit us with awe.  It is huge in all directions:  deep, wide, and long.  One really doesn’t know where to start, so we started with just taking in the breadth of the canyon.\r\n\r\nIt should be pointed out that the Grand Canyon is a collection of canyons.  We’re not sure if this is technically true, but from our perspective it is.  While there is one giant hole in the ground, there are so many canyon nooks, each deep, wide, and amazing in its own right.  Moreover, because the Grand Canyon is so big, the scenes and stops are better understood as viewing points to a few of these nooks, rather than a location where one can view the entirety of the Grand Canyon.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-270\" title=\"100_2881\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nDespite the grandeur that was before us, we still wanted more, namely, to see the Colorado River running along the bottom of the canyon.  As my Dad put it, it’s not a canyon scene if you can’t see the river running along the floor.  The views from nearby the visitor center did not provide this opportunity, so we decided to drive up to the two main viewpoints:  cape royal and port imperial.  The road to Port Imperial turned out to be closed that day, so we went to Cape Royal.\r\n\r\nThe road to Cape Royal is a nice, winding road of about 23 miles (without buffaloes).  There are a few stop offs on the way, but the real stop is at the top.  Once at the top, there is a large parking lot and then a hike of about half a mile through wonderfully fragrant flowers and what we think were spice plants.  The view from Cape Royal is truly grand.  You cannot look out at what is before you and not feel the immensity and uniqueness of what has been created.  In addition, we were able to see a section of the Colorado River from the viewing perch.  We’d later learn that the section of the Colorado River and the bit of land near it was the site of many archaeological finds.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-271\" title=\"100_2913\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOur stay at Cape Royal also introduced us to the rapidly changing weather patterns of the canyon.  The clouds at the top of the canyon were great, as were the views and wide, colorful vistas that showed the height variations and variety of the canyon better than our view from the visitor center.  It was neat being at or above the clouds and seeing them move and change.  Indeed, when we arrived, it was a bright clear day, but while we were at the end of the trail, a distance from the car,  the storm clouds had formed/rolled in and the rain was starting.  Rather than waiting for the full rain to arrive, we double-timed it back to the car.  Moments after reaching our car, the cloud opened up.  Along with strong rain, there was lightning, hail, fallen rocks in the road, and a fog/mist/cloud that filled the canyon.  We never felt at risk, but were concerned about the tent.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-272\" title=\"100_2949\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-273\" title=\"100_2951\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-274\" title=\"100_2952\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe arrived safely back at the campsite to find the tent upright and seemingly in good shape.  I went inside to check for leakage, and only found a few drops on the floor.  I wasn’t sure where they came from until I looked up and saw that a pool of water had formed at the top of the tent.  I’m not sure if this is a design feature, a flaw, or the result of something we did or did not do (the lantern did not depress the top further than it would have been without it).  We were able to push out from the inside and drain the water off the top, but I was concerned about what would have happened if the rain had continued longer and the pool grew larger.  Feeling no harm no foul however, our esteem for the tent was not reduced and we went on with our day.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-276\" title=\"100_2954\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe next adventure occurred a few minutes later.  I decided that before we head out to the General Store to wait out the weather and hangout (I think to the General Store to hang out) I’d go to the bathroom by the campsite.  I was getting my things together from the car and put my camera in the side pocket of my orange hooded-sweat-jacket.  I had thought at the time that it was not a great place for the camera because it could fall out, but figured I was just going to the bathroom, no problem.  Well, there was a problem.  As I was standing up after doing my business, the camera fell out of the pocket and into the toilet!  I immediately pulled it out of the water and used some toilet paper to dry off the outside.  This camera had been through some bad conditions before, so I thought it might have survived this dowsing.  I tried to turn it on, but got nothing.  I recalled that the battery was just about dead, so I took it to the car, plugged it in, and tried again.  No luck.  More drastic measures would be needed in the car.  I got out my mini-screwdriver set, unscrewed the incredibly small screws securing the case and protecting the inside electronics.  I tried drying the insides off manually, but with little effect.  I’d need something better:  a hand dryer.  I recalled that the bathroom by the visitor center had hand driers, so we raced there, I stopped the car in a no-parking zone in front of it while my Dad stayed with the car, and I rushed the camera to the bathroom/emergency room for its potentially life-saving procedure.   After what was at least 10 minutes of drying, I felt the hand drier had been able to do whatever it was going to be able to do to help the situation.  I returned to the car, Dad reinserted the screws, I plugged the camera in, and hit the on button:  nothing.\r\n\r\nI have had this camera, a <a href=\"http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/V530_Zoom_Digital_Camera/productID.146589200\" target=\"_blank\">Kodak EasyShare V530</a> , since 2005 and we’ve been on many adventures together.  I think I got it for my trip to Israel to replace the last camera I’d had since around 2000.  Now, I knew this camera would eventually have to be replaced and that it had power management issues (I was thinking of getting a new camera for this trip but just decided to buy a new battery), but this is not how I wanted it to go.  Like a valiant soldier getting killed while back-home by a drunk driver, this camera deserved a better end.  I more expected to lose the camera in action by dropping it down a canyon as a tried to get a cool picture.  But alas, here we were.  I had been careless with it one time too many and it finally cost it its functionality.  Let this be a wake-up call to all of you:  appreciate the time you have with your technology and be careful with it.  They deserve a better death than drowning in a toilet bowl.\r\n\r\nI had to move beyond the guilt however and deal with the resulting problem:  how to take pictures.  For the short term, we realized we could fall back to my Dad’s iPhone, which he’d been using when he wanted there to be some pictures from our Saturday hikes.  It could take pictures and movies, but the quality was not what we wanted for the rest of the trip.  We thought about going to a nearby town, but that was scratched when, as mentioned before, we learned that Page, AZ is at least 90 minutes away.  We therefore decided to go where we had intended in the first place:  the general store to use the internet.  I’ll spare you the details of the search process, communications, and logistical issues that arose, but we eventually settled on a CraigsList offer for a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Digimax-A7-Digital-Optical/dp/B00092RTXK\" target=\"_blank\">Samsung Digimax A7</a> for sale in Flagstaff, AZ, which we’d be driving through after leaving the Grand Canyon on our way to Sedona.\r\n\r\nBy this time, it was getting close to evening and the weather was still cold and damp, with rain a possibility, so Dad suggested we have dinner at one of the campground eateries.  As mentioned earlier, the Lodge restaurant was expensive, so we went to the deli and ended up having a three-cheese pizza.  We used the internet for a bit at the general store again and then went to bed, hoping that the weather would be better tomorrow.\r\n\r\nThe next morning was still cold and damp, so we went to the General Store and I worked on the blog until late that morning, when the weather had improved.    Our plan that day was to go back up to the top of the canyon and see if we could see what we were unable to see yesterday due to the weather.  Well, on the way up, we saw some good news:  the road to Port Imperial was open.  We took the road and were curious what new scenes would be available at the port.\r\n\r\nPort Imperial did provide some great new angles of the canyon, but will be remembered for the clouds that morning and the burnt forest nearby.  The skyline of the Grand Canyon always seemed to be a mix of briskly moving clouds of either the peaceful-white cloud variety or the dark-grey death cloud variety.  That morning, we could see grey rain clouds right at our level, and they were moving so fast, we could see them climbing over the walls of the canyon.  Much of the parks are also home or nearby managed forest lands.  Managed seems to mean burned at regular intervals.  We had seen many burnt out forests on the drive in (it wasn’t a good sign) but now we were able to see one more up-close since it was visible next to the parking lot.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-277\" title=\"IMG_0061\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-278\" title=\"IMG_0066\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe drive back up the path to Cape Royal was definitely better today than it was yesterday.  We stopped at the “Greenland Lake,” which wasn’t that impressive a site, but apparently is of geologic interest as a sinkhole according to the information placard.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-279\" title=\"IMG_0073\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-280\" title=\"IMG_0076\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe also stopped at the overlooks that we had skipped previously on the way down.  Again, there were some nice views of the canyon from different angles, but nothing particular new.  We made it to the summit again, but the rain clouds were already there to meet us.  We watched the rain, hail, and lightning storm from the car, both because it was neat to watch and because it was too misty to drive down safely.  We were definitely glad we didn’t go on the mule ride.  The storm eventually lessened (these giant storms come and go and don’t seem to last more than an hour) and we went back to our hangout at the General Store (we were glad they weren’t charging rent to us, and the many others who were taking refuge / loitering there).\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-281\" title=\"IMG_0097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nSpace was a a premium at the store for tables and internet, but there wasn’t much else to do (there was little to no cell service) and we were committed to working on the blog.  What should have taken less than an hour in normal circumstances, took several hours and the rest of the day at the store.  The WiFi was fast at times, but most of the time, the signal would fluctuate between 0 and 4 bars, usually towards the lower end.  We kept our patience though and got done as much as we could.\r\n\r\nWe took a break for dinner around 6:30 and decided to make our last two <a href=\"http://www.heatermeals.com/\" target=\"_blank\">ready-heat meals</a> and eat in the car since the weather was still unpleasant.  Dad had the pepper-steak and rice and had the vegetarian lasagna.  We joked while we ate about the context that these were intended for, e.g. let’s see what spices we’ll have while we wait out the apocalypse in our bomb shelter.\r\n\r\nAfter dinner, I took a nice hot shower while Dad worked on the computer until the General Store closed at 8.  Bored and tired, we went to bed early that night, anxious to leave, pickup my camera in Flagstaff, and enjoy Sedona.\r\n\r\nOverall, I’m glad to came to the Grand Canyon, but several things could have been better.  The Grand Canyon is viscerally and geologically impressive, but aesthetically, the canyon’s we’d seen earlier at Zion and Yellowstone, were better.  The Grand Canyon is some ways suffers from what makes it great:  it’s just too big.  We couldn’t really see or get to the floor to fully experience its depth, the rock walls are most of the same color and texture without much diversity or spectrum, and the wall are more like steep hills rather than sheer drops.  I also wasn’t aware of the weather patterns at the Grand Canyon.  For obvious reasons, the picture I’d seen of the canyon have been of a warm, clear, sunny day, and so I figured storms like that we experienced were rare, as opposed to the norm.  The weather did not make for an enjoyable stay at the canyon or the campground.  Also, I figured the North Rim would have a tourist town around it, but it is rather isolated and the people and amenities at the park left things to be desired.    Our desire to see the Grand Canyon though was fulfilled and did lead to many great stories and shared experiences with my Dad, so in the final sum, I’m glad we went.  Your results and reaction may vary.\r\n\r\n<embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&noautoplay=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5654995807545767889%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\"></embed>', 'Day 13 and 14:  The Grand Canyon - North Rim', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '260-revision-10', '', '', '2011-09-22 14:07:40', '2011-09-22 14:07:40', '', 260, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=291', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(293, 2, '2011-09-22 14:40:30', '2011-09-22 14:40:30', 'Start:  Zion National Park, UT\nDestination:  Grand Canyon - North Rim, AZ\nOdometer: 105,719 (start)  105,976 (end) - 257 miles\nDate:  Sunday, September 11 - 12, 2011\n\nOur great experience at Zion left us excited to the see the most famous canyon in the world:  The Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, this ended up being the least enjoyable stop on the trip.\n\nThe day started with a nice drive featuring red rock mesas and nice cloud formations, but quickly turned on a bad note right upon entry to Arizona in the town of Fredonia.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-263\" title=\"100_2851\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-264\" title=\"100_2853\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2858.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-288\" title=\"100_2858\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2858-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nFredonia is a small town right over the border into Arizona and styles itself as the “Gateway to the North Rim (of the Grand Canyon).\"  Not having the Grand Canyon however, it seems they still profit from the tourists in at least one way:  speeding tickets.  The main road is part of a highway, and so many people, including myself, didn’t notice that the speed limit was dropped to 35 at some point.  Sure enough, the white SUV that was the only other car on the road at that early hour, going the opposite direction, passed us, made a sharp U-turn, hit the lights, and pulled us over.  Seems I was going 55 in a 35 mph zone.  The officer dropped it to 45, but I was still stuck with both a ticket for $118 and the annoyance/sense of violation of being stopped and fined for a victimless offense (BTW, I recommend people join the <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org\" target=\"_blank\">National Motorists Association</a>, which, amongst other member benefits, has a <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org/traffic-justice/\" target=\"_blank\">program</a> that will cover up to $300 for a ticket if you fight it and lose).  I also learned a few days later when I called Fredonia about the ticket that it seems any speeding ticket in Arizona comes with an automatic 3 points, and that would transfer to Maryland.  Fortunately, I called Allstate and learned they don’t re-check for tickets when renewing their auto-insurance policies each 6 months, so I guess I’ll be staying with them for the next three years (as I was planning to anyway).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-265\" title=\"100_2848\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-266\" title=\"100_2849\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn addition to what I think is a fairly unique/annoying traffic point policy, Arizona also stands out for not following daylight savings time.  As such, for 6 months of the year, they are one hour behind all the other Mountain Time states.  We became aware of this when we saw the ticket was written for 7am, while our clocks said 8am.  It would have been considerate for Arizona to have declared this idiosyncratic time policy to their welcome signage.\n\nThe trip to the Grand Canyon was not without its good turn-of-events.  My cell phone’s battery had died earlier in the trip and when I plugged it in to charge through the USB cable connected to my laptop, nothing would happen.  The lights stayed off and it wouldn’t turn on.  In the past, I could take the battery out and put it back in, and somehow there’d be enough charge left for it to startup, at which point I could plug-in the phone to the laptop and it would charge.  This also wasn’t working.  It occurred to me that morning though that the physical power conducting lines should be connected when connected, so perhaps it’s just a software issue that the phone doesn’t indicate that it’s charging.  As such, I decided to connect the phone, and just leave it potentially charging for the ride.  Sure enough, when we arrived, I habitually picked up the phone to turn it on, and voila, the phone was good as new, as if nothing had happened.  Unfortunately, it would seem that the balance would have be restored for this bit of good fortune.\n\nWe arrived to the North Rim a little after 9am (Arizona time) and went from one poor customer service experience to the next.  First, we arrived at the entrance gate and were greeted by a gruff ranger who at a minimum, was not excited to see us.  This is in contrast to the other rangers at park entrances who have greeted us with smiles, gave us the park map and newspaper with a friendly attitude, and genuinely made us feel welcome.\n\nNext, we pulled into the gas station because we wanted to check the tire pressure and perhaps add air.  In addition to learning from the attendant that a horrendous storm had passed through the camp last night and that the camp had WiFi, we ended up paying $2 for him to check and add air to the tires - the cost is $1.35 but no change was given/offered for the $2 proffered.  I get that it’s a gas station that targets tourists, but really, let us fill our own tires for free/50 cents or do it for free as part of being welcoming and good customer service.\n\nA little bit down the road after the station we saw the campground registration desk.  Our registration receipt said that registration wasn’t until 11am, but we saw that someone had pulled up and there was an attendant at the desk.  As such, we pulled up as well, Dad got out of the car, noted in a friendly manner that she was there early, that we didn’t expect anyone to be there until 11am, and jokingly asked if she was open to handle reservation check-ins.   The reply to the question, in a serious voice and face:  “Sir, you’re blocking the way, you’ll have to park over there.”  Now, this registration area is its own section of the entrance, with its own parking lot, which was empty, and no one was coming or going.  Again, I get that it’s the start of the workday and sure, under normal circumstances, we would have and should have parked in a proper parking space instead of the curb in front of her teller window, but you’d think the person staffing the face of the park campground would have a friendly enough personality to react with something like “Yup, I’m open.  I’d be glad to check you in, but can you please park your car in a space first.”\n\nWe also had less than desirable experiences at the general store and the deli.  The General Store was adequately stocked, though with price markups corresponding to the fact that they are the only town and store within about 60 miles - and that’s to Jacob Lake, which is mainly basically a forest.  The main thing that stood out was the lack of eye contact, cliquish personality, and curtness.  Even when making a point to say hello, goodbye, or generally talk with the staff, they’d always be looking at something else (this wasn’t just with us).  The staff seems more interested in talking with themselves, and the customers just happen to be there.  And when I happened to queue up at what I thought was an open register that had a clerk behind it, a nearby staff person who I think might have been a manager, curtly pointed to a sign out of my view saying that register was closed and I had to go across the store.  Okay, you’re working at a store isolated in the woods where the weather seems to be rather dreary and the main/only community are co-workers, but that’s no excuse to be rude and dismissive to your customers.\n\nRegarding the deli, it had many of the same issues as the general store.  As we’ll get to later, the weather was such that cooking was not to be recommended, so Dad suggested we check out the restaurants at the Lodge.  The main Lodge restaurant was too overpriced for us to justify, so we went to the deli next door in the complex (again, these are the only places to eat within 90 minutes of the park).  The deli wasn’t inexpensive, but it was reasonable given the circumstances.  I was going to get a hot portobello mushroom sandwich and Dad would get some hot dogs.  That was the plan until I noticed that the “hot sandwiches” they offer are simply microwaved.   There isn’t a toaster.  It’s hard enough making a good mushroom sandwich, and microwaving is not a good sign.  We reconsidered and ended up deciding on sharing a 3-cheese pizza.  Now, we were kinda hungry and I wasn’t inclined to wait for the pizza to cook.  I saw that the per-slice display case had a whole cheese pizza, from which no one had yet ordered.  I inquired/requested that we just be served that one, but was told they could only sell us that one at over $3/slice.  They were unmoved when I criticized that policy, so we resigned ourselves to wait.  The staff at the counter at least made eye-contact and were somewhat personable, but I think the appropriate thing to have done here would have been to ask the manager if an exception could be made in this case (I’d think selling an already made pizza that had been sitting around for a bit and wasn’t selling would be an attractive proposition for them.)  We were then told they’d bring it out to our table, and we could pay at the register and get our drinks now.  After processing a few customers before us, Dad’s card was swiped and in the process, the point-of-sale (POS - funny what that acronym also stands for) computer crashed.  Great.  The manager came over, handled the restart, criticized the frequency of the system going down, and was disinterested in making small chat with my Dad during the wait about his son / my brother also being in the restaurant business and the complaints he’s had regarding the POS systems at his restaurants.  On the up side, the card eventually went through, the pizza was delivered to our table as promised, and was good.\n\nOn reflection, the best customer service was by the private concession at the Lodge for the mule rides down the Grand Canyon.  Dad really wanted to see the Colorado River, but the guide was upfront that his tour wouldn’t be what he was looking for, and directed us to the appropriate drive from which the river could be seen.  We didn’t make use of his services, but the guy was friendly and helpful, so we’ll recommend that if you still go to the North Rim after reading this blog, consider patronizing his mule rides.\n\nOK, enough about the them, and back to us and the sites.  The campground itself was nice, our campsite was right across from the bathroom, and Dad used the laundry facility without issue.  We also saw a new type of squirrel:  one with dark fur and a bright white tail.  We put the campsite in order and started our tour of the Grand Canyon.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-268\" title=\"100_2865\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nOur first stop was the visitor center, but on the way we stopped to have brunch at some picnic tables overlooking the canyon.  We could see there was a long way down from where we were looking, but the view was partially blocked by trees, so we continued down the road, past the visitor center, until we came to a clear overlook and a path leading to further viewpoints.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-269\" title=\"100_2886\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe size of the Grand Canyon immediately hit us with awe.  It is huge in all directions:  deep, wide, and long.  One really doesn’t know where to start, so we started with just taking in the breadth of the canyon.\n\nIt should be pointed out that the Grand Canyon is a collection of canyons.  We’re not sure if this is technically true, but from our perspective it is.  While there is one giant hole in the ground, there are so many canyon nooks, each deep, wide, and amazing in its own right.  Moreover, because the Grand Canyon is so big, the scenes and stops are better understood as viewing points to a few of these nooks, rather than a location where one can view the entirety of the Grand Canyon.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-270\" title=\"100_2881\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nDespite the grandeur that was before us, we still wanted more, namely, to see the Colorado River running along the bottom of the canyon.  As my Dad put it, it’s not a canyon scene if you can’t see the river running along the floor.  The views from nearby the visitor center did not provide this opportunity, so we decided to drive up to the two main viewpoints:  cape royal and port imperial.  The road to Port Imperial turned out to be closed that day, so we went to Cape Royal.