Meteor Crater

Meteor Crater is considered a National Landmark, under the protection of the Dept. of the Interior. It is 'owned' and governed by a private group of people including area land owners and the family of the man responsible for researching the area, Daniel Barringer. Mr. Barringer was not the first person to investigate or mine the area.

50,000 years ago a meteor fell to the earth creating 

this hole between Winslow and Flagstaff AZ.

Scientists have estimated the meteor traveled at a speed 

of 26,000 mph as it came crashing to the earth.

The crash created a hole over 4,000' in diameter, 550 feet deep, 

and 2.4 miles in circumference. Twenty football games could 

be played on the crater floor, simultaneously, while more than 

two million observers lined the slopes...THAT IS BIG!

NASA has used the crater for training Apollo astronauts because it is

 the closest thing on earth to resemble the surface of the moon. 

It is still used by NASA today as a training and research facility.

The center of the crater is filled with 700–800 ft of rubble 

lying above crater bedrock. One of the interesting features 

of the crater is its squared-off outline, believed to be caused by 

pre-existing regionaljointing (cracks) in the strata at the impact site.  

(Wikipedia)

The eastern slope

The western wall

The large boulder on the left is said to be as large as a house.

Some close-ups of the nearby rock

 Interesting patterns in the rock

Correctly identified: sandstone

Daniel Barringer, a mining engineer from Philadelphia,

 believed a large meteor was buried beneath the crater floor. 

He came to this area initially to mine for iron and was the first to label

the hole as a meteor impact sight, not a volcano as was first believed.

Many shafts have been drilled below the surface. There is no meteor buried.

There have been and still are minute pieces of meteor in the crater and the area.

View of the landscape to the north of the crater.

The winding, curvy line in the center was the paved road

(6 miles) we traveled from Interstate. 

This is a research and training site as much as a tourist attraction.

The view to the east

Maybe one of the rancher land owners????

Flat, flat area because it is a mesa.

Cows to the northeast

Barren, barren land

It was interesting to learn that MOST meteor impact sights on

earth have been leveled by erosion. Thus the importance of the

Barringer Crater or Canyon Diablo Crater.

A viewing window in the north wall

Not sure of the mountain range

This little machine was in the parking lot when we were ready to leave.

Too unique not to take a photo!

Then it was onto stop #3 of the day...Sunset Crater National Park.

Take It Easy by the Eagles

Standing on the Corner in Winslow Arizona...

We began our little road trip from Gold Canyon to the Grand Canyon by way of four historic stops. The first was Winslow AZ. Hubby and I have been to the community twice before, but did not take the time to stop or look at the historic district of the little town. We did just that on Friday. It was our first stop after climbing (driving) up the mountains and driving along the mesa(s) of northern AZ. We had an elevation gain of almost 6000' Friday morning. Lot of ear popping going on in the van!

Winslow was made famous because of Take it Easy recorded by the Eagles, a 1972 hit song AND because Winslow was a town along historic Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. The town has taken advantage of these two historic events to boost its notoriety. It was a fun stop as it had something for each of us.

The quaint street lights and flags caught our eye.

 #1 daughter and I had our cameras ready. 

A Catholic Church is one of the few active buildings along main street.

 One of the stained glass windows in the church

Another of the windows

The colored brick design of this bank building is one of the 

businesses that has succumbed to modernization. 

The well-kept building is on the corner across from

the Standing on the Corner display.

Even the park benches taut the Mother Road.

We found some interesting things in this corner souvenir shop.

 This is the photo op corner in Winslow.

Notice the pick-up truck in the window? 1972?

The life-like painted windows caught my eye. 

 I wonder why there is an eagle? DUH!!!

 Until I walked down the street on the other side to photograph

the bank and theater, I did not realize the corner display was

basically a 'fake' wall of a building. It probably was a building

at one time but now it is a wall between a park and the street.

Pretty cool.

