FIFTY STATES AWAYToday we knew we had a rather long drive ahead of us, driving back to Albuquerque NM from Flagstaff AZ. This journey would probably take around 5 hours and we had at least 325 miles to cover. I had found out about an awesome little place that would help mask the fact that we would be stuck in the car all day. Recently we’ve had a few long drives so it’s been nice to get out and do something different when we can, and always good for Ben to stretch those long legs of his!
Just outside of Flagstaff past town called Winslow lies the worlds best preserved meteor crater. Passing by it on our arduous journey neither if us could resist the temptation to pop in and see what it was all about. We really wasn’t expecting much we both thought it might just be a big hole in the ground, we were surprised to see the place had an elaborate visitor centre and seemed quite popular.
Eager to go and have a look we drove down a very long road, which had some amusing signs at the side of the road, one even joked around by advertising the speed limit for cars, and providing the speed limit for any asteroids in the area (a whopping 26,000 mph). After heading inside we found a small museum and a small cinema. The museum was full of interesting facts abouts the solar system in general and meteors. There were lots of samples of metoers to feel and the biggest piece found of the meteor that crashed here was also on display. It looked and felt like a huge lump of shiny grey/black metal, it had a few holes and a very bumpy surface its not like anything I’ve ever seen before.
Knowing nothing about this place before we rocked up we were in for a bit of a surprise, we were only expecting a relatively small hole in the ground but gosh! The crater is insanely big, they say it’s about a mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and more than 550 feet deep, something quite difficult to imagine utill you see it with your own eyes. Only in America could you have enough land mass to have one of these casually sitting by the side of the road.
I was very happy that we were allowed to walk out and around the crater. We headed down to the lower viewing area and took in the sights before proceeding to walk up a number of steps to reach the higher viewing platform. It was an incredible view and I think the picture speaks for itself!
The organisation who looks after the crater also provide visitors with an opportunity to go on a free mini hike around the crater as part of a guided tour. With our extensive activities yesterday and the need to get to Albuquerque in time to get enough rest for our early start tomorrow, we decided to head on rather than participate. We both found it quite funny, having visited the Grand Canyon yesterday that we should find ourselves viewing yet another (for want of a better word) massive hole!
Before leaving the crater we exited through the giftshop of course, but this place had one more incredible sight to offer us. In a sort of optical illusion, they had perfectly framed the distant mountains with a bright orange bricked wall. It was truly stunning and really looked like a painting!
We continued our drive arriving weary travellers at the other end, as ever, when driving in America the views were spectacular and the roadside provided a plethora of unique sights to see. It’s a good job really with the distances we have to travel.