\n\nThe road to Cape Royal is a nice, winding road of about 23 miles (without buffaloes).  There are a few stop offs on the way, but the real stop is at the top.  Once at the top, there is a large parking lot and then a hike of about half a mile through wonderfully fragrant flowers and what we think were spice plants.  The view from Cape Royal is truly grand.  You cannot look out at what is before you and not feel the immensity and uniqueness of what has been created.  In addition, we were able to see a section of the Colorado River from the viewing perch.  We’d later learn that the section of the Colorado River and the bit of land near it was the site of many archaeological finds.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-271\" title=\"100_2913\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nOur stay at Cape Royal also introduced us to the rapidly changing weather patterns of the canyon.  The clouds at the top of the canyon were great, as were the views and wide, colorful vistas that showed the height variations and variety of the canyon better than our view from the visitor center.  It was neat being at or above the clouds and seeing them move and change.  Indeed, when we arrived, it was a bright clear day, but while we were at the end of the trail, a distance from the car,  the storm clouds had formed/rolled in and the rain was starting.  Rather than waiting for the full rain to arrive, we double-timed it back to the car.  Moments after reaching our car, the cloud opened up.  Along with strong rain, there was lightning, hail, fallen rocks in the road, and a fog/mist/cloud that filled the canyon.  We never felt at risk, but were concerned about the tent.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-272\" title=\"100_2949\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-273\" title=\"100_2951\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-274\" title=\"100_2952\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived safely back at the campsite to find the tent upright and seemingly in good shape.  I went inside to check for leakage, and only found a few drops on the floor.  I wasn’t sure where they came from until I looked up and saw that a pool of water had formed at the top of the tent.  I’m not sure if this is a design feature, a flaw, or the result of something we did or did not do (the lantern did not depress the top further than it would have been without it).  We were able to push out from the inside and drain the water off the top, but I was concerned about what would have happened if the rain had continued longer and the pool grew larger.  Feeling no harm no foul however, our esteem for the tent was not reduced and we went on with our day.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-276\" title=\"100_2954\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe next adventure occurred a few minutes later.  I decided that before we head out to the General Store to wait out the weather and hangout I’d go to the bathroom by the campsite.  I was getting my things together from the car and put my camera in the side pocket of my orange hooded-sweat-jacket.  I had thought at the time that it was not a great place for the camera because it could fall out, but figured I was just going to the bathroom, no problem.  Well, there was a problem.  As I was standing up after doing my business, the camera fell out of the pocket and into the toilet!  I immediately pulled it out of the water and used some toilet paper to dry off the outside.  This camera had been through some bad conditions before, so I thought it might have survived this dowsing.  I tried to turn it on, but got nothing.  I recalled that the battery was just about dead, so I took it to the car, plugged it in, and tried again.  No luck.  More drastic measures would be needed in the car.  I got out my mini-screwdriver set, unscrewed the incredibly small screws securing the case and protecting the inside electronics.  I tried drying the insides off manually, but with little effect.  I’d need something better:  a hand dryer.  I recalled that the bathroom by the visitor center had hand driers, so we raced there, I stopped the car in a no-parking zone in front of it while my Dad stayed with the car, and I rushed the camera to the bathroom/emergency room for its potentially life-saving procedure.   After what was at least 10 minutes of drying, I felt the hand drier had been able to do whatever it was going to be able to do to help the situation.  I returned to the car, Dad reinserted the screws, I plugged the camera in, and hit the on button:  nothing.\n\nI have had this camera, a <a href=\"http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/V530_Zoom_Digital_Camera/productID.146589200\" target=\"_blank\">Kodak EasyShare V530</a> , since 2005 and we’ve been on many adventures together.  I think I got it for my trip to Israel to replace the last camera I’d had since around 2000.  Now, I knew this camera would eventually have to be replaced and that it had power management issues (I was thinking of getting a new camera for this trip but just decided to buy a new battery), but this is not how I wanted it to go.  Like a valiant soldier getting killed while back-home by a drunk driver, this camera deserved a better end.  I more expected to lose the camera in action by dropping it down a canyon as a tried to get a cool picture.  But alas, here we were.  I had been careless with it one time too many and it finally cost it its functionality.  Let this be a wake-up call to all of you:  appreciate the time you have with your technology and be careful with it.  They deserve a better death than drowning in a toilet bowl.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-289\" title=\"0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"200\" /></a>\n\nI had to move beyond the guilt however and deal with the resulting problem:  how to take pictures.  For the short term, we realized we could fall back to my Dad’s iPhone, which he’d been using when he wanted there to be some pictures from our Saturday hikes.  It could take pictures and movies, but the quality was not what we wanted for the rest of the trip.  We thought about going to a nearby town, but that was scratched when, as mentioned before, we learned that Page, AZ is at least 90 minutes away.  We therefore decided to go where we had intended in the first place:  the general store to use the internet.  I’ll spare you the details of the search process, communications, and logistical issues that arose, but we eventually settled on a CraigsList offer for a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Digimax-A7-Digital-Optical/dp/B00092RTXK\" target=\"_blank\">Samsung Digimax A7</a> in Flagstaff, AZ, which we’d be driving through after leaving the Grand Canyon on our way to Sedona.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-290\" title=\"51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nBy this time, it was getting close to evening and the weather was still cold and damp, with rain a possibility, so Dad suggested we have dinner at one of the campground eateries.  As mentioned earlier, the Lodge restaurant was expensive, so we went to the deli and ended up having a three-cheese pizza.  We used the internet for a bit at the general store again and then went to bed, hoping that the weather would be better tomorrow.\n\nThe next morning was still cold and damp, so we went to the General Store and I worked on the blog until late that morning, when the weather had improved.    Our plan that day was to go back up to the top of the canyon and see if we could see what we were unable to see yesterday due to the weather.  Well, on the way up, we saw some good news:  the road to Port Imperial was open.  We took the road and were curious what new scenes would be available at the port.\n\nPort Imperial did provide some great new angles of the canyon, but will be remembered for the clouds that morning and the burnt forest nearby.  The skyline of the Grand Canyon always seemed to be a mix of briskly moving clouds of either the peaceful-white cloud variety or the dark-grey death cloud variety.  That morning, we could see grey rain clouds right at our level, and they were moving so fast, we could see them climbing over the walls of the canyon.  Many of the parks we visited are also home or nearby managed forest lands.  Managed seems to mean burned at regular intervals.  We had seen many burnt out forests on the drive in (it wasn’t a good sign) but now we were able to see one more up-close since it was visible next to the parking lot.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-277\" title=\"IMG_0061\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-278\" title=\"IMG_0066\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe drive back up the path to Cape Royal was definitely better today than it was yesterday.  We stopped at the “Greenland Lake,” which wasn’t that impressive a site, but apparently is of geologic interest as a sinkhole according to the information placard.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-279\" title=\"IMG_0073\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-280\" title=\"IMG_0076\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe also stopped at the overlooks that we had skipped previously on the way down.  Again, there were some nice views of the canyon from different angles, but nothing particular new.  We made it to the summit again, but the rain clouds were already there to meet us.  We watched the rain, hail, and lightning storm from the car, both because it was neat to watch and because it was too misty to drive down safely.  We were definitely glad we didn’t go on the mule ride.  The storm eventually lessened (these giant storms come and go and don’t seem to last more than an hour) and we went back to our hangout at the General Store (we were glad they weren’t charging rent to us, and the many others who were taking refuge / loitering there).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-281\" title=\"IMG_0097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nSpace was at a premium at the store for tables and internet, but there wasn’t much else to do (there was little to no cell service) and we were committed to working on the blog.  What should have taken less than an hour in normal circumstances, took several hours and the rest of the day at the store.  The WiFi was fast at times, but most of the time, the signal would fluctuate between 0 and 4 bars, usually towards the lower end.  We kept our patience though and got done as much as we could.\n\nWe took a break for dinner around 6:30 and decided to make our last two <a href=\"http://www.heatermeals.com/\" target=\"_blank\">ready-heat meals</a> and eat in the car since the weather was still unpleasant.  Dad had the pepper-steak and rice and I had the vegetarian lasagna.  We joked while we ate about the context that these were intended for, e.g. let’s see what spices we’ll have while we wait out the apocalypse in our bomb shelter.\n\nAfter dinner, I took a nice hot shower while Dad worked on the computer until the General Store closed at 8.  Bored and tired, we went to bed early that night, anxious to leave, pickup my camera in Flagstaff, and enjoy Sedona.\n\nOverall, I’m glad we came to the Grand Canyon, but several things could have been better.  The Grand Canyon is viscerally and geologically impressive, but aesthetically, the canyon’s we’d seen earlier at Zion and Yellowstone, were better.  The Grand Canyon in some ways suffers from what makes it great:  it’s just too big.  We couldn’t really see or get to the floor to fully experience its depth, the rock walls are mostly the same color and texture without much diversity or spectrum, and the walls are more like steep hills rather than sheer drops.  I also wasn’t aware of the weather patterns at the Grand Canyon.  For obvious reasons, the pictures I’d seen of the canyon have been of a warm, clear, sunny day, and so I figured storms like that which we experienced were rare, as opposed to the norm.  The weather did not make for an enjoyable stay at the canyon or the campground.  Also, I figured the North Rim would have a tourist town around it, but it is rather isolated and the people and amenities at the park left things to be desired.    Our desire to see the Grand Canyon though was fulfilled and did lead to many great stories and shared experiences with my Dad, so in the final sum, I’m glad we went.  Your experiences, results and reactions may vary.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5654995807545767889%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" 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(294, 2, '2011-09-22 14:43:39', '2011-09-22 14:43:39', 'Start:  Zion National Park, UT\nDestination:  Grand Canyon - North Rim, AZ\nOdometer: 105,719 (start)  105,976 (end) - 257 miles\nDate:  Sunday, September 11 - 12, 2011\n\nOur great experience at Zion left us excited to the see the most famous canyon in the world:  The Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, this ended up being the least enjoyable stop on the trip.\n\nThe day started with a nice drive featuring red rock mesas and nice cloud formations, but quickly turned on a bad note right upon entry to Arizona in the town of Fredonia.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-263\" title=\"100_2851\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-264\" title=\"100_2853\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2858.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-288\" title=\"100_2858\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2858-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nFredonia is a small town right over the border into Arizona and styles itself as the “Gateway to the North Rim (of the Grand Canyon).\"  Not having the Grand Canyon however, it seems they still profit from the tourists in at least one way:  speeding tickets.  The main road is part of a highway, and so many people, including myself, didn’t notice that the speed limit was dropped to 35 at some point.  Sure enough, the white SUV that was the only other car on the road at that early hour, going the opposite direction, passed us, made a sharp U-turn, hit the lights, and pulled us over.  Seems I was going 55 in a 35 mph zone.  The officer dropped it to 45, but I was still stuck with both a ticket for $118 and the annoyance/sense of violation of being stopped and fined for a victimless offense (BTW, I recommend people join the <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org\" target=\"_blank\">National Motorists Association</a>, which, amongst other member benefits, has a <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org/traffic-justice/\" target=\"_blank\">program</a> that will cover up to $300 for a ticket if you fight it and lose).  I also learned a few days later when I called Fredonia about the ticket that it seems any speeding ticket in Arizona comes with an automatic 3 points, and that would transfer to Maryland.  Fortunately, I called Allstate and learned they don’t re-check for tickets when renewing their auto-insurance policies each 6 months, so I guess I’ll be staying with them for the next three years (as I was planning to anyway).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-265\" title=\"100_2848\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-266\" title=\"100_2849\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn addition to what I think is a fairly unique/annoying traffic point policy, Arizona also stands out for not following daylight savings time.  As such, for 6 months of the year, they are one hour behind all the other Mountain Time states.  We became aware of this when we saw the ticket was written for 7am, while our clocks said 8am.  It would have been considerate for Arizona to have declared this idiosyncratic time policy to their welcome signage.\n\nThe trip to the Grand Canyon was not without its good turn-of-events.  My cell phone’s battery had died earlier in the trip and when I plugged it in to charge through the USB cable connected to my laptop, nothing would happen.  The lights stayed off and it wouldn’t turn on.  In the past, I could take the battery out and put it back in, and somehow there’d be enough charge left for it to startup, at which point I could plug-in the phone to the laptop and it would charge.  This also wasn’t working.  It occurred to me that morning though that the physical power conducting lines should be connected when connected, so perhaps it’s just a software issue that the phone doesn’t indicate that it’s charging.  As such, I decided to connect the phone, and just leave it potentially charging for the ride.  Sure enough, when we arrived, I habitually picked up the phone to turn it on, and voila, the phone was good as new, as if nothing had happened.  Unfortunately, it would seem that the balance would have be restored for this bit of good fortune.\n\nWe arrived to the North Rim a little after 9am (Arizona time) and went from one poor customer service experience to the next.  First, we arrived at the entrance gate and were greeted by a gruff ranger who at a minimum, was not excited to see us.  This is in contrast to the other rangers at park entrances who have greeted us with smiles, gave us the park map and newspaper with a friendly attitude, and genuinely made us feel welcome.\n\nNext, we pulled into the gas station because we wanted to check the tire pressure and perhaps add air.  In addition to learning from the attendant that a horrendous storm had passed through the camp last night and that the camp had WiFi, we ended up paying $2 for him to check and add air to the tires - the cost is $1.35 but no change was given/offered for the $2 proffered.  I get that it’s a gas station that targets tourists, but really, let us fill our own tires for free/50 cents or do it for free as part of being welcoming and good customer service.\n\nA little bit down the road after the station we saw the campground registration desk.  Our registration receipt said that registration wasn’t until 11am, but we saw that someone had pulled up and there was an attendant at the desk.  As such, we pulled up as well, Dad got out of the car, noted in a friendly manner that she was there early, that we didn’t expect anyone to be there until 11am, and jokingly asked if she was open to handle reservation check-ins.   The reply to the question, in a serious voice and face:  “Sir, you’re blocking the way, you’ll have to park over there.”  Now, this registration area is its own section of the entrance, with its own parking lot, which was empty, and no one was coming or going.  Again, I get that it’s the start of the workday and sure, under normal circumstances, we would have and should have parked in a proper parking space instead of the curb in front of her teller window, but you’d think the person staffing the face of the park campground would have a friendly enough personality to react with something like “Yup, I’m open.  I’d be glad to check you in, but can you please park your car in a space first.”\n\nWe also had less than desirable experiences at the general store and the deli.  The General Store was adequately stocked, though with price markups corresponding to the fact that they are the only town and store within about 60 miles - and that’s to Jacob Lake, which is mainly basically a forest.  The main thing that stood out was the lack of eye contact, cliquish personality, and curtness.  Even when making a point to say hello, goodbye, or generally talk with the staff, they’d always be looking at something else (this wasn’t just with us).  The staff seems more interested in talking with themselves, and the customers just happen to be there.  And when I happened to queue up at what I thought was an open register that had a clerk behind it, a nearby staff person who I think might have been a manager, curtly pointed to a sign out of my view saying that register was closed and I had to go across the store.  Okay, you’re working at a store isolated in the woods where the weather seems to be rather dreary and the main/only community are co-workers, but that’s no excuse to be rude and dismissive to your customers.\n\nRegarding the deli, it had many of the same issues as the general store.  As we’ll get to later, the weather was such that cooking was not to be recommended, so Dad suggested we check out the restaurants at the Lodge.  The main Lodge restaurant was too overpriced for us to justify, so we went to the deli next door in the complex (again, these are the only places to eat within 90 minutes of the park).  The deli wasn’t inexpensive, but it was reasonable given the circumstances.  I was going to get a hot portobello mushroom sandwich and Dad would get some hot dogs.  That was the plan until I noticed that the “hot sandwiches” they offer are simply microwaved.   There isn’t a toaster.  It’s hard enough making a good mushroom sandwich, and microwaving is not a good sign.  We reconsidered and ended up deciding on sharing a 3-cheese pizza.  Now, we were kinda hungry and I wasn’t inclined to wait for the pizza to cook.  I saw that the per-slice display case had a whole cheese pizza, from which no one had yet ordered.  I inquired/requested that we just be served that one, but was told they could only sell us that one at over $3/slice.  They were unmoved when I criticized that policy, so we resigned ourselves to wait.  The staff at the counter at least made eye-contact and were somewhat personable, but I think the appropriate thing to have done here would have been to ask the manager if an exception could be made in this case (I’d think selling an already made pizza that had been sitting around for a bit and wasn’t selling would be an attractive proposition for them.)  We were then told they’d bring it out to our table, and we could pay at the register and get our drinks now.  After processing a few customers before us, Dad’s card was swiped and in the process, the point-of-sale (POS - funny what that acronym also stands for) computer crashed.  Great.  The manager came over, handled the restart, criticized the frequency of the system going down, and was disinterested in making small chat with my Dad during the wait about his son / my brother also being in the restaurant business and the complaints he’s had regarding the POS systems at his restaurants.  On the up side, the card eventually went through, the pizza was delivered to our table as promised, and was good.\n\nOn reflection, the best customer service was by the private concession at the Lodge for the mule rides down the Grand Canyon.  Dad really wanted to see the Colorado River, but the guide was upfront that his tour wouldn’t be what he was looking for, and directed us to the appropriate drive from which the river could be seen.  We didn’t make use of his services, but the guy was friendly and helpful, so we’ll recommend that if you still go to the North Rim after reading this blog, consider patronizing his mule rides.\n\nOK, enough about the them, and back to us and the sites.  The campground itself was nice, our campsite was right across from the bathroom, and Dad used the laundry facility without issue.  We also saw a new type of squirrel:  one with dark fur and a bright white tail.  We put the campsite in order and started our tour of the Grand Canyon.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-268\" title=\"100_2865\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nOur first stop was the visitor center, but on the way we stopped to have brunch at some picnic tables overlooking the canyon.  We could see there was a long way down from where we were looking, but the view was partially blocked by trees, so we continued down the road, past the visitor center, until we came to a clear overlook and a path leading to further viewpoints.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-269\" title=\"100_2886\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe size of the Grand Canyon immediately hit us with awe.  It is huge in all directions:  deep, wide, and long.  One really doesn’t know where to start, so we started with just taking in the breadth of the canyon.\n\nIt should be pointed out that the Grand Canyon is a collection of canyons.  We’re not sure if this is technically true, but from our perspective it is.  While there is one giant hole in the ground, there are so many canyon nooks, each deep, wide, and amazing in its own right.  Moreover, because the Grand Canyon is so big, the scenes and stops are better understood as viewing points to a few of these nooks, rather than a location where one can view the entirety of the Grand Canyon.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-270\" title=\"100_2881\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nDespite the grandeur that was before us, we still wanted more, namely, to see the Colorado River running along the bottom of the canyon.  As my Dad put it, it’s not a canyon scene if you can’t see the river running along the floor.  The views from nearby the visitor center did not provide this opportunity, so we decided to drive up to the two main viewpoints:  cape royal and port imperial.  The road to Port Imperial turned out to be closed that day, so we went to Cape Royal.\n\nThe road to Cape Royal is a nice, winding road of about 23 miles (without buffaloes).  There are a few stop offs on the way, but the real stop is at the top.  Once at the top, there is a large parking lot and then a hike of about half a mile through wonderfully fragrant flowers and what we think were spice plants.  The view from Cape Royal is truly grand.  You cannot look out at what is before you and not feel the immensity and uniqueness of what has been created.  In addition, we were able to see a section of the Colorado River from the viewing perch.  We’d later learn that the section of the Colorado River and the bit of land near it was the site of many archaeological finds.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-271\" title=\"100_2913\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nOur stay at Cape Royal also introduced us to the rapidly changing weather patterns of the canyon.  The clouds at the top of the canyon were great, as were the views and wide, colorful vistas that showed the height variations and variety of the canyon better than our view from the visitor center.  It was neat being at or above the clouds and seeing them move and change.  Indeed, when we arrived, it was a bright clear day, but while we were at the end of the trail, a distance from the car,  the storm clouds had formed/rolled in and the rain was starting.  