Meteor Crater

There is something freeing about seeing a sign on the side of the road and being able to turn off the highway to go explore.

 

In the fall of 2012 we made a trip with about two dozen other FROG (Forest River Owners’ Group) RVs and visited Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Albuquerque for the final few days of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.  We camped for several nights at each of these locations, with additional nights spent in campgrounds as we travelled between the three main venues.

 

On the leg of the journey that took us along Interstate 40 from the Grand Canyon to Albuquerque, we stopped at all the tourist spots:  the Painted Desert; the Petrified Forest; Winslow, Arizona (remember the Eagles song, “Take It Easy”?); the Walmart store in Flagstaff.  (Okay, folks, let’s face it.  Though we prefer to do business with local merchants to get the feel of the area and support hometown businesses, for some reason, there is always a stop at a Walmart.)

 

The Painted Desert in Arizona

The Painted Desert

 

The Petrified Forest, Arizona.  This was once a tree; now it is solid rock

Cross section of a tree, now turned to stone

The landscape is strewn with pieces of petrified trees

 

"Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona" from the Eagles song "Take It Easy"
The "flat-bed Ford" referred to in the song is reflected in the window.
(photo from a postcard)

 

WAIT! ... STOP!    Mike has requested on more than one occasion that I refrain from yelping when I see something interesting so he doesn’t think we are about to hit something -- or get hit.  But about 40 miles east of Flagstaff, there it is!  Meteor Crater  è 6 miles declares the sign!  We take the next exit and stop at a gas station to fill up the truck and use the restroom.  Just behind the gas station is Meteor Crater RV Park.  Inside, they sell t-shirts with the Crater RV Park logo.  The trifecta of road trips:  gas, restroom and t-shirts!  Then off we go to explore the meteor crater, a waaay deep hole in the ground.

Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt

 

In 1903, Daniel M. Barringer first hypothesized that the crater was the result of a speeding nickel-iron meteorite that crashed into the Arizona desert some 50,000 years ago.  In 1909, Mr. Barringer addressed the National Academy of Science at Princeton University, trying to convince them that the crater was the result of a meteor strike.  In the century since then, scientists have concluded that the crater was, indeed, caused by a meteor.   The resulting crater is 4,150 feet in diameter, 550 feet deep, and 2.4 miles in circumference.  By way of comparison, the Washington Monument is 555 feet tall; if it were set down into the crater, only the top 5 feet would stick up above the rim.  The force of the explosion from the meteor impacting the earth would have been 150 times the power of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

 

Meteor Crater, 550 feet deep, 4,150 feet across to the far rim.

The Washington Monument is almost exactly as tall as the crater is deep

 

The sixty-story deep crater is an amazing sight - and an amazing site.  The crater has been used for scientific research.  From 1964 through 1972, the NASA space program used the crater for training Apollo astronauts.  (No, grandpa, they really did go to the moon.  Those pictures were not all taken here; they just trained here.)  As recently as 2010, NASA scientists were back at the crater for additional study.  The crater was also used in the filming of several movies including Damnation Alley (1977) and Starman (1984).

 

On the floor of the crater, barely visible, is a small shed that houses
a pump and other equipment.



NASA came here in the 1960s and 1970s to train astronauts

The crater and the surrounding area is presently operated as a private business, known as the Barringer Crater Company.  It has been family-owned since 1903 and is now operated by the fourth generation of the family.  It is well worth a several-hour stop.  One can walk partially around the crater on asphalt paths that are wheelchair accessible, see a film about the crater and its possible origin, visit the museum and support the gift shop with the purchase of collectible rocks and minerals – or, of course, more t-shirts.

 

The crater was formed 50,000 years ago when a meteor struck the earth

 

An admission fee is charged.  For more information visit www.meteorcrater.com

Meteor Crater, P.O. Box 30940, Flagstaff, AZ 86003

Postcard from 1911, from Yvonne's collection.  This card was printed about the time
that Mr. Barringer was trying to convince scientists that a meteor formed the crater.

 

 

 

We wish you a happy and safe New Year.  We hope that this will be your best year ever, and that whatever your dreams and aspirations, you will get a chance to fulfill them.  We've enjoyed sharing some of our adventures with you, and will continue in 2014 to bring you more Road Stories.