Meteor Crater

Who would have thought that a huge hole in the ground would be an unusual place to visit, but we did.  After having left Verde Valley and ascending a steep 6% grade for 13 miles towards Flagstaff on Interstate 17, we turned east for our next overnight stay. 

  

The crater lies about 5 miles off the I-40 and winds were blowing so hard, we were almost knocked over getting out of our truck.  

Our RV (top left) at Meteor Crater parking area

The gusts were so strong that the guided rim tours were abandoned due to safety factors. Instead we watched a 10 minute film  on “Collisions and Impacts” followed by an interesting story about the crater, which was formed by a huge meteor about 50,000 years ago.  It’s not the largest in the world, but it’s one of the most well-preserved due to the lack of rainfall in the high desert of Arizona.  During the Apollo space missions from 1963, the astronauts trained here because of similarities to craters on the moon.

Both of us ventured outside but had to hold tightly to the railings when gusts of about 50 mph blew across the rim. If the photo is blurred it’s because the wind almost knocked the camera out of my hand!  

postcard produced by Meteor Crater Enterprises

The museum and shop were both interesting and we just had to buy a geode for our grandsons and hope that when Kevin hammers it open, it will contain attractive crystals inside.  It's round, small and weighs a few pounds but not as heavy as the approximately 1,400 pound weight of the meteorite shown below.

After our visit, it didn’t take us long to park and hook up at at the OK RV Park with a long pull-thru (American spelling) site after a run of about 154 miles.  At night we heard the freight trains as the tracks were nearby and later found out that the run about 65 trains east and west during each 24 hours.  We happen to like the sound of trains so we don't mind being   slightly disturbed by them.  Often we see three or four engines at the front pulling and one or two pushers at the back and in between anywhere from 80 to 150 wagons.

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe engines