Rather than waiting for the full rain to arrive, we double-timed it back to the car.  Moments after reaching our car, the cloud opened up.  Along with strong rain, there was lightning, hail, fallen rocks in the road, and a fog/mist/cloud that filled the canyon.  We never felt at risk, but were concerned about the tent.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-272\" title=\"100_2949\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-273\" title=\"100_2951\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-274\" title=\"100_2952\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived safely back at the campsite to find the tent upright and seemingly in good shape.  I went inside to check for leakage, and only found a few drops on the floor.  I wasn’t sure where they came from until I looked up and saw that a pool of water had formed at the top of the tent.  I’m not sure if this is a design feature, a flaw, or the result of something we did or did not do (the lantern did not depress the top further than it would have been without it).  We were able to push out from the inside and drain the water off the top, but I was concerned about what would have happened if the rain had continued longer and the pool grew larger.  Feeling no harm no foul however, our esteem for the tent was not reduced and we went on with our day.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-276\" title=\"100_2954\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe next adventure occurred a few minutes later.  I decided that before we head out to the General Store to wait out the weather and hangout I’d go to the bathroom by the campsite.  I was getting my things together from the car and put my camera in the side pocket of my orange hooded-sweat-jacket.  I had thought at the time that it was not a great place for the camera because it could fall out, but figured I was just going to the bathroom, no problem.  Well, there was a problem.  As I was standing up after doing my business, the camera fell out of the pocket and into the toilet!  I immediately pulled it out of the water and used some toilet paper to dry off the outside.  This camera had been through some bad conditions before, so I thought it might have survived this dowsing.  I tried to turn it on, but got nothing.  I recalled that the battery was just about dead, so I took it to the car, plugged it in, and tried again.  No luck.  More drastic measures would be needed in the car.  I got out my mini-screwdriver set, unscrewed the incredibly small screws securing the case and protecting the inside electronics.  I tried drying the insides off manually, but with little effect.  I’d need something better:  a hand dryer.  I recalled that the bathroom by the visitor center had hand driers, so we raced there, I stopped the car in a no-parking zone in front of it while my Dad stayed with the car, and I rushed the camera to the bathroom/emergency room for its potentially life-saving procedure.   After what was at least 10 minutes of drying, I felt the hand drier had been able to do whatever it was going to be able to do to help the situation.  I returned to the car, Dad reinserted the screws, I plugged the camera in, and hit the on button:  nothing.\n\nI have had this camera, a <a href=\"http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/V530_Zoom_Digital_Camera/productID.146589200\" target=\"_blank\">Kodak EasyShare V530</a> , since 2005 and we’ve been on many adventures together.  I think I got it for my trip to Israel to replace the last camera I’d had since around 2000.  Now, I knew this camera would eventually have to be replaced and that it had power management issues (I was thinking of getting a new camera for this trip but just decided to buy a new battery), but this is not how I wanted it to go.  Like a valiant soldier getting killed while back-home by a drunk driver, this camera deserved a better end.  I more expected to lose the camera in action by dropping it down a canyon as a tried to get a cool picture.  But alas, here we were.  I had been careless with it one time too many and it finally cost it its functionality.  Let this be a wake-up call to all of you:  appreciate the time you have with your technology and be careful with it.  They deserve a better death than drowning in a toilet bowl.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-289\" title=\"0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"200\" /></a>\n\nI had to move beyond the guilt however and deal with the resulting problem:  how to take pictures.  For the short term, we realized we could fall back to my Dad’s iPhone, which he’d been using when he wanted there to be some pictures from our Saturday hikes.  It could take pictures and movies, but the quality was not what we wanted for the rest of the trip.  We thought about going to a nearby town, but that was scratched when, as mentioned before, we learned that Page, AZ is at least 90 minutes away.  We therefore decided to go where we had intended in the first place:  the general store to use the internet.  I’ll spare you the details of the search process, communications, and logistical issues that arose, but we eventually settled on a CraigsList offer for a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Digimax-A7-Digital-Optical/dp/B00092RTXK\" target=\"_blank\">Samsung Digimax A7</a> in Flagstaff, AZ, which we’d be driving through after leaving the Grand Canyon on our way to Sedona.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-290\" title=\"51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nBy this time, it was getting close to evening and the weather was still cold and damp, with rain a possibility, so Dad suggested we have dinner at one of the campground eateries.  As mentioned earlier, the Lodge restaurant was expensive, so we went to the deli and ended up having a three-cheese pizza.  We used the internet for a bit at the general store again and then went to bed, hoping that the weather would be better tomorrow.\n\nThe next morning was still cold and damp, so we went to the General Store and I worked on the blog until late that morning, when the weather had improved.    Our plan that day was to go back up to the top of the canyon and see if we could see what we were unable to see yesterday due to the weather.  Well, on the way up, we saw some good news:  the road to Port Imperial was open.  We took the road and were curious what new scenes would be available at the port.\n\nPort Imperial did provide some great new angles of the canyon, but will be remembered for the clouds that morning and the burnt forest nearby.  The skyline of the Grand Canyon always seemed to be a mix of briskly moving clouds of either the peaceful-white cloud variety or the dark-grey death cloud variety.  That morning, we could see grey rain clouds right at our level, and they were moving so fast, we could see them climbing over the walls of the canyon.  Many of the parks we visited are also home or nearby managed forest lands.  Managed seems to mean burned at regular intervals.  We had seen many burnt out forests on the drive in (it wasn’t a good sign) but now we were able to see one more up-close since it was visible next to the parking lot.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-277\" title=\"IMG_0061\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-278\" title=\"IMG_0066\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe drive back up the path to Cape Royal was definitely better today than it was yesterday.  We stopped at the “Greenland Lake,” which wasn’t that impressive a site, but apparently is of geologic interest as a sinkhole according to the information placard.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-279\" title=\"IMG_0073\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-280\" title=\"IMG_0076\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe also stopped at the overlooks that we had skipped previously on the way down.  Again, there were some nice views of the canyon from different angles, but nothing particular new.  We made it to the summit again, but the rain clouds were already there to meet us.  We watched the rain, hail, and lightning storm from the car, both because it was neat to watch and because it was too misty to drive down safely.  We were definitely glad we didn’t go on the mule ride.  The storm eventually lessened (these giant storms come and go and don’t seem to last more than an hour) and we went back to our hangout at the General Store (we were glad they weren’t charging rent to us, and the many others who were taking refuge / loitering there).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-281\" title=\"IMG_0097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0095.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-292\" title=\"IMG_0095\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0095-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nSpace was at a premium at the store for tables and internet, but there wasn’t much else to do (there was little to no cell service) and we were committed to working on the blog.  What should have taken less than an hour in normal circumstances, took several hours and the rest of the day at the store.  The WiFi was fast at times, but most of the time, the signal would fluctuate between 0 and 4 bars, usually towards the lower end.  We kept our patience though and got done as much as we could.\n\nWe took a break for dinner around 6:30 and decided to make our last two <a href=\"http://www.heatermeals.com/\" target=\"_blank\">ready-heat meals</a> and eat in the car since the weather was still unpleasant.  Dad had the pepper-steak and rice and I had the vegetarian lasagna.  We joked while we ate about the context that these were intended for, e.g. let’s see what spices we’ll have while we wait out the apocalypse in our bomb shelter.\n\nAfter dinner, I took a nice hot shower while Dad worked on the computer until the General Store closed at 8.  Bored and tired, we went to bed early that night, anxious to leave, pickup my camera in Flagstaff, and enjoy Sedona.\n\nOverall, I’m glad we came to the Grand Canyon, but several things could have been better.  The Grand Canyon is viscerally and geologically impressive, but aesthetically, the canyon’s we’d seen earlier at Zion and Yellowstone, were better.  The Grand Canyon in some ways suffers from what makes it great:  it’s just too big.  We couldn’t really see or get to the floor to fully experience its depth, the rock walls are mostly the same color and texture without much diversity or spectrum, and the walls are more like steep hills rather than sheer drops.  I also wasn’t aware of the weather patterns at the Grand Canyon.  For obvious reasons, the pictures I’d seen of the canyon have been of a warm, clear, sunny day, and so I figured storms like that which we experienced were rare, as opposed to the norm.  The weather did not make for an enjoyable stay at the canyon or the campground.  Also, I figured the North Rim would have a tourist town around it, but it is rather isolated and the people and amenities at the park left things to be desired.    Our desire to see the Grand Canyon though was fulfilled and did lead to many great stories and shared experiences with my Dad, so in the final sum, I’m glad we went.  Your experiences, results and reactions may vary.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5654995807545767889%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param 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(295, 2, '2011-09-22 14:43:53', '2011-09-22 14:43:53', 'Start:  Zion National Park, UT\r\nDestination:  Grand Canyon - North Rim, AZ\r\nOdometer: 105,719 (start)  105,976 (end) - 257 miles\r\nDate:  Sunday, September 11 - 12, 2011\r\n\r\nOur great experience at Zion left us excited to the see the most famous canyon in the world:  The Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, this ended up being the least enjoyable stop on the trip.\r\n\r\nThe day started with a nice drive featuring red rock mesas and nice cloud formations, but quickly turned on a bad note right upon entry to Arizona in the town of Fredonia.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-263\" title=\"100_2851\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2851-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-264\" title=\"100_2853\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2853-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2858.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-288\" title=\"100_2858\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2858-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nFredonia is a small town right over the border into Arizona and styles itself as the “Gateway to the North Rim (of the Grand Canyon).\"  Not having the Grand Canyon however, it seems they still profit from the tourists in at least one way:  speeding tickets.  The main road is part of a highway, and so many people, including myself, didn’t notice that the speed limit was dropped to 35 at some point.  Sure enough, the white SUV that was the only other car on the road at that early hour, going the opposite direction, passed us, made a sharp U-turn, hit the lights, and pulled us over.  Seems I was going 55 in a 35 mph zone.  The officer dropped it to 45, but I was still stuck with both a ticket for $118 and the annoyance/sense of violation of being stopped and fined for a victimless offense (BTW, I recommend people join the <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org\" target=\"_blank\">National Motorists Association</a>, which, amongst other member benefits, has a <a href=\"http://www.motorists.org/traffic-justice/\" target=\"_blank\">program</a> that will cover up to $300 for a ticket if you fight it and lose).  I also learned a few days later when I called Fredonia about the ticket that it seems any speeding ticket in Arizona comes with an automatic 3 points, and that would transfer to Maryland.  Fortunately, I called Allstate and learned they don’t re-check for tickets when renewing their auto-insurance policies each 6 months, so I guess I’ll be staying with them for the next three years (as I was planning to anyway).\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-265\" title=\"100_2848\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2848-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-266\" title=\"100_2849\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2849-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn addition to what I think is a fairly unique/annoying traffic point policy, Arizona also stands out for not following daylight savings time.  As such, for 6 months of the year, they are one hour behind all the other Mountain Time states.  We became aware of this when we saw the ticket was written for 7am, while our clocks said 8am.  It would have been considerate for Arizona to have declared this idiosyncratic time policy to their welcome signage.\r\n\r\nThe trip to the Grand Canyon was not without its good turn-of-events.  My cell phone’s battery had died earlier in the trip and when I plugged it in to charge through the USB cable connected to my laptop, nothing would happen.  The lights stayed off and it wouldn’t turn on.  In the past, I could take the battery out and put it back in, and somehow there’d be enough charge left for it to startup, at which point I could plug-in the phone to the laptop and it would charge.  This also wasn’t working.  It occurred to me that morning though that the physical power conducting lines should be connected when connected, so perhaps it’s just a software issue that the phone doesn’t indicate that it’s charging.  As such, I decided to connect the phone, and just leave it potentially charging for the ride.  Sure enough, when we arrived, I habitually picked up the phone to turn it on, and voila, the phone was good as new, as if nothing had happened.  Unfortunately, it would seem that the balance would have be restored for this bit of good fortune.\r\n\r\nWe arrived to the North Rim a little after 9am (Arizona time) and went from one poor customer service experience to the next.  First, we arrived at the entrance gate and were greeted by a gruff ranger who at a minimum, was not excited to see us.  This is in contrast to the other rangers at park entrances who have greeted us with smiles, gave us the park map and newspaper with a friendly attitude, and genuinely made us feel welcome.\r\n\r\nNext, we pulled into the gas station because we wanted to check the tire pressure and perhaps add air.  In addition to learning from the attendant that a horrendous storm had passed through the camp last night and that the camp had WiFi, we ended up paying $2 for him to check and add air to the tires - the cost is $1.35 but no change was given/offered for the $2 proffered.  I get that it’s a gas station that targets tourists, but really, let us fill our own tires for free/50 cents or do it for free as part of being welcoming and good customer service.\r\n\r\nA little bit down the road after the station we saw the campground registration desk.  Our registration receipt said that registration wasn’t until 11am, but we saw that someone had pulled up and there was an attendant at the desk.  As such, we pulled up as well, Dad got out of the car, noted in a friendly manner that she was there early, that we didn’t expect anyone to be there until 11am, and jokingly asked if she was open to handle reservation check-ins.   The reply to the question, in a serious voice and face:  “Sir, you’re blocking the way, you’ll have to park over there.”  Now, this registration area is its own section of the entrance, with its own parking lot, which was empty, and no one was coming or going.  Again, I get that it’s the start of the workday and sure, under normal circumstances, we would have and should have parked in a proper parking space instead of the curb in front of her teller window, but you’d think the person staffing the face of the park campground would have a friendly enough personality to react with something like “Yup, I’m open.  I’d be glad to check you in, but can you please park your car in a space first.”\r\n\r\nWe also had less than desirable experiences at the general store and the deli.  The General Store was adequately stocked, though with price markups corresponding to the fact that they are the only town and store within about 60 miles - and that’s to Jacob Lake, which is mainly basically a forest.  The main thing that stood out was the lack of eye contact, cliquish personality, and curtness.  Even when making a point to say hello, goodbye, or generally talk with the staff, they’d always be looking at something else (this wasn’t just with us).  The staff seems more interested in talking with themselves, and the customers just happen to be there.  And when I happened to queue up at what I thought was an open register that had a clerk behind it, a nearby staff person who I think might have been a manager, curtly pointed to a sign out of my view saying that register was closed and I had to go across the store.  Okay, you’re working at a store isolated in the woods where the weather seems to be rather dreary and the main/only community are co-workers, but that’s no excuse to be rude and dismissive to your customers.\r\n\r\nRegarding the deli, it had many of the same issues as the general store.  As we’ll get to later, the weather was such that cooking was not to be recommended, so Dad suggested we check out the restaurants at the Lodge.  The main Lodge restaurant was too overpriced for us to justify, so we went to the deli next door in the complex (again, these are the only places to eat within 90 minutes of the park).  The deli wasn’t inexpensive, but it was reasonable given the circumstances.  I was going to get a hot portobello mushroom sandwich and Dad would get some hot dogs.  That was the plan until I noticed that the “hot sandwiches” they offer are simply microwaved.   There isn’t a toaster.  It’s hard enough making a good mushroom sandwich, and microwaving is not a good sign.  We reconsidered and ended up deciding on sharing a 3-cheese pizza.  Now, we were kinda hungry and I wasn’t inclined to wait for the pizza to cook.  I saw that the per-slice display case had a whole cheese pizza, from which no one had yet ordered.  I inquired/requested that we just be served that one, but was told they could only sell us that one at over $3/slice.  They were unmoved when I criticized that policy, so we resigned ourselves to wait.  The staff at the counter at least made eye-contact and were somewhat personable, but I think the appropriate thing to have done here would have been to ask the manager if an exception could be made in this case (I’d think selling an already made pizza that had been sitting around for a bit and wasn’t selling would be an attractive proposition for them.)  We were then told they’d bring it out to our table, and we could pay at the register and get our drinks now.  After processing a few customers before us, Dad’s card was swiped and in the process, the point-of-sale (POS - funny what that acronym also stands for) computer crashed.  Great.  The manager came over, handled the restart, criticized the frequency of the system going down, and was disinterested in making small chat with my Dad during the wait about his son / my brother also being in the restaurant business and the complaints he’s had regarding the POS systems at his restaurants.  On the up side, the card eventually went through, the pizza was delivered to our table as promised, and was good.\r\n\r\nOn reflection, the best customer service was by the private concession at the Lodge for the mule rides down the Grand Canyon.  Dad really wanted to see the Colorado River, but the guide was upfront that his tour wouldn’t be what he was looking for, and directed us to the appropriate drive from which the river could be seen.  We didn’t make use of his services, but the guy was friendly and helpful, so we’ll recommend that if you still go to the North Rim after reading this blog, consider patronizing his mule rides.\r\n\r\nOK, enough about the them, and back to us and the sites.  The campground itself was nice, our campsite was right across from the bathroom, and Dad used the laundry facility without issue.  We also saw a new type of squirrel:  one with dark fur and a bright white tail.  We put the campsite in order and started our tour of the Grand Canyon.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-268\" title=\"100_2865\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2865-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOur first stop was the visitor center, but on the way we stopped to have brunch at some picnic tables overlooking the canyon.  We could see there was a long way down from where we were looking, but the view was partially blocked by trees, so we continued down the road, past the visitor center, until we came to a clear overlook and a path leading to further viewpoints.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-269\" title=\"100_2886\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2886-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe size of the Grand Canyon immediately hit us with awe.  It is huge in all directions:  deep, wide, and long.  One really doesn’t know where to start, so we started with just taking in the breadth of the canyon.\r\n\r\nIt should be pointed out that the Grand Canyon is a collection of canyons.  We’re not sure if this is technically true, but from our perspective it is.  While there is one giant hole in the ground, there are so many canyon nooks, each deep, wide, and amazing in its own right.  Moreover, because the Grand Canyon is so big, the scenes and stops are better understood as viewing points to a few of these nooks, rather than a location where one can view the entirety of the Grand Canyon.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-270\" title=\"100_2881\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2881-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nDespite the grandeur that was before us, we still wanted more, namely, to see the Colorado River running along the bottom of the canyon.  As my Dad put it, it’s not a canyon scene if you can’t see the river running along the floor.  The views from nearby the visitor center did not provide this opportunity, so we decided to drive up to the two main viewpoints:  cape royal and port imperial.  The road to Port Imperial turned out to be closed that day, so we went to Cape Royal.\r\n\r\nThe road to Cape Royal is a nice, winding road of about 23 miles (without buffaloes).  There are a few stop offs on the way, but the real stop is at the top.  Once at the top, there is a large parking lot and then a hike of about half a mile through wonderfully fragrant flowers and what we think were spice plants.  The view from Cape Royal is truly grand.  You cannot look out at what is before you and not feel the immensity and uniqueness of what has been created.  In addition, we were able to see a section of the Colorado River from the viewing perch.  We’d later learn that the section of the Colorado River and the bit of land near it was the site of many archaeological finds.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-271\" title=\"100_2913\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2913-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOur stay at Cape Royal also introduced us to the rapidly changing weather patterns of the canyon.  The clouds at the top of the canyon were great, as were the views and wide, colorful vistas that showed the height variations and variety of the canyon better than our view from the visitor center.  It was neat being at or above the clouds and seeing them move and change.  Indeed, when we arrived, it was a bright clear day, but while we were at the end of the trail, a distance from the car,  the storm clouds had formed/rolled in and the rain was starting.  Rather than waiting for the full rain to arrive, we double-timed it back to the car.  Moments after reaching our car, the cloud opened up.  Along with strong rain, there was lightning, hail, fallen rocks in the road, and a fog/mist/cloud that filled the canyon.  We never felt at risk, but were concerned about the tent.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-272\" title=\"100_2949\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2949-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-273\" title=\"100_2951\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2951-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-274\" title=\"100_2952\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2952-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe arrived safely back at the campsite to find the tent upright and seemingly in good shape.  