Somebody worked hard to preserve the history of their community.

 The theater like other downtown businesses in many 

US small towns is only history.

A mural of a bustling community of days gone by.

After lunch in a locally owned Mexican restaraunt

we headed west along Interstate 40 to our next stop,

The Meteor Crater.

Visiting the Grand Canyon

#1 daughter has been here in AZ visiting for 5 days. We planned a trip to the Grand Canyon as we have not been there since 1987. It was time to go back and see one of the nation's landmarks. We were not disappointed.

 Looking at the north rim

 A nearby canyon wall

 Trees framing the view

 A balancing rock

 A majestic view

 I caught a raven in flight. There were LOTS of ravens in the park.

 The corals, the pink, the grays dotted with green

 The oak leaves were very colorful.

They added interest to many photos.

 Curt & Kari explored one of the trails.

 The Colorado River as seen from the southeast corner.

Of course we did not 'remember' the canyon other than other photos we have seen. 

We talked about how many more roads were within the park.

Our private tour shared viewpoints we would never had seen on our own.

An awesome day filled with colorful images and lasting memories.

More excursion photos and posts to follow this week.

Deck Decor

Joan: This post is for you.

I did some gourd projects in the spring of 2011 (February & March if you want to look back) with the promise I would complete and display the pepper gourds. 

Finally, the peppers have made their appearance at the front door of our little casa.

Having the deck addition allowed some re- and new decorating. 

The fountain now stands where the table and two chairs have been. My water fountain reminds me of the mountain in our back yard. I love the sound of the trickling water as I sit out there with my morning cup of tea, the newspaper puzzles or an adult beverage. (Probably not the adult beverage in the morning!)

The musical group, The Rock Ants, again adorn the front steps, welcoming visitors.

The hibiscus abides in the corner where the fountain was last year.

When I stopped at the local grocery store on Friday I noticed a lady had

two of these plants in her shopping car. Peppers...hmmm...I need to check

it out. The Ornamental Peppers are not edible and hot if touched 

while transplanting them to my fun red pot. I was amazed at the color 

varieties for sale: purple and greens along with the colors in the pot

I chose. Interesting, different, and affordable.

 I have a couple of pumpkins on display to get into the Halloween holiday spirit.

The Ornamental Peppers are the small guest table.

I got the hummingbird feeder out on Sunday morning. 

Others in the community have had Anna's hummingbirds at their feeders.

This female ruby-throated stopped by a couple of times while I

was eating lunch on Monday. So glad they found my feeder.

Enjoying the New Deck

Before we left AZ last spring, we arranged to have an addition built onto our deck. Decks in AZ are like another very functional room. I am content to spend lots of time outside eating, reading, or writing on the deck. The deck is also a good space for entertaining others. 

February 2009 (before shed)

When we originally built the deck we had the truck and felt we needed the larger parking area. 

March 2009 (after shed)

We now have the van and don't need as much of the covered awning for protection from the rare hailstorms. So after some discussion on size and arrangement we reached a decision and hired the job. 

The stairway was changed to go down along the side of the shed.

We got pictures of the work and completed project in August & September. We were very excited to see it for ourselves. 

We also ordered sun screens as the sun was a bit of an bother (I KNOW! Isn't that way we are in AZ...for the sun???) in the late afternoon. 

 We will have a more pleasant experience inside and out before the sun sets, thanks to the sun screens.

 Back steps leading to the shed with washer & dryer and other accumulated stuff.

Front steps leading to west facing patio doors & living room.

So that is how it all looked upon our arrival last Thursday. Clean and large.

We are so pleased to have the added space.

This is a photo from the back door.

We have room for 4 comfy rocking chairs (and more if needed),

a table big enough for eating, reading or writing,

and little guest tables for refreshments.

We also have the space to have a larger table if we want to 

have a meal on the deck instead of on the sunshine filled patio.

Decorating photos to come next.