I went inside to check for leakage, and only found a few drops on the floor.  I wasn’t sure where they came from until I looked up and saw that a pool of water had formed at the top of the tent.  I’m not sure if this is a design feature, a flaw, or the result of something we did or did not do (the lantern did not depress the top further than it would have been without it).  We were able to push out from the inside and drain the water off the top, but I was concerned about what would have happened if the rain had continued longer and the pool grew larger.  Feeling no harm no foul however, our esteem for the tent was not reduced and we went on with our day.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-276\" title=\"100_2954\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2954-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe next adventure occurred a few minutes later.  I decided that before we head out to the General Store to wait out the weather and hangout I’d go to the bathroom by the campsite.  I was getting my things together from the car and put my camera in the side pocket of my orange hooded-sweat-jacket.  I had thought at the time that it was not a great place for the camera because it could fall out, but figured I was just going to the bathroom, no problem.  Well, there was a problem.  As I was standing up after doing my business, the camera fell out of the pocket and into the toilet!  I immediately pulled it out of the water and used some toilet paper to dry off the outside.  This camera had been through some bad conditions before, so I thought it might have survived this dowsing.  I tried to turn it on, but got nothing.  I recalled that the battery was just about dead, so I took it to the car, plugged it in, and tried again.  No luck.  More drastic measures would be needed in the car.  I got out my mini-screwdriver set, unscrewed the incredibly small screws securing the case and protecting the inside electronics.  I tried drying the insides off manually, but with little effect.  I’d need something better:  a hand dryer.  I recalled that the bathroom by the visitor center had hand driers, so we raced there, I stopped the car in a no-parking zone in front of it while my Dad stayed with the car, and I rushed the camera to the bathroom/emergency room for its potentially life-saving procedure.   After what was at least 10 minutes of drying, I felt the hand drier had been able to do whatever it was going to be able to do to help the situation.  I returned to the car, Dad reinserted the screws, I plugged the camera in, and hit the on button:  nothing.\r\n\r\nI have had this camera, a <a href=\"http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/V530_Zoom_Digital_Camera/productID.146589200\" target=\"_blank\">Kodak EasyShare V530</a> , since 2005 and we’ve been on many adventures together.  I think I got it for my trip to Israel to replace the last camera I’d had since around 2000.  Now, I knew this camera would eventually have to be replaced and that it had power management issues (I was thinking of getting a new camera for this trip but just decided to buy a new battery), but this is not how I wanted it to go.  Like a valiant soldier getting killed while back-home by a drunk driver, this camera deserved a better end.  I more expected to lose the camera in action by dropping it down a canyon as a tried to get a cool picture.  But alas, here we were.  I had been careless with it one time too many and it finally cost it its functionality.  Let this be a wake-up call to all of you:  appreciate the time you have with your technology and be careful with it.  They deserve a better death than drowning in a toilet bowl.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-289\" title=\"0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/0900688a80b87b14_EKN030431_V530_gray_250x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI had to move beyond the guilt however and deal with the resulting problem:  how to take pictures.  For the short term, we realized we could fall back to my Dad’s iPhone, which he’d been using when he wanted there to be some pictures from our Saturday hikes.  It could take pictures and movies, but the quality was not what we wanted for the rest of the trip.  We thought about going to a nearby town, but that was scratched when, as mentioned before, we learned that Page, AZ is at least 90 minutes away.  We therefore decided to go where we had intended in the first place:  the general store to use the internet.  I’ll spare you the details of the search process, communications, and logistical issues that arose, but we eventually settled on a CraigsList offer for a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Digimax-A7-Digital-Optical/dp/B00092RTXK\" target=\"_blank\">Samsung Digimax A7</a> in Flagstaff, AZ, which we’d be driving through after leaving the Grand Canyon on our way to Sedona.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-290\" title=\"51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/51H7XY60N5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nBy this time, it was getting close to evening and the weather was still cold and damp, with rain a possibility, so Dad suggested we have dinner at one of the campground eateries.  As mentioned earlier, the Lodge restaurant was expensive, so we went to the deli and ended up having a three-cheese pizza.  We used the internet for a bit at the general store again and then went to bed, hoping that the weather would be better tomorrow.\r\n\r\nThe next morning was still cold and damp, so we went to the General Store and I worked on the blog until late that morning, when the weather had improved.    Our plan that day was to go back up to the top of the canyon and see if we could see what we were unable to see yesterday due to the weather.  Well, on the way up, we saw some good news:  the road to Port Imperial was open.  We took the road and were curious what new scenes would be available at the port.\r\n\r\nPort Imperial did provide some great new angles of the canyon, but will be remembered for the clouds that morning and the burnt forest nearby.  The skyline of the Grand Canyon always seemed to be a mix of briskly moving clouds of either the peaceful-white cloud variety or the dark-grey death cloud variety.  That morning, we could see grey rain clouds right at our level, and they were moving so fast, we could see them climbing over the walls of the canyon.  Many of the parks we visited are also home or nearby managed forest lands.  Managed seems to mean burned at regular intervals.  We had seen many burnt out forests on the drive in (it wasn’t a good sign) but now we were able to see one more up-close since it was visible next to the parking lot.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-277\" title=\"IMG_0061\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0061-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-278\" title=\"IMG_0066\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0066-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe drive back up the path to Cape Royal was definitely better today than it was yesterday.  We stopped at the “Greenland Lake,” which wasn’t that impressive a site, but apparently is of geologic interest as a sinkhole according to the information placard.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-279\" title=\"IMG_0073\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0073-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-280\" title=\"IMG_0076\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0076-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe also stopped at the overlooks that we had skipped previously on the way down.  Again, there were some nice views of the canyon from different angles, but nothing particular new.  We made it to the summit again, but the rain clouds were already there to meet us.  We watched the rain, hail, and lightning storm from the car, both because it was neat to watch and because it was too misty to drive down safely.  We were definitely glad we didn’t go on the mule ride.  The storm eventually lessened (these giant storms come and go and don’t seem to last more than an hour) and we went back to our hangout at the General Store (we were glad they weren’t charging rent to us, and the many others who were taking refuge / loitering there).\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-281\" title=\"IMG_0097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0097-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0095.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-292\" title=\"IMG_0095\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0095-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\nSpace was at a premium at the store for tables and internet, but there wasn’t much else to do (there was little to no cell service) and we were committed to working on the blog.  What should have taken less than an hour in normal circumstances, took several hours and the rest of the day at the store.  The WiFi was fast at times, but most of the time, the signal would fluctuate between 0 and 4 bars, usually towards the lower end.  We kept our patience though and got done as much as we could.\r\n\r\nWe took a break for dinner around 6:30 and decided to make our last two <a href=\"http://www.heatermeals.com/\" target=\"_blank\">ready-heat meals</a> and eat in the car since the weather was still unpleasant.  Dad had the pepper-steak and rice and I had the vegetarian lasagna.  We joked while we ate about the context that these were intended for, e.g. let’s see what spices we’ll have while we wait out the apocalypse in our bomb shelter.\r\n\r\nAfter dinner, I took a nice hot shower while Dad worked on the computer until the General Store closed at 8.  Bored and tired, we went to bed early that night, anxious to leave, pickup my camera in Flagstaff, and enjoy Sedona.\r\n\r\nOverall, I’m glad we came to the Grand Canyon, but several things could have been better.  The Grand Canyon is viscerally and geologically impressive, but aesthetically, the canyon’s we’d seen earlier at Zion and Yellowstone, were better.  The Grand Canyon in some ways suffers from what makes it great:  it’s just too big.  We couldn’t really see or get to the floor to fully experience its depth, the rock walls are mostly the same color and texture without much diversity or spectrum, and the walls are more like steep hills rather than sheer drops.  I also wasn’t aware of the weather patterns at the Grand Canyon.  For obvious reasons, the pictures I’d seen of the canyon have been of a warm, clear, sunny day, and so I figured storms like that which we experienced were rare, as opposed to the norm.  The weather did not make for an enjoyable stay at the canyon or the campground.  Also, I figured the North Rim would have a tourist town around it, but it is rather isolated and the people and amenities at the park left things to be desired.    Our desire to see the Grand Canyon though was fulfilled and did lead to many great stories and shared experiences with my Dad, so in the final sum, I’m glad we went.  Your experiences, results and reactions may vary.\r\n\r\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" 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(300, 2, '2011-09-26 02:28:50', '2011-09-26 02:28:50', 'Start:  Grand Canyon – North Rim, AZ\r\nDestination: Sedona, AZ\r\nOdometer: 105,976 (start)  106,301 (end) – 325 miles\r\nDate:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011\r\n\r\nWe finally had a good morning.  It didn’t rain during night and we were able to pack the tent in comfortable weather.  We were about around 5:10, before the sun, but not before a family of 6 elk out for a walk across the road.  It should say something about the mundaneness of seeing wildlife at this point that I was did not snap a picture.  Rather, I was more impressed with the sunrise coming through the burnt out forest.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe first stop of the day would be Flagstaff, AZ in order to make the craigslist transaction for the new camera, get an oil change, and have breakfast.  The drive to Flagstaff went by quickly as we gazed at the valley/ravine and giant red rocks formations.  These would be nice previous for our time in Sedona.  The craigslist deal went down smoothly at the local Target, the Jiffy Lube was able to replace the oil and clean the car quickly, and Dad was ecstatic to have a chicken-fried steak at Dennys for brunch.  After a series of misguided GPS navigation routes that did/would have taken us on giant loops, we were back on the appropriate highway to Sedona.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWe arrived to the outskirts of Sedona via a scenic drive through Oak Creek and Dad happened to notice the sign for our campground, Manzanita Campground, miles before the address we had entered in the GPS (using the address of Manzanita Campground Road, Sedona, AZ should work in the future).  We were greeted by Susan, the friendly campground host, and settled into our site.  Dad cleaned the tarp and tent from the wetness and dirt of the Grand Canyon while I explored the river running behind the campsites and the swimming hole at the end of the campground.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe afternoon’s adventure that day was an unexpectedly off-road, scenic drive through the desert of Sedona.  I’m not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after missing an turn and taking the GPS’ new directions, we ended up on a 12 mile long country road full of rocks, bumps, and potholes.  We could barely go 5mph for fear of getting a flat tire, but the views of cacti, puffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, and towering rocks with fascinating shapes like ancient ruins and sculptures, and soothing shades of red, tan, and green made us wish the road would keep on going for many more miles.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWe were also quite alone on the road, except for the occasional tour company vehicle that would whizz pass us and/or stop and ask where in Maryland we were from and if anyone on the ride was from there as well (turns out one women was from Upper Marlboro, MD).\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe drive ended on a nice touch when we came across a family of mule deer and paved roads.  At first, we lamented that the GPS had taken us on such a back-country road, but it ended up being for the best, since had we taken the correct road, the landscapes we’d have seen would have paled in comparison.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAfter the drive through the natural sites of Sedona, we took a drive through the artificial sites of this artsy town.  I really liked the architectural style and look of the buildings, but Dad thought they looked weak/flimsy.  The price tag for the properties seemed to indicate that many others liked the style too.   After I drive through the business district, the religious district (where we happened upon the Jewish Community Center and received a Shabbat invitation from the Rabbi and her husband whom stopped to inquire about us as they passed us leaving the parking lot), and the residential district (no, we didn’t see a Hammock district - points if you get The Simpsons reference to one of my favorite episodes).\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWe concluded our long drive through the hot desert in the air-conditioned car at a trendy ice cream establishment unique to Sedona: Dairy Queen. Dad had a pineapple sundae, I had a milkshake, and we shared some french fries.  While it had been a warm, clear day until then, we started to notice rain clouds forming, so we hurried back to the site so I could make us a quick dinner (we were delayed though by friendly conversations with some Burning-Man-type families camped near us).\r\n\r\nSure enough, around dusk the rain started coming.  We had eaten, clean up, and were in the car, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Dad lamented that his earlier cleaning of the tent would now be for naught.  We were in much better shape though than our neighbors, a group of 20-somethings from California that arrived during the rain and after dark and still had to setup camp.  I wanted to go into town to make use of the cell service that night, so rather than wait around the campground, we drove into town early to try to check out the shops, but all except a few eateries were closed.\r\n\r\nWe returned to the campground late that evening and were glad the rains had stopped.  We had brought the camping fans into the tent earlier thinking it would be a hot night, but it ended up being a cool, relaxing evening.\r\n\r\nSedona was a nice place to spend the day, especially after the Grand Canyon, but I wasn’t too interested in staying longer.  Sedona wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but after my Uncle Sudipta commented that it was one of the best places he’s been and insisted we go (and others seconded his view), it was added to the trip. If you are going to be in the area, we now also recommend the stop.  The landscapes are great, there’s trendy shopping and stylish architecture in town, the campground is clean (vault toilets though) and located in a nice spot in the woods by a stream, and Oak Creek on the outskirts of the city is a pleasant drive.  I’m sure there was much more we could have seen and done with more time, but I felt like we hit the key parts and were ready for our next stops on our way to Gallup, New Mexico:  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest, and The Painted Desert.\r\n\r\n\r\nP.S.  The next post probably won’t be until the week of October 3rd due to Rosh Hashanah and my moving out from my current home.', 'Day 15:  Sedona', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '296-revision-4', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:28:50', '2011-09-26 02:28:50', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=300', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(305, 2, '2011-09-26 02:39:02', '2011-09-26 02:39:02', '', 'STA70053', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70053', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:39:02', '2011-09-26 02:39:02', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(306, 2, '2011-09-26 02:39:17', '2011-09-26 02:39:17', 'Start:  Grand Canyon – North Rim, AZ\nDestination: Sedona, AZ\nOdometer: 105,976 (start)  106,301 (end) – 325 miles\nDate:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011\n\nWe finally had a good morning.  It didn’t rain during night and we were able to pack the tent in comfortable weather.  We were about around 5:10, before the sun, but not before a family of 6 elk out for a walk across the road.  It should say something about the mundaneness of seeing wildlife at this point that I was did not snap a picture.  Rather, I was more impressed with the sunrise coming through the burnt out forest.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-301\" title=\"IMG_0099\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe first stop of the day would be Flagstaff, AZ in order to make the craigslist transaction for the new camera, get an oil change, and have breakfast.  The drive to Flagstaff went by quickly as we gazed at the valley/ravine and giant red rocks formations.  These would be nice previous for our time in Sedona.  The craigslist deal went down smoothly at the local Target, the Jiffy Lube was able to replace the oil and clean the car quickly, and Dad was ecstatic to have a chicken-fried steak at Dennys for brunch.  After a series of misguided GPS navigation routes that did/would have taken us on giant loops, we were back on the appropriate highway to Sedona.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-302\" title=\"IMG_0104\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-303\" title=\"IMG_0115\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived to the outskirts of Sedona via a scenic drive through Oak Creek and Dad happened to notice the sign for our campground, <a href=\"http://www.camparizona.com/Campsites/FlagstaffCampsites/Manzanita.htm\">Manzanita Campground,</a> miles before the address we had entered in the GPS (using the address of Manzanita Campground Road, Sedona, AZ should work in the future).  We were greeted by Susan, the friendly campground host, and settled into our site.  Dad cleaned the tarp and tent from the wetness and dirt of the Grand Canyon while I explored the river running behind the campsites and the swimming hole at the end of the campground.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-304\" title=\"STA70044\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-305\" title=\"STA70053\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe afternoon’s adventure that day was an unexpectedly off-road, scenic drive through the desert of Sedona.  I’m not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after missing an turn and taking the GPS’ new directions, we ended up on a 12 mile long country road full of rocks, bumps, and potholes.  We could barely go 5mph for fear of getting a flat tire, but the views of cacti, puffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, and towering rocks with fascinating shapes like ancient ruins and sculptures, and soothing shades of red, tan, and green made us wish the road would keep on going for many more miles.\n\nWe were also quite alone on the road, except for the occasional tour company vehicle that would whizz pass us and/or stop and ask where in Maryland we were from and if anyone on the ride was from there as well (turns out one women was from Upper Marlboro, MD).\n\nThe drive ended on a nice touch when we came across a family of mule deer and paved roads.  At first, we lamented that the GPS had taken us on such a back-country road, but it ended up being for the best, since had we taken the correct road, the landscapes we’d have seen would have paled in comparison.\n\nAfter the drive through the natural sites of Sedona, we took a drive through the artificial sites of this artsy town.  I really liked the architectural style and look of the buildings, but Dad thought they looked weak/flimsy.  The price tag for the properties seemed to indicate that many others liked the style too.   After I drive through the business district, the religious district (where we happened upon the Jewish Community Center and received a Shabbat invitation from the Rabbi and her husband whom stopped to inquire about us as they passed us leaving the parking lot), and the residential district (no, we didn’t see a Hammock district - points if you get The Simpsons reference to one of my favorite episodes).\n\nWe concluded our long drive through the hot desert in the air-conditioned car at a trendy ice cream establishment unique to Sedona: Dairy Queen. Dad had a pineapple sundae, I had a milkshake, and we shared some french fries.  While it had been a warm, clear day until then, we started to notice rain clouds forming, so we hurried back to the site so I could make us a quick dinner (we were delayed though by friendly conversations with some Burning-Man-type families camped near us).\n\nSure enough, around dusk the rain started coming.  We had eaten, clean up, and were in the car, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Dad lamented that his earlier cleaning of the tent would now be for naught.  We were in much better shape though than our neighbors, a group of 20-somethings from California that arrived during the rain and after dark and still had to setup camp.  I wanted to go into town to make use of the cell service that night, so rather than wait around the campground, we drove into town early to try to check out the shops, but all except a few eateries were closed.\n\nWe returned to the campground late that evening and were glad the rains had stopped.  We had brought the camping fans into the tent earlier thinking it would be a hot night, but it ended up being a cool, relaxing evening.\n\nSedona was a nice place to spend the day, especially after the Grand Canyon, but I wasn’t too interested in staying longer.  Sedona wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but after my Uncle Sudipta commented that it was one of the best places he’s been and insisted we go (and others seconded his view), it was added to the trip. If you are going to be in the area, we now also recommend the stop.  The landscapes are great, there’s trendy shopping and stylish architecture in town, the campground is clean (vault toilets though) and located in a nice spot in the woods by a stream, and Oak Creek on the outskirts of the city is a pleasant drive.  I’m sure there was much more we could have seen and done with more time, but I felt like we hit the key parts and were ready for our next stops on our way to Gallup, New Mexico:  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest, and The Painted Desert.\n\nP.S.  The next post probably won’t be until the week of October 3rd due to Rosh Hashanah and my moving out from my current home.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>', 'Day 15:  Sedona', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '296-revision-5', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:39:17', '2011-09-26 02:39:17', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=306', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(307, 2, '2011-09-26 02:40:30', '2011-09-26 02:40:30', '', 'STA70108', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70108', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:40:30', '2011-09-26 02:40:30', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(308, 2, '2011-09-26 02:41:17', '2011-09-26 02:41:17', '', 'STA70097', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70097', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:41:17', '2011-09-26 02:41:17', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(309, 2, '2011-09-26 02:42:01', '2011-09-26 02:42:01', '', 'STA70041', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70041', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:42:01', '2011-09-26 02:42:01', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(310, 2, '2011-09-26 02:42:44', '2011-09-26 02:42:44', '', 'STA70111', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70111', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:42:44', '2011-09-26 02:42:44', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0);
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(311, 2, '2011-09-26 02:43:33', '2011-09-26 02:43:33', '', 'STA70132', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70132', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:43:33', '2011-09-26 02:43:33', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(312, 2, '2011-09-26 02:44:00', '2011-09-26 02:44:00', '', 'STA70121', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70121', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:44:00', '2011-09-26 02:44:00', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(313, 2, '2011-09-26 02:44:56', '2011-09-26 02:44:56', '', 'STA70145', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70145', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:44:56', '2011-09-26 02:44:56', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(314, 2, '2011-09-26 02:45:24', '2011-09-26 02:45:24', '', 'STA70172', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70172', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:45:24', '2011-09-26 02:45:24', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(315, 2, '2011-09-26 02:45:47', '2011-09-26 02:45:47', '', 'STA70184', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70184', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:45:47', '2011-09-26 02:45:47', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(316, 2, '2011-09-26 02:44:26', '2011-09-26 02:44:26', 'Start:  Grand Canyon – North Rim, AZ\nDestination: Sedona, AZ\nOdometer: 105,976 (start)  106,301 (end) – 325 miles\nDate:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011\n\nWe finally had a good morning.  It didn’t rain during night and we were able to pack the tent in comfortable weather.  We were about around 5:10, before the sun, but not before a family of 6 elk out for a walk across the road.  It should say something about the mundaneness of seeing wildlife at this point that I was did not snap a picture.  Rather, I was more impressed with the sunrise coming through the burnt out forest.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-301\" title=\"IMG_0099\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe first stop of the day would be Flagstaff, AZ in order to make the craigslist transaction for the new camera, get an oil change, and have breakfast.  The drive to Flagstaff went by quickly as we gazed at the valley/ravine and giant red rocks formations.  These would be nice previous for our time in Sedona.  The craigslist deal went down smoothly at the local Target, the Jiffy Lube was able to replace the oil and clean the car quickly, and Dad was ecstatic to have a chicken-fried steak at Dennys for brunch.  After a series of misguided GPS navigation routes that did/would have taken us on giant loops, we were back on the appropriate highway to Sedona.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-302\" title=\"IMG_0104\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-303\" title=\"IMG_0115\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived to the outskirts of Sedona via a scenic drive through Oak Creek and Dad happened to notice the sign for our campground, <a href=\"http://www.camparizona.com/Campsites/FlagstaffCampsites/Manzanita.htm\">Manzanita Campground,</a> miles before the address we had entered in the GPS (using the address of Manzanita Campground Road, Sedona, AZ should work in the future).  We were greeted by Susan, the friendly campground host, and settled into our site.  Dad cleaned the tarp and tent from the wetness and dirt of the Grand Canyon while I explored the river running behind the campsites and the swimming hole at the end of the campground.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-304\" title=\"STA70044\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-305\" title=\"STA70053\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe afternoon’s adventure that day was an unexpectedly off-road, scenic drive through the desert of Sedona.  I’m not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after missing an turn and taking the GPS’ new directions, we ended up on a 12 mile long country road full of rocks, bumps, and potholes.  We could barely go 5mph for fear of getting a flat tire, but the views of cacti, puffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, and towering rocks with fascinating shapes like ancient ruins and sculptures, and soothing shades of red, tan, and green made us wish the road would keep on going for many more miles.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-307\" title=\"STA70108\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-308\" title=\"STA70097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-309\" title=\"STA70041\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe were also quite alone on the road, except for the occasional tour company vehicle that would whizz pass us and/or stop and ask where in Maryland we were from and if anyone on the ride was from there as well (turns out one women was from Upper Marlboro, MD).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-310\" title=\"STA70111\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe drive ended on a nice touch when we came across a family of mule deer and paved roads.  At first, we lamented that the GPS had taken us on such a back-country road, but it ended up being for the best, since had we taken the correct road, the landscapes we’d have seen would have paled in comparison.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-311\" title=\"STA70132\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-312\" title=\"STA70121\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAfter the drive through the natural sites of Sedona, we took a drive through the artificial sites of this artsy town.  I really liked the architectural style and look of the buildings, but Dad thought they looked weak/flimsy.  The price tag for the properties seemed to indicate that many others liked the style too.   After I drive through the business district, the religious district (where we happened upon the Jewish Community Center and received a Shabbat invitation from the Rabbi and her husband whom stopped to inquire about us as they passed us leaving the parking lot), and the residential district (no, we didn’t see a Hammock district - points if you get The Simpsons reference to one of my favorite episodes).\n\nWe concluded our long drive through the hot desert in the air-conditioned car at a trendy ice cream establishment unique to Sedona: Dairy Queen. Dad had a pineapple sundae, I had a milkshake, and we shared some french fries.  While it had been a warm, clear day until then, we started to notice rain clouds forming, so we hurried back to the site so I could make us a quick dinner (we were delayed though by friendly conversations with some Burning-Man-type families camped near us).\n\nSure enough, around dusk the rain started coming.  We had eaten, clean up, and were in the car, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Dad lamented that his earlier cleaning of the tent would now be for naught.  We were in much better shape though than our neighbors, a group of 20-somethings from California that arrived during the rain and after dark and still had to setup camp.  I wanted to go into town to make use of the cell service that night, so rather than wait around the campground, we drove into town early to try to check out the shops, but all except a few eateries were closed.\n\nWe returned to the campground late that evening and were glad the rains had stopped.  We had brought the camping fans into the tent earlier thinking it would be a hot night, but it ended up being a cool, relaxing evening.\n\nSedona was a nice place to spend the day, especially after the Grand Canyon, but I wasn’t too interested in staying longer.  Sedona wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but after my Uncle Sudipta commented that it was one of the best places he’s been and insisted we go (and others seconded his view), it was added to the trip. If you are going to be in the area, we now also recommend the stop.  The landscapes are great, there’s trendy shopping and stylish architecture in town, the campground is clean (vault toilets though) and located in a nice spot in the woods by a stream, and Oak Creek on the outskirts of the city is a pleasant drive.  I’m sure there was much more we could have seen and done with more time, but I felt like we hit the key parts and were ready for our next stops on our way to Gallup, New Mexico:  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest, and The Painted Desert.\n\nP.S.  The next post probably won’t be until the week of October 3rd due to Rosh Hashanah and my moving out from my current home.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>', 'Day 15:  Sedona', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '296-revision-6', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:44:26', '2011-09-26 02:44:26', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=316', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(317, 2, '2011-09-26 02:51:26', '2011-09-26 02:51:26', 'Start:  Grand Canyon – North Rim, AZ\nDestination: Sedona, AZ\nOdometer: 105,976 (start)  106,301 (end) – 325 miles\nDate:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011\n\nWe finally had a good morning.  It didn’t rain during the night and we were able to pack the tent in comfortable weather.  We were out around 5:10, before the sun, but not before a family of 6 elk who were out for a walk across the road.  It should say something about the frequency of seeing wildlife at this point that I was did not snap a picture.  Rather, I was more impressed with the sunrise coming through the burnt out forest.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-301\" title=\"IMG_0099\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe first stop of the day would be Flagstaff, AZ in order to make the CraigsList transaction for the new camera, get an oil change, and have breakfast.  The drive to Flagstaff went by quickly as we gazed at the valley/ravine and giant red rocks formations.  These would be nice previews for our time in Sedona.  The CraigsList deal went down smoothly at the local Target, the Jiffy Lube was able to replace the oil and clean the car quickly, and Dad was ecstatic to have a chicken-fried steak at Denny\'s for brunch (without exception, there would be an incident to ruin the meal whenever we\'d go there on a family vacation and so we finally stopped going, but my Dad still likes Denny\'s and would want to go).  After a series of misguided GPS navigation routes that did/would have taken us on giant loops, we were back on the appropriate highway to Sedona.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-302\" title=\"IMG_0104\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-303\" title=\"IMG_0115\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived to the outskirts of Sedona via a scenic drive through Oak Creek and Dad happened to notice the sign for our campground, <a href=\"http://www.camparizona.com/Campsites/FlagstaffCampsites/Manzanita.htm\">Manzanita Campground,</a> miles before the address we had entered in the GPS (using the address of Manzanita Campground Road, Sedona, AZ should work in the future).  We were greeted by Susan, the friendly campground host, and settled into our site.  Dad cleaned the tarp and tent from the wetness and dirt of the Grand Canyon while I explored the river running behind the campsites and the swimming hole at the end of the campground.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-304\" title=\"STA70044\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-305\" title=\"STA70053\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe afternoon’s adventure that day was an unexpectedly off-road, scenic drive through the desert of Sedona.  I’m not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after missing an turn and taking the GPS’ new directions, we ended up on a 12 mile long country road full of rocks, bumps, and potholes.  We could barely go 5mph for fear of getting a flat tire, but the views of cacti, puffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, and towering rocks with fascinating shapes like ancient ruins and sculptures, and soothing shades of red, tan, and green made us wish the road would keep on going for many more miles.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-307\" title=\"STA70108\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-308\" title=\"STA70097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-309\" title=\"STA70041\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe were also quite alone on the road, except for the occasional tour company vehicle that would whizz pass us and/or stop and ask where in Maryland we were from and if anyone on the ride was from there as well (turns out one women was from Upper Marlboro, MD).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-310\" title=\"STA70111\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe drive ended on a nice touch when we came across a family of mule deer and paved roads.  At first, we lamented that the GPS had taken us on such a back-country road, but it ended up being for the best, since had we taken the correct road, the landscapes we’d have seen would have paled in comparison.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-311\" title=\"STA70132\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-312\" title=\"STA70121\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAfter the drive through the natural sites of Sedona, we took a drive through the artificial sites of this artsy town.  I really liked the architectural style and look of the buildings, but Dad thought they looked weak/flimsy.  The price tag for the properties seemed to indicate that many others liked the style too.   After I drive through the business district, the religious district (where we happened upon the Jewish Community Center and received a Shabbat invitation from the Rabbi and her husband whom stopped to inquire about us as they passed us leaving the parking lot), and the residential district (no, we didn’t see a Hammock district - points if you get The Simpsons reference to one of my favorite episodes).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-313\" title=\"STA70145\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-314\" title=\"STA70172\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-315\" title=\"STA70184\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe concluded our long drive through the hot desert in the air-conditioned car at a trendy ice cream establishment unique to Sedona: Dairy Queen. Dad had a pineapple sundae, I had a milkshake, and we shared some french fries.  While it had been a warm, clear day until then, we started to notice rain clouds forming, so we hurried back to the site so I could make us a quick dinner (we were delayed though by friendly conversations with some Burning-Man-type families camped near us).\n\nSure enough, around dusk the rain started coming.  We had eaten, clean up, and were in the car, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Dad lamented that his earlier cleaning of the tent would now be for naught.  We were in much better shape though than our neighbors, a group of 20-somethings from California that arrived during the rain and after dark and still had to setup camp.  I wanted to go into town to make use of the cell service that night, so rather than wait around the campground, we drove into town early to try to check out the shops, but all except a few eateries were closed.\n\nWe returned to the campground late that evening and were glad the rains had stopped.  We had brought the camping fans into the tent earlier thinking it would be a hot night, but it ended up being a cool, relaxing evening.\n\nSedona was a nice place to spend the day, especially after the Grand Canyon, but I wasn’t too interested in staying longer.  Sedona wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but after my Uncle Sudipta commented that it was one of the best places he’s been and insisted we go (and others seconded his view), it was added to the trip. If you are going to be in the area, we now also recommend the stop.  The landscapes are great, there’s trendy shopping and stylish architecture in town, the campground is clean (vault toilets though) and located in a nice spot in the woods by a stream, and Oak Creek on the outskirts of the city is a pleasant drive.  I’m sure there was much more we could have seen and done with more time, but I felt like we hit the key parts and were ready for our next stops on our way to Gallup, New Mexico:  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest, and The Painted Desert.\n\nP.S.  The next post probably won’t be until the week of October 3rd due to Rosh Hashanah and my moving out from my current home.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>', 'Day 15:  Sedona', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '296-revision-7', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:51:26', '2011-09-26 02:51:26', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=317', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(318, 2, '2011-09-26 02:57:54', '2011-09-26 02:57:54', 'Start:  Grand Canyon – North Rim, AZ\nDestination: Sedona, AZ\nOdometer: 105,976 (start)  106,301 (end) – 325 miles\nDate:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011\n\nWe finally had a good morning.  It didn’t rain during the night and we were able to pack the tent in comfortable weather.  We were out around 5:10, before the sun, but not before a family of 6 elk who were out for a walk across the road.  It should say something about the frequency of seeing wildlife at this point that I was did not snap a picture.  Rather, I was more impressed with the sunrise coming through the burnt out forest.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-301\" title=\"IMG_0099\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe first stop of the day would be Flagstaff, AZ in order to make the CraigsList transaction for the new camera, get an oil change, and have breakfast.  The drive to Flagstaff went by quickly as we gazed at the valley/ravine and giant red rocks formations.  These would be nice previews for our time in Sedona.  The CraigsList deal went down smoothly at the local Target, the Jiffy Lube was able to replace the oil and clean the car quickly, and Dad was ecstatic to have a chicken-fried steak at Denny\'s for brunch (without exception, there would be an incident to ruin the meal whenever we\'d go there on a family vacation and so we finally stopped going, but my Dad still likes Denny\'s and would want to go).  After a series of misguided GPS navigation routes that did/would have taken us on giant loops, we were back on the appropriate highway to Sedona.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-302\" title=\"IMG_0104\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-303\" title=\"IMG_0115\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived to the outskirts of Sedona via a scenic drive through Oak Creek and Dad happened to notice the sign for our campground, <a href=\"http://www.camparizona.com/Campsites/FlagstaffCampsites/Manzanita.htm\">Manzanita Campground,</a> miles before the address we had entered in the GPS (using the address of Manzanita Campground Road, Sedona, AZ should work in the future).  We were greeted by Susan, the friendly campground host, and settled into our site.  Dad cleaned the tarp and tent from the wetness and dirt of the Grand Canyon while I explored the river running behind the campsites and the swimming hole at the end of the campground.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-304\" title=\"STA70044\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-305\" title=\"STA70053\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe afternoon’s adventure that day was an unexpectedly off-road, scenic drive through the desert of Sedona.  I’m not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after missing a turn and taking the GPS’ new directions, we ended up on a 12 mile long back-road full of rocks, bumps, and potholes.  We could barely go 5mph for fear of getting a flat tire, but the views of cacti, puffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, and towering rocks with fascinating shapes like ancient ruins and sculptures, and soothing shades of red, tan, and green made us want the road to keep on going for many more miles.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-307\" title=\"STA70108\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-308\" title=\"STA70097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-309\" title=\"STA70041\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe were also quite alone on the road, except for the occasional tour company vehicle that would whizz pass us and/or stop and ask where in Maryland we were from (deducing from the plates) and if anyone on their tour was from there as well (turns out one women was from Upper Marlboro, MD).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-310\" title=\"STA70111\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe drive ended on a nice touch when we came across a family of mule deer and paved roads.  At first, we lamented that the GPS had taken us on such a back-country road, but it ended up being for the best, since had we taken the intended road, the landscapes we’d have seen would have paled in comparison.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-311\" title=\"STA70132\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-312\" title=\"STA70121\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAfter the drive through the natural sites of Sedona, we took a drive through the artificial sites of this artsy town.  I really liked the architectural style and look of the buildings, but Dad is not a fan of stucco structures.  The price tag for the properties seemed to indicate that many others liked the style though.   After a drive through the business district, the religious district (where we happened upon the Jewish Community Center and received a Shabbat invitation from the Rabbi and her husband who stopped to inquire about us as they passed us leaving the parking lot), and the residential district (no, we didn’t come across the Hammock district - points if you get The Simpsons reference to one of my favorite episodes).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-313\" title=\"STA70145\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-314\" title=\"STA70172\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-315\" title=\"STA70184\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe concluded our long drive through the hot desert in the air-conditioned car at a trendy ice cream establishment unique to Sedona: Dairy Queen. Dad had a pineapple sundae, I had a milkshake, and we shared some french fries.  While it had been a warm, clear day until then, we started to notice rain clouds forming, so we hurried back to the site so I could make us a quick dinner (we were delayed though by friendly conversations with some Burning-Man-type families camped near us).\n\nSure enough, around dusk the rain started coming.  We had eaten, cleaned up, and were in the car, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Dad lamented that his earlier cleaning of the tent would now be for naught.  We were in much better shape though than our neighbors, a group of 20-somethings from California that arrived during the rain and after dark and still had to set up camp.  I wanted to go into town to make use of the cell service that night, so rather than wait around the campground, we drove into town early to try to check out the shops, but all except a few eateries were closed.\n\nWe returned to the campground late that evening and were glad the rains had stopped.  We had brought the camping fans into the tent earlier thinking it would be a hot night, but it ended up being a cool, relaxing evening.\n\nSedona was a nice place to spend the day, especially after the Grand Canyon, but I wasn’t too interested in staying longer.  Sedona wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but after my Uncle Sudipta commented that it was one of the best places he’d been and strongly encouraged us to go (and others seconded his view), it was added to the trip. If you are going to be in the area, we now also recommend the stop.  The landscapes are great, there’s trendy shopping and stylish architecture in town, the campground is clean (vault toilets though) and located in a nice spot in the woods by a stream, and Oak Creek on the outskirts of the city is a pleasant drive.  I’m sure there was much more we could have seen and done with more time, but I felt like we hit the key parts and were ready for our next stops on our way to Gallup, New Mexico:  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest, and The Painted Desert.\n\nP.S.  The next post probably won’t be until the week of October 3rd due to Rosh Hashanah and my moving out from my current home.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>', 'Day 15:  Sedona', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '296-revision-8', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:57:54', '2011-09-26 02:57:54', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=318', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(319, 2, '2011-09-26 02:59:26', '2011-09-26 02:59:26', 'Start:  Grand Canyon – North Rim, AZ\nDestination: Sedona, AZ\nOdometer: 105,976 (start)  106,301 (end) – 325 miles\nDate:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011\n\nWe finally had a good morning.  It didn’t rain during the night and we were able to pack the tent in comfortable weather.  We were out around 5:10, before the sun, but not before a family of 6 elk who were out for a walk across the road.  It should say something about the frequency of seeing wildlife at this point that I was did not snap a picture.  Rather, I was more impressed with the sunrise coming through the burnt out forest.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-301\" title=\"IMG_0099\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe first stop of the day would be Flagstaff, AZ in order to make the CraigsList transaction for the new camera, get an oil change, and have breakfast.  The drive to Flagstaff went by quickly as we gazed at the valley/ravine and giant red rocks formations.  These would be nice previews for our time in Sedona.  The CraigsList deal went down smoothly at the local Target, the Jiffy Lube was able to replace the oil and clean the car quickly, and Dad was ecstatic to have a chicken-fried steak at Denny\'s for brunch (without exception, there would be an incident to ruin the meal whenever we\'d go there on a family vacation and so we finally stopped going, but my Dad still likes Denny\'s and would want to go).  After a series of misguided GPS navigation routes that did/would have taken us on giant loops, we were back on the appropriate highway to Sedona.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-302\" title=\"IMG_0104\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-303\" title=\"IMG_0115\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived to the outskirts of Sedona via a scenic drive through Oak Creek and Dad happened to notice the sign for our campground, <a href=\"http://www.camparizona.com/Campsites/FlagstaffCampsites/Manzanita.htm\">Manzanita Campground,</a> miles before the address we had entered in the GPS (using the address of Manzanita Campground Road, Sedona, AZ should work in the future).  We were greeted by Susan, the friendly campground host, and settled into our site.  Dad cleaned the tarp and tent from the wetness and dirt of the Grand Canyon while I explored the river running behind the campsites and the swimming hole at the end of the campground.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-304\" title=\"STA70044\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-305\" title=\"STA70053\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe afternoon’s adventure that day was an unexpectedly off-road, scenic drive through the desert of Sedona.  I’m not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after missing a turn and taking the GPS’ new directions, we ended up on a 12 mile long back-road full of rocks, bumps, and potholes.  We could barely go 5mph for fear of getting a flat tire, but the views of cacti, puffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, and towering rocks with fascinating shapes like ancient ruins and sculptures, and soothing shades of red, tan, and green made us want the road to keep on going for many more miles.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-307\" title=\"STA70108\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-308\" title=\"STA70097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-309\" title=\"STA70041\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe were also quite alone on the road, except for the occasional tour company vehicle that would whizz pass us and/or stop and ask where in Maryland we were from (deducing from the plates) and if anyone on their tour was from there as well (turns out one women was from Upper Marlboro, MD).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-310\" title=\"STA70111\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe drive ended on a nice touch when we came across a family of mule deer and paved roads.  At first, we lamented that the GPS had taken us on such a back-country road, but it ended up being for the best, since had we taken the intended road, the landscapes we’d have seen would have paled in comparison.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-311\" title=\"STA70132\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-312\" title=\"STA70121\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAfter the drive through the natural sites of Sedona, we took a drive through the artificial sites of this artsy town.  I really liked the architectural style and look of the buildings, but Dad is not a fan of stucco structures.  The price tag for the properties seemed to indicate that many others liked the style though.   After a drive through the business district, the religious district (where we happened upon the Jewish Community Center and received a Shabbat invitation from the Rabbi and her husband who stopped to inquire about us as they passed us leaving the parking lot), and the residential district (no, we didn’t come across the Hammock district - points if you get The Simpsons reference to one of my favorite episodes).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-313\" title=\"STA70145\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-314\" title=\"STA70172\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-315\" title=\"STA70184\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe concluded our long drive through the hot desert in the air-conditioned car at a trendy ice cream establishment unique to Sedona: Dairy Queen. Dad had a pineapple sundae, I had a milkshake, and we shared some french fries.  While it had been a warm, clear day until then, we started to notice rain clouds forming, so we hurried back to the site so I could make us a quick dinner (we were delayed though by friendly conversations with some Burning-Man-type families camped near us).\n\nSure enough, around dusk the rain started coming.  We had eaten, cleaned up, and were in the car, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Dad lamented that his earlier cleaning of the tent would now be for naught.  We were in much better shape though than our neighbors, a group of 20-somethings from California that arrived during the rain and after dark and still had to set up camp.  I wanted to go into town to make use of the cell service that night, so rather than wait around the campground, we drove into town early to try to check out the shops, but all except a few eateries were closed.\n\nWe returned to the campground late that evening and were glad the rains had stopped.  We had brought the camping fans into the tent earlier thinking it would be a hot night, but it ended up being a cool, relaxing evening.\n\nSedona was a nice place to spend the day, especially after the Grand Canyon, but I wasn’t too interested in staying longer.  Sedona wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but after my Uncle Sudipta commented that it was one of the best places he’d been and strongly encouraged us to go (and others seconded his view), it was added to the trip. If you are going to be in the area, we now also recommend the stop.  The landscapes are great, there’s trendy shopping and stylish architecture in town, the campground is clean (vault toilets though) and located in a nice spot in the woods by a stream, and Oak Creek on the outskirts of the city is a pleasant drive.  I’m sure there was much more we could have seen and done with more time, but I felt like we hit the key parts and were ready for our next stops on our way to Gallup, New Mexico:  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest, and The Painted Desert.\n\nP.S.  The next post probably won’t be until the week of October 3rd due to Rosh Hashanah and my moving out from my current home.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>', 'Day 15:  Sedona', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '296-revision-9', '', '', '2011-09-26 02:59:26', '2011-09-26 02:59:26', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=319', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(320, 2, '2011-09-26 03:00:37', '2011-09-26 03:00:37', 'Start:  Grand Canyon – North Rim, AZ\nDestination: Sedona, AZ\nOdometer: 105,976 (start)  106,301 (end) – 325 miles\nDate:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011\n\nWe finally had a good morning.  It didn’t rain during the night and we were able to pack the tent in comfortable weather.  We were out around 5:10, before the sun, but not before a family of 6 elk who were out for a walk across the road.  It should say something about the frequency of seeing wildlife at this point that I was did not snap a picture.  Rather, I was more impressed with the sunrise coming through the burnt out forest.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-301\" title=\"IMG_0099\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0099-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe first stop of the day would be Flagstaff, AZ in order to make the CraigsList transaction for the new camera, get an oil change, and have breakfast.  The drive to Flagstaff went by quickly as we gazed at the valley/ravine and giant red rocks formations.  These would be nice previews for our time in Sedona.  The CraigsList deal went down smoothly at the local Target, the Jiffy Lube was able to replace the oil and clean the car quickly, and Dad was ecstatic to have a chicken-fried steak at Denny\'s for brunch (without exception, there would be an incident to ruin the meal whenever we\'d go there on a family vacation and so we finally stopped going, but my Dad still likes Denny\'s and would want to go).  After a series of misguided GPS navigation routes that did/would have taken us on giant loops, we were back on the appropriate highway to Sedona.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-302\" title=\"IMG_0104\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0104-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-303\" title=\"IMG_0115\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_0115-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived to the outskirts of Sedona via a scenic drive through Oak Creek and Dad happened to notice the sign for our campground, <a href=\"http://www.camparizona.com/Campsites/FlagstaffCampsites/Manzanita.htm\">Manzanita Campground,</a> miles before the address we had entered in the GPS (using the address of Manzanita Campground Road, Sedona, AZ should work in the future).  We were greeted by Susan, the friendly campground host, and settled into our site.  Dad cleaned the tarp and tent from the wetness and dirt of the Grand Canyon while I explored the river running behind the campsites and the swimming hole at the end of the campground.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-304\" title=\"STA70044\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70044-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-305\" title=\"STA70053\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70053-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\nThe afternoon’s adventure that day was an unexpectedly off-road, scenic drive through the desert of Sedona.  I’m not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after missing a turn and taking the GPS’ new directions, we ended up on a 12 mile long back-road full of rocks, bumps, and potholes.  We could barely go 5mph for fear of getting a flat tire, but the views of cacti, puffy white clouds in a clear blue sky, and towering rocks with fascinating shapes like ancient ruins and sculptures, and soothing shades of red, tan, and green made us want the road to keep on going for many more miles.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-307\" title=\"STA70108\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70108-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-308\" title=\"STA70097\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70097-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-309\" title=\"STA70041\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70041-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe were also quite alone on the road, except for the occasional tour company vehicle that would whizz pass us and/or stop and ask where in Maryland we were from (deducing from the plates) and if anyone on their tour was from there as well (turns out one women was from Upper Marlboro, MD).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-310\" title=\"STA70111\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70111-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe drive ended on a nice touch when we came across a family of mule deer and paved roads.  At first, we lamented that the GPS had taken us on such a back-country road, but it ended up being for the best, since had we taken the intended road, the landscapes we’d have seen would have paled in comparison.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-311\" title=\"STA70132\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70132-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-312\" title=\"STA70121\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70121-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAfter the drive through the natural sites of Sedona, we took a drive through the artificial sites of this artsy town.  I really liked the architectural style and look of the buildings, but Dad is not a fan of stucco structures.  The price tag for the properties seemed to indicate that many others liked the style though.   After a drive through the business district, the religious district (where we happened upon the Jewish Community Center and received a Shabbat invitation from the Rabbi and her husband who stopped to inquire about us as they passed us leaving the parking lot), and the residential district (no, we didn’t come across the Hammock district - points if you get The Simpsons reference to one of my favorite episodes).\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-313\" title=\"STA70145\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70145-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-314\" title=\"STA70172\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70172-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-315\" title=\"STA70184\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/STA70184-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe concluded our long drive through the hot desert in the air-conditioned car at a trendy ice cream establishment unique to Sedona: Dairy Queen. Dad had a pineapple sundae, I had a milkshake, and we shared some french fries.  While it had been a warm, clear day until then, we started to notice rain clouds forming, so we hurried back to the site so I could make us a quick dinner (we were delayed though by friendly conversations with some Burning-Man-type families camped near us).\n\nSure enough, around dusk the rain started coming.  We had eaten, cleaned up, and were in the car, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Dad lamented that his earlier cleaning of the tent would now be for naught.  We were in much better shape though than our neighbors, a group of 20-somethings from California that arrived during the rain and after dark and still had to set up camp.  I wanted to go into town to make use of the cell service that night, so rather than wait around the campground, we drove into town early to try to check out the shops, but all except a few eateries were closed.\n\nWe returned to the campground late that evening and were glad the rains had stopped.  We had brought the camping fans into the tent earlier thinking it would be a hot night, but it ended up being a cool, relaxing evening.\n\nSedona was a nice place to spend the day, especially after the Grand Canyon, but I wasn’t too interested in staying longer.  Sedona wasn’t originally on our itinerary, but after my Uncle Sudipta commented that it was one of the best places he’d been and strongly encouraged us to go (and others seconded his view), it was added to the trip. If you are going to be in the area, we now also recommend the stop.  The landscapes are great, there’s trendy shopping and stylish architecture in town, the campground is clean (vault toilets though) and located in a nice spot in the woods by a stream, and Oak Creek on the outskirts of the city is a pleasant drive.  I’m sure there was much more we could have seen and done with more time, but I felt like we hit the key parts and were ready for our next stops on our way to Gallup, New Mexico:  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest, and The Painted Desert.\n\nP.S.  The next post probably won’t be until the week of October 3rd due to Rosh Hashanah and my moving out from my current home.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5656434885528698561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>', 'Day 15:  Sedona', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '296-autosave', '', '', '2011-09-26 03:00:37', '2011-09-26 03:00:37', '', 296, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=320', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(376, 2, '2011-12-07 16:27:10', '2011-12-07 16:27:10', 'Start:  Gallup, NM\r\nDestination: <a href=\"http://koa.com/campgrounds/royal-gorge/\" target=\"_blank\">KOA Kampground</a>, Canon City, CO\r\nOdometer: 106,567 (start)  107,153 (end) – 586 miles\r\nDate:  Thursday, September 15, 2011\r\n\r\nUnlike Gallup, where there was much to see on the way, the drive to Canon City was rather bland, especially given what we had been seeing for the past two weeks.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70472.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-384\" title=\"STA70472\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70472-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAdding some irony to the blandness was the Welcome to Colorado sign, which advertised the colorfulness of Colorado through a rather colorless dark brown and white sign that was hard to see in the grey mist falling upon us.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70473.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-385\" title=\"STA70473\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70473-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nFortunately, Dad and I had some colorful political discussions to enliven the drive which started in the dim light shortly after 5am and ended in the sunny afternoon shortly after 2 at the Canon City KOA Kampground.\r\n\r\nRather than setup the tent immediately, I had to rush to access the WiFi at the campground so I could connect to a video interview for Moishe House that had been postponed due to earlier technical difficulties.  Unfortunately, those difficulties initially continued to occur.\r\n\r\nI had called the campground before we arrived to confirm that there was WiFi, and they confirmed they had it, so I relaxed, thinking there would be no issues.  Well, we arrived during the quiet part of the day when the office was closed, and so couldn\'t check it.  Fine, we can do that later, I\'d just connect to the WiFi.  The network was quickly found, but a password was required to connect.  Ugh.  I called the office number only to hear the phone ringing behind the locked, see-through entrance door.  I tried visually scanning the office for a paper that might display the password, but saw nothing of the sort.  I set my laptop down on a shelf in a wooden kiosk near the office and was resigning myself to having to postpone the meeting again when I noticed something in the corner.  Sure enough, there was a welcome packet for us and it contained the password for accessing the WiFi.  Huzzah.  And who should appear shortly after connecting? The campground manager to check us in who told me what I now knew and invited us to take whatever campsite we wanted as the tent area appeared completely vacant.  Dad left to pick and setup a site and I went to have my meeting.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70476.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-389\" title=\"STA70476\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70476-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70474.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-390\" title=\"STA70474\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70474-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI setup my office in the laundry room of the campground which had a large shelf-table and some chairs.  This interview was part of the process for becoming a resident of the Moishe House in Montgomery County, MD.  In short, this house is part of an <a href=\"http://moishehouse.org/\" target=\"_blank\">international organization</a> aimed at Jewish community building and education for 20-30 somethings.  I enjoy Jewish learning and teaching and was in need of a housing arrangement for the Fall, so it seemed like a good fit.  Indeed, the interview went well, and I am writing this post in my new home at the MoCo Moishe House.\r\n\r\nWhile I was busy on the computer, Dad roamed the campground.  This KOA Kampground was the most expensive campground of the trip, and KOA\'s seem to be on the more expensive side for campgrounds (in the $30+ range).  In exchange, they provide an assortment of amenities, from WiFi, clean showers, and laundry rooms, to a miniature golf course, go-karts, and a potato-sack slide.  We thought these would be free with the cost of the campsite, but apparently the entertainment amenities are extra.  It was the off season though, so most of the attractions were closed, except for mini-golf.  The course wasn\'t in good shape, but they still wanted to charge.  Dad finished his tour impressed with the extent of services at the campground but sour about the lack of generosity/customer service regarding the golf course.  I had always seen KOA Kampground signs but this was my first time staying there. If you want the services of a hotel and to have family entertainment at your campground, KOAs seems to provide that well, but we didn\'t need those so weren\'t as impressed.\r\n\r\nWe didn\'t come to Canon City to see the campground though, so we hit the road to explore the area.  The first thing I noticed was that this city needs to get some agreement on its name.  Depending on the sign, we were in Canon City, Cañon City, or Canyon City.  I know they are pronounced similarly, but I felt the residents should decide to be anglicized or spanish and stick with it.\r\n\r\nThe main attraction in the city is the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Gorge_Bridge\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Gorge Bridge</a>.  The bridge, until recently, was the highest suspension bridge in the world (nearly 1000\' above the Arkansas river) and is about a quarter mile long.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70486.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-395\" title=\"STA70486\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70486-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLest this bridge not be commercialized, there is a large theme park built on each side of the bridge with a $25 entrance fee to visit the park and drive over the bridge.  We arrived as the park was closing and the security guard informed us that we could actually get a nice, free view of the bridge, river and gorge, a few hundred feet away.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70481.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-397\" title=\"STA70481\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70481-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70489.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-398\" title=\"STA70489\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70489-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70494.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-400\" title=\"STA70494\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70494-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs described, the views were impressive and we were also able to watch a swarm of bats out for a late afternoon feast.  While atop the gorge, we tried to figure out what the difference was between a canyon and a gorge.  We hypothesized that a gorge is in effect the open space, and the canyon is the walls and river floor, but apparently <a href=\"http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070604202119AAFI5El\" target=\"_blank\">they\'re just synonyms,</a> with one word being Spanish and the other English.  Again, let\'s pick one and go with it.\r\n\r\nThe other nearby attraction is a skyline drive which is a one-lane road with sheer drops on both sides.  We were debating whether to take the potentially nerve-racking drive, and when we got to Canon city, we saw it was highly advertised tourist attraction, but the decision was made for us when we found the entrance to the drive was closed, presumably due to rains from the previous days.\r\n\r\nSo, rather than drive along the sky, we drove along the Arkansas river until close to dusk.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70523.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-404\" title=\"STA70523\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/STA70523-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe arrived back to the campsite with not much time to spare before the sunlight left us, so I started to quickly make dinner.  As I was about to finish though, rain drops started falling on our head, so we quickly gathering up everything and took sanctuary in the laundry room.\r\n\r\nThe rain passed quickly and was gone by the time we were done our meal. Dad cleaned up while I did some work in the car, and we retired to the tent for a quiet night\'s sleep in preparation for the Rocky Mountains.\r\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5660090674877210849%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5660090674877210849%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>', 'Day 17:  Canon City, CO', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'day-17-canon-city-co', '', '', '2011-12-07 16:51:37', '2011-12-07 16:51:37', '', 0, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=376', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(325, 2, '2011-10-04 00:59:27', '2011-10-04 00:59:27', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\r\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\r\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\r\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nleft @ 5:50\r\nafter discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated\r\n550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old\r\nthere was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes\r\nperspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater\r\nwe were glad to experience the crater in person\r\nexhibits were informative\r\nan actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch\r\ndiscussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor\r\none of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students\r\nwe ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days\r\nthen we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert\r\nduring 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.\r\nthe minerals produce the colors\r\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\r\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\r\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\r\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\r\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, A Petrified Forests, and A Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-3', '', '', '2011-10-04 00:59:27', '2011-10-04 00:59:27', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=325', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(326, 2, '2011-10-04 19:25:15', '2011-10-04 19:25:15', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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/mountenous and rocky d  was driving and didn\'t take pictures, but\n\n&nbsp;\n\nleft @ 5:50\nafter discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated\n550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old\nthere was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes\nperspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater\nwe were glad to experience the crater in person\nexhibits were informative\nan actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch\ndiscussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor\none of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students\nwe ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days\nthen we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-4', '', '', '2011-10-04 19:25:15', '2011-10-04 19:25:15', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=326', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(327, 2, '2011-10-04 19:45:58', '2011-10-04 19:45:58', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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 is that we\'d have/make enough time to see anything we passed\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy 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\n\nleft @ 5:50\nafter discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated\n550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old\nthere was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes\nperspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater\nwe were glad to experience the crater in person\nexhibits were informative\nan actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch\ndiscussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor\none of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students\nwe ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days\nthen we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-5', '', '', '2011-10-04 19:45:58', '2011-10-04 19:45:58', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=327', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(328, 2, '2011-10-04 19:50:27', '2011-10-04 19:50:27', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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 fel\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy 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\n\nleft @ 5:50\nafter discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated\n550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old\nthere was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes\nperspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater\nwe were glad to experience the crater in person\nexhibits were informative\nan actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch\ndiscussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor\none of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students\nwe ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days\nthen we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-6', '', '', '2011-10-04 19:50:27', '2011-10-04 19:50:27', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=328', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(329, 2, '2011-10-04 19:53:52', '2011-10-04 19:53:52', '', 'STA70251', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70251', '', '', '2011-10-04 19:53:52', '2011-10-04 19:53:52', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70251.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(330, 2, '2011-10-04 19:56:12', '2011-10-04 19:56:12', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe drive to the crater is on a nice road, empty at the early hour of the morning, through flat grassland, leading towards what looks like an average hill.  That grassland was eviscerated 50,000 years ago and littered with rocks, and that hill is the lip of a giant crater.\n\n<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>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy 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\n\nleft @ 5:50\nafter discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated\n550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old\nthere was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes\nperspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater\nwe were glad to experience the crater in person\nexhibits were informative\nan actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch\ndiscussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor\none of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students\nwe ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days\nthen we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-7', '', '', '2011-10-04 19:56:12', '2011-10-04 19:56:12', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=330', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(331, 2, '2011-10-04 20:03:47', '2011-10-04 20:03:47', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe arrived just as the ticket office was opening.  I bought the tickets (again, we benefited from a senior discount) and received a informational tri-fold about the place.  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 the science, told the story, and raised excitement about the meteor crater.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy 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\n\nleft @ 5:50\nafter discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated\n550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old\nthere was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes\nperspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater\nwe were glad to experience the crater in person\nexhibits were informative\nan actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch\ndiscussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor\none of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students\nwe ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days\nthen we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-8', '', '', '2011-10-04 20:03:47', '2011-10-04 20:03:47', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=331', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(332, 2, '2011-10-04 20:14:02', '2011-10-04 20:14:02', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nMy 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\n\nleft @ 5:50\nafter discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated\n550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old\nthere was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes\nperspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater\nwe were glad to experience the crater in person\nexhibits were informative\nan actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch\ndiscussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor\none of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students\nwe ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days\nthen we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-9', '', '', '2011-10-04 20:14:02', '2011-10-04 20:14:02', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=332', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(333, 2, '2011-10-04 20:25:00', '2011-10-04 20:25:00', '', 'STA70223', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70223', '', '', '2011-10-04 20:25:00', '2011-10-04 20:25:00', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70223.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(334, 2, '2011-10-04 20:27:39', '2011-10-04 20:27:39', '', 'STA70236', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70236', '', '', '2011-10-04 20:27:39', '2011-10-04 20:27:39', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70236.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0);
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(335, 2, '2011-10-04 20:37:46', '2011-10-04 20:37:46', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\nWhen 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.\n\nFinally, 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\n\n<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>\n\n<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>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nMy 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\n\nleft @ 5:50\nafter discussion, agreed to go to meteor crater - rich treated\n550 feet deep, .75 miles across, 2 miles around, 50,000 years old\nthere was a documentary interview going on at the time on the edge of the crater...interesting seeing all the re-takes\nperspective is lakcing to appreciate the size of the crater\nwe were glad to experience the crater in person\nexhibits were informative\nan actual piece of the meteor was available to see and touch\ndiscussion of scientif debate on the cause of the crater...volcano or meteor\none of the scientists has last name Barrington from philly, need to check if related to one of Dad’s students\nwe ate PB sandwhics at the meteor crater, as we’ve been doing most days\nthen we drove to the petrified forest and the painted desert\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-10', '', '', '2011-10-04 20:37:46', '2011-10-04 20:37:46', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=335', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(336, 2, '2011-10-04 20:40:25', '2011-10-04 20:40:25', '', 'STA70248', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70248', '', '', '2011-10-04 20:40:25', '2011-10-04 20:40:25', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(337, 2, '2011-10-04 20:42:35', '2011-10-04 20:42:35', '', 'STA70249', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70249', '', '', '2011-10-04 20:42:35', '2011-10-04 20:42:35', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(338, 2, '2011-10-04 20:46:47', '2011-10-04 20:46:47', '', 'STA70241', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70241', '', '', '2011-10-04 20:46:47', '2011-10-04 20:46:47', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(339, 2, '2011-10-04 21:00:10', '2011-10-04 21:00:10', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\nWhen 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.\n\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\n\n<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>\n\n<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>\n\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\n&nbsp;\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-11', '', '', '2011-10-04 21:00:10', '2011-10-04 21:00:10', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=339', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(340, 2, '2011-10-04 21:10:43', '2011-10-04 21:10:43', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\nWhen 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.\n\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\n\n<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>\n\n<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>\n\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nThe Petrified Forest was unlike anything else we\'d seen.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest, the beauty and landscape is also priceless, but easily stolen by anyone.\n\nWe got a sense of the value of what was in the park when we were asked upon driving to the entrance gate that\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-12', '', '', '2011-10-04 21:10:43', '2011-10-04 21:10:43', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=340', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(347, 2, '2011-10-04 21:56:39', '2011-10-04 21:56:39', '', 'STA70337', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70337', '', '', '2011-10-04 21:56:39', '2011-10-04 21:56:39', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(348, 2, '2011-10-04 21:57:17', '2011-10-04 21:57:17', '', 'STA70345', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70345', '', '', '2011-10-04 21:57:17', '2011-10-04 21:57:17', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(349, 2, '2011-10-04 21:57:56', '2011-10-04 21:57:56', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\nWhen 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.\n\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\n\n<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>\n\n<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>\n\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nThe Petrified Forest is one of the great American landscapes.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest however, the thousands of pieces of tie-die colored petrified wood that form the landscape are also priceless, but also easily stolen by anyone.  Indeed, nearly every step one comes across a piece of petrified wood that would look great on one\'s mantle, in one\'s living room, or many other places around the house.  Apparently several tons are stolen each year (not sure how they really measure this), so there are checkpoints upon entering and exiting the park where cars are questioned and can be potentially searched.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-341\" title=\"STA70298\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-342\" title=\"STA70274\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nSome of the dinosaur fossils found in the muck were also on display.  I had never seen skeletal structures like these.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-343\" title=\"STA70301\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-344\" title=\"STA70305\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-345\" title=\"STA70303\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe headed onto the next stop of the drive through the park which features more petrified wood.  For the most part, it was similar to what we had just seen, but this site had a nice hill, petrified wood that still looked like wood, and a clearer visualization of the muck that the petrified wood was in before it become uncovered for us all to see.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-346\" title=\"STA70329\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-347\" title=\"STA70337\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-348\" title=\"STA70345\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nWe got a sense of the value of what was in the park when we were asked upon driving to the entrance gate that\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-13', '', '', '2011-10-04 21:57:56', '2011-10-04 21:57:56', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=349', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(350, 2, '2011-10-04 21:59:22', '2011-10-04 21:59:22', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\r\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\r\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\r\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\r\n\r\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\r\n\r\nThe 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.\r\n\r\nThe 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.\r\n\r\nThe 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.\r\n\r\n<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>\r\n\r\nWe 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 ;-)\r\n\r\nWhen 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.\r\n\r\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\r\n\r\n<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>\r\n\r\n<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>\r\n\r\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\r\n\r\nThe Petrified Forest is one of the great American landscapes.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest however, the thousands of pieces of tie-die colored petrified wood that form the landscape are also priceless, but also easily stolen by anyone.  Indeed, nearly every step one comes across a piece of petrified wood that would look great on one\'s mantle, in one\'s living room, or many other places around the house.  Apparently several tons are stolen each year (not sure how they really measure this), so there are checkpoints upon entering and exiting the park where cars are questioned and can be potentially searched.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-341\" title=\"STA70298\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-342\" title=\"STA70274\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nSome of the dinosaur fossils found in the muck were also on display.  I had never seen skeletal structures like these.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-343\" title=\"STA70301\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-344\" title=\"STA70305\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-345\" title=\"STA70303\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe headed onto the next stop of the drive through the park which features more petrified wood.  For the most part, it was similar to what we had just seen, but this site had a nice hill, petrified wood that still looked like wood, and a clearer visualization of the muck that the petrified wood was in before it become uncovered for us all to see.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-346\" title=\"STA70329\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-347\" title=\"STA70337\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-348\" title=\"STA70345\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\r\n\r\nWe got a sense of the value of what was in the park when we were asked upon driving to the entrance gate that\r\nduring 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.\r\nthe minerals produce the colors\r\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\r\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\r\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\r\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\r\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-14', '', '', '2011-10-04 21:59:22', '2011-10-04 21:59:22', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=350', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(352, 2, '2011-10-04 22:38:48', '2011-10-04 22:38:48', '', 'STA70347', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70347', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:38:48', '2011-10-04 22:38:48', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(351, 2, '2011-10-04 22:00:02', '2011-10-04 22:00:02', '<p>Start:  Sedona, AZ<br />\r\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM<br />\r\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles<br />\r\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011</p>\r\n<p>We arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.</p>\r\n<p>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.</p>\r\n<p>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.</p>\r\n<p>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.</p>\r\n<p><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></p>\r\n<p>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 ;-)</p>\r\n<p>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.</p>\r\n<p>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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.</p>\r\n<p><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></p>\r\n<p><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></p>\r\n<p>We walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p>In all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p><object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object></p>\r\n<p>The Petrified Forest is one of the great American landscapes.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest however, the thousands of pieces of tie-die colored petrified wood that form the landscape are also priceless, but also easily stolen by anyone.  Indeed, nearly every step one comes across a piece of petrified wood that would look great on one\'s mantle, in one\'s living room, or many other places around the house.  Apparently several tons are stolen each year (not sure how they really measure this), so there are checkpoints upon entering and exiting the park where cars are questioned and can be potentially searched.</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-341\" title=\"STA70298\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-342\" title=\"STA70274\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p>Some of the dinosaur fossils found in the muck were also on display.  I had never seen skeletal structures like these.</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-343\" title=\"STA70301\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-344\" title=\"STA70305\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-345\" title=\"STA70303\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p>We headed onto the next stop of the drive through the park which features more petrified wood.  For the most part, it was similar to what we had just seen, but this site had a nice hill, petrified wood that still looked like wood, and a clearer visualization of the muck that the petrified wood was in before it become uncovered for us all to see.</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-346\" title=\"STA70329\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-347\" title=\"STA70337\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-348\" title=\"STA70345\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a></p>\r\n<p><object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object></p>\r\n<p>We got a sense of the value of what was in the park when we were asked upon driving to the entrance gate that<br />\r\nduring 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.<br />\r\nthe minerals produce the colors<br />\r\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road<br />\r\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful<br />\r\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details<br />\r\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store<br />\r\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep</p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\r\n', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-15', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:00:02', '2011-10-04 22:00:02', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=351', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(353, 2, '2011-10-04 22:42:34', '2011-10-04 22:42:34', '', 'STA70355', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70355', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:42:34', '2011-10-04 22:42:34', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(354, 2, '2011-10-04 22:44:54', '2011-10-04 22:44:54', '', 'STA70378', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70378', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:44:54', '2011-10-04 22:44:54', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(355, 2, '2011-10-04 22:45:26', '2011-10-04 22:45:26', '', 'STA70382', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70382', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:45:26', '2011-10-04 22:45:26', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(356, 2, '2011-10-04 22:47:57', '2011-10-04 22:47:57', '', 'STA70397', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70397', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:47:57', '2011-10-04 22:47:57', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(357, 2, '2011-10-04 22:49:19', '2011-10-04 22:49:19', '', 'STA70407', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'sta70407', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:49:19', '2011-10-04 22:49:19', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(358, 2, '2011-10-04 22:46:21', '2011-10-04 22:46:21', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\nWhen 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.\n\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\n\n<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>\n\n<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>\n\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nThe Petrified Forest is one of the great American landscapes.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest however, the thousands of pieces of tie-die colored petrified wood that form the landscape are also priceless, but also easily stolen by anyone.  Indeed, nearly every step one comes across a piece of petrified wood that would look great on one\'s mantle, in one\'s living room, or many other places around the house.  Apparently several tons are stolen each year (not sure how they really measure this), so there are checkpoints upon entering and exiting the park where cars are questioned and can be potentially searched.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-341\" title=\"STA70298\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-342\" title=\"STA70274\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nSome of the dinosaur fossils found in the muck were also on display.  I had never seen skeletal structures like these.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-343\" title=\"STA70301\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-344\" title=\"STA70305\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-345\" title=\"STA70303\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe headed onto the next stop of the drive through the park which features more petrified wood.  For the most part, it was similar to what we had just seen, but this site had a nice hill, petrified wood that still looked like wood, and a clearer visualization of the muck that the petrified wood was in before it become uncovered for us all to see.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-346\" title=\"STA70329\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-347\" title=\"STA70337\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-348\" title=\"STA70345\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nOur time walking around this pleasant, pre-historic landscape was interrupted however by storm clouds that quickly emerged above and released its rain on us below.  The next couple hours would be an interesting mix of sites and extreme weather.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-352\" title=\"STA70347\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWhen arrived at the Agate Bridge in time to be hailed upon.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-353\" title=\"STA70355\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived at the dunes to see a cloud opened up in the distance.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-354\" title=\"STA70378\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-355\" title=\"STA70382\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAnd\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nWe got a sense of the value of what was in the park when we were asked upon driving to the entrance gate that\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-16', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:46:21', '2011-10-04 22:46:21', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=358', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(360, 2, '2011-10-04 22:58:18', '2011-10-04 22:58:18', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\nWhen 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.\n\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\n\n<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>\n\n<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>\n\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nThe Petrified Forest is one of the great American landscapes.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest however, the thousands of pieces of tie-die colored petrified wood that form the landscape are also priceless, but also easily stolen by anyone.  Indeed, nearly every step one comes across a piece of petrified wood that would look great on one\'s mantle, in one\'s living room, or many other places around the house.  Apparently several tons are stolen each year (not sure how they really measure this), so there are checkpoints upon entering and exiting the park where cars are questioned and can be potentially searched.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-341\" title=\"STA70298\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-342\" title=\"STA70274\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nSome of the dinosaur fossils found in the muck were also on display.  I had never seen skeletal structures like these.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-343\" title=\"STA70301\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-344\" title=\"STA70305\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-345\" title=\"STA70303\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe headed onto the next stop of the drive through the park which features more petrified wood.  For the most part, it was similar to what we had just seen, but this site had a nice hill, petrified wood that still looked like wood, and a clearer visualization of the muck that the petrified wood was in before it become uncovered for us all to see.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-346\" title=\"STA70329\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-347\" title=\"STA70337\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-348\" title=\"STA70345\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nOur time walking around this pleasant, pre-historic landscape was interrupted however by storm clouds that quickly emerged above and released its rain on us below.  The next couple hours would be an interesting mix of sites and extreme weather.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-352\" title=\"STA70347\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived at the Agate Bridge in time to be hailed upon.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-353\" title=\"STA70355\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived at the dunes to see a cloud opened up in the distance.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-354\" title=\"STA70378\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-355\" title=\"STA70382\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAnd to the petroglyphs (images etched into rocks by people 650-2000 years ago) to see an intense cloud column formation.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-356\" title=\"STA70397\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-357\" title=\"STA70407\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAs we exited the park, we were able to see the accumulation of rain by means of the raging river that had now filled the previously dry river bed.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70412.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-359\" title=\"STA70412\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70412-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe Petrified Forest was one of the highlights of the trip.  I had heard about this place and had seen petrified wood before, but experiencing the geology and formation in person was spectacular.  This is one of those places where one could spend the entire day taking pictures and still feel there was a lot that was missed.  Definitely add th\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nWe got a sense of the value of what was in the park when we were asked upon driving to the entrance gate that\nduring 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.\nthe minerals produce the colors\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-17', '', '', '2011-10-04 22:58:18', '2011-10-04 22:58:18', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=360', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(361, 2, '2011-10-04 23:15:53', '2011-10-04 23:15:53', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\nWhen 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.\n\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\n\n<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>\n\n<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>\n\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nThe Petrified Forest is one of the great American landscapes.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest however, the thousands of pieces of tie-die colored petrified wood that form the landscape are also priceless, but also easily stolen by anyone.  Indeed, nearly every step one comes across a piece of petrified wood that would look great on one\'s mantle, in one\'s living room, or many other places around the house.  Apparently several tons are stolen each year (not sure how they really measure this), so there are checkpoints upon entering and exiting the park where cars are questioned and can be potentially searched.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-341\" title=\"STA70298\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-342\" title=\"STA70274\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nSome of the dinosaur fossils found in the muck were also on display.  I had never seen skeletal structures like these.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-343\" title=\"STA70301\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-344\" title=\"STA70305\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-345\" title=\"STA70303\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe headed onto the next stop of the drive through the park which features more petrified wood.  For the most part, it was similar to what we had just seen, but this site had a nice hill, petrified wood that still looked like wood, and a clearer visualization of the muck that the petrified wood was in before it become uncovered for us all to see.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-346\" title=\"STA70329\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-347\" title=\"STA70337\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-348\" title=\"STA70345\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nOur time walking around this pleasant, pre-historic landscape was interrupted however by storm clouds that quickly emerged above and released its rain on us below.  The next couple hours would be an interesting mix of sites and extreme weather.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-352\" title=\"STA70347\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived at the Agate Bridge in time to be hailed upon.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-353\" title=\"STA70355\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived at the dunes to see a cloud opened up in the distance.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-354\" title=\"STA70378\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-355\" title=\"STA70382\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAnd to the petroglyphs (images etched into rocks by people 650-2000 years ago) to see an intense cloud column formation.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-356\" title=\"STA70397\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-357\" title=\"STA70407\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAs we exited the park, we were able to see the accumulation of rain by means of the raging river that had now filled the previously dry river bed.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70412.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-359\" title=\"STA70412\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70412-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe Petrified Forest was one of the highlights of the trip.  I had heard about this place and had seen petrified wood before, but experiencing the geology and formation in person was spectacular.  This is one of those places where one could spend the entire day taking pictures and still feel there was a lot that was missed.  Definitely add this to your list of places to visit.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nWe then moved on from a colored forest to a colored desert.  The scenic drive through the Painted Desert takes ones along landscapes of incredible shades of pink.  It was very pleasant and unique, but its very monotonous and the hour was getting late, so we hurried through the drive.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<embed type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&noautoplay=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347940258898321%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\"></embed>\n\nspent over three hours going along 28 mile road\nthe pinks in the painted desert are unusual and beautiful\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-18', '', '', '2011-10-04 23:15:53', '2011-10-04 23:15:53', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=361', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(366, 2, '2011-10-04 23:21:44', '2011-10-04 23:21:44', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\r\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\r\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\r\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\r\n\r\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\r\n\r\nThe 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.\r\n\r\nThe 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.\r\n\r\nThe 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.\r\n\r\n<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>\r\n\r\nWe 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 ;-)\r\n\r\nWhen 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.\r\n\r\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\r\n\r\n<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>\r\n\r\n<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>\r\n\r\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\r\n\r\nThe Petrified Forest is one of the great American landscapes.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest however, the thousands of pieces of tie-die colored petrified wood that form the landscape are also priceless, but also easily stolen by anyone.  Indeed, nearly every step one comes across a piece of petrified wood that would look great on one\'s mantle, in one\'s living room, or many other places around the house.  Apparently several tons are stolen each year (not sure how they really measure this), so there are checkpoints upon entering and exiting the park where cars are questioned and can be potentially searched.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-341\" title=\"STA70298\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-342\" title=\"STA70274\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nSome of the dinosaur fossils found in the muck were also on display.  I had never seen skeletal structures like these.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-343\" title=\"STA70301\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-344\" title=\"STA70305\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-345\" title=\"STA70303\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe headed onto the next stop of the drive through the park which features more petrified wood.  For the most part, it was similar to what we had just seen, but this site had a nice hill, petrified wood that still looked like wood, and a clearer visualization of the muck that the petrified wood was in before it become uncovered for us all to see.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-346\" title=\"STA70329\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-347\" title=\"STA70337\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-348\" title=\"STA70345\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nOur time walking around this pleasant, pre-historic landscape was interrupted however by storm clouds that quickly emerged above and released its rain on us below.  The next couple hours would be an interesting mix of sites and extreme weather.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-352\" title=\"STA70347\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe arrived at the Agate Bridge in time to be hailed upon.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-353\" title=\"STA70355\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe arrived at the dunes to see a cloud opened up in the distance.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-354\" title=\"STA70378\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-355\" title=\"STA70382\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAnd to the petroglyphs (images etched into rocks by people 650-2000 years ago) to see an intense cloud column formation.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-356\" title=\"STA70397\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-357\" title=\"STA70407\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nAs we exited the park, we were able to see the accumulation of rain by means of the raging river that had now filled the previously dry river bed.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70412.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-359\" title=\"STA70412\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70412-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe Petrified Forest was one of the highlights of the trip.  I had heard about this place and had seen petrified wood before, but experiencing the geology and formation in person was spectacular.  This is one of those places where one could spend the entire day taking pictures and still feel there was a lot that was missed.  Definitely add this to your list of places to visit.\r\n\r\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\r\n\r\nWe then moved on from a colored forest to a colored desert.  The scenic drive through the Painted Desert takes ones along landscapes of incredible shades of pink.  It was very pleasant and unique, but its very monotonous and the hour was getting late, so we hurried through the drive.  Next stop:  Gallup, NM.\r\n\r\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347940258898321%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347940258898321%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\r\n\r\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\r\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\r\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-19', '', '', '2011-10-04 23:21:44', '2011-10-04 23:21:44', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=366', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(367, 2, '2011-10-04 23:38:41', '2011-10-04 23:38:41', 'Start:  Sedona, AZ\nDestination: <a href=\"http://www.ci.gallup.nm.us/rrp/00182_redrock.html\" target=\"_blank\">Red Rock State Park Campground</a>, Gallup, NM\nOdometer: 106,301 (start)  106,567 (end) – 266 miles\nDate:  Wednesday, September 14, 2011\n\nWe arose before day-break and quietly broke camp by 5:50 without waking our youthful, late-arriving neighbors.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\n<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>\n\nWe 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 ;-)\n\nWhen 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.\n\nFinally, 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 fields with over 2 million spectators 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 universe.\n\n<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>\n\n<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>\n\nWe walked around the rim as much as we could, but we were fairly limited.  It would have been cool if an option to walk to the base of the crater were available, but there wasn\'t one yet.  This was made up for however in the visitor center where they had a real / non-replica piece of the crater that was eventually discovered.  And for some reason, there was also an Apollo Test Capsule on display.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-336\" title=\"STA70248\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70248-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-337\" title=\"STA70249\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70249-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nIn all, we were glad that we stopped here. It\'s a pretty cool site and you can easily spend a few enjoyable hours seeing the crater and walking through the educational exhibits.   After our couple hours, we were ready for some breakfast and to get on with the trip to see the petrified forest and the painted desert.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-338\" title=\"STA70241\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70241-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347408804574625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nThe Petrified Forest is one of the great American landscapes.  Now, many of the places we\'ve gone to were priceless and couldn\'t be stolen by anyone other than Carmen Sandeigo.  At the Petrified Forest however, the thousands of pieces of tie-die colored petrified wood that form the landscape are also priceless, but also easily stolen by anyone.  Indeed, nearly every step one comes across a piece of petrified wood that would look great on one\'s mantle, in one\'s living room, or many other places around the house.  Apparently several tons are stolen each year (not sure how they really measure this), so there are checkpoints upon entering and exiting the park where cars are questioned and can be potentially searched.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-341\" title=\"STA70298\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70298-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-342\" title=\"STA70274\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70274-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nSome of the dinosaur fossils found in the muck were also on display.  I had never seen skeletal structures like these.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-343\" title=\"STA70301\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70301-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-344\" title=\"STA70305\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70305-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-345\" title=\"STA70303\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70303-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe headed onto the next stop of the drive through the park which features more petrified wood.  For the most part, it was similar to what we had just seen, but this site had a nice hill, petrified wood that still looked like wood, and a clearer visualization of the muck that the petrified wood was in before it become uncovered for us all to see.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-346\" title=\"STA70329\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70329-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-347\" title=\"STA70337\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70337-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-348\" title=\"STA70345\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70345-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nOur time walking around this pleasant, pre-historic landscape was interrupted however by storm clouds that quickly emerged above and released its rain on us below.  The next couple hours would be an interesting mix of sites and extreme weather.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-352\" title=\"STA70347\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70347-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived at the Agate Bridge in time to be hailed upon.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-353\" title=\"STA70355\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70355-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived at the dunes to see a cloud opened up in the distance.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-354\" title=\"STA70378\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70378-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-355\" title=\"STA70382\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70382-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAnd to the petroglyphs (images etched into rocks by people 650-2000 years ago) to see an intense cloud column formation.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-356\" title=\"STA70397\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70397-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-357\" title=\"STA70407\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70407-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nAs we exited the park, we were able to see the accumulation of rain by means of the raging river that had now filled the previously dry river bed.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70412.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-359\" title=\"STA70412\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70412-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nThe Petrified Forest was one of the highlights of the trip.  I had heard about this place and had seen petrified wood before, but experiencing the geology and formation in person was spectacular.  This is one of those places where one could spend the entire day taking pictures and still feel there was a lot that was missed.  Definitely add this to your list of places to visit.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659349178884697809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nWe then moved on from a colored forest to a colored desert.  The scenic drive through the Painted Desert takes ones along landscapes of incredible shades of pink.  It was very pleasant and unique, but its very monotonous and the hour was getting late, so we hurried through the drive.  Next stop:  Gallup, NM.\n\n<object width=\"400\" height=\"267\" classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" /><param name=\"flashvars\" value=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347940258898321%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" /><param name=\"pluginspage\" value=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /><embed width=\"400\" height=\"267\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf\" flashvars=\"host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5659347940258898321%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US\" pluginspage=\"http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer\" /></object>\n\nThe drive to Gallup was rather uneventful, with a flat landscape interspersed by impressive mesas and other rock formations.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70456.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-362\" title=\"STA70456\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70456-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70457.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-363\" title=\"STA70457\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70457-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe arrived at the campground around 6 and settled in.  The campground is part of a state park and situated amongst red rock cliffs.  On the plus side, there\'s showers, nice scenery, and an inexpensive, informal payment process.  On the down side, the bathroom requires a key (which is easy to forget when hurrying to the bathroom in the morning), a lot of the scenery is blocked by trees unless you go into the park itself, and we had some anxiety about if, when, and how we\'d be paying for the site.  Either way, we were settled in and it was time for dinner.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70468.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-364\" title=\"STA70468\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70468-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70469.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-365\" title=\"STA70469\" src=\"http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/STA70469-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\nWe were low on food and had been going through the southwest for a while now, yet hadn\'t had any \"authentic\" mexican / tex-mex, so we opted to find such a restaurant and then stop at a supermarket.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nat dinner time, we decided to go out for Tex-Mex...fill in the details\nwent to grocery store after dinner for provisions...not the best store\nmore rain arrived at 8:30 when we were going to sleep\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Day 16:  A Meteor Crater, a Petrified Forest, and a Painted Desert', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '322-revision-20', '', '', '2011-10-04 23:38:41', '2011-10-04 23:38:41', '', 322, 'http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/?p=367', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
