A few years ago we "accidentally" visited Meteor Crater while driving along I40 in Arizona. I say accidentally, because my dear husband did the road trip planning, and it's not the kind of place he would notice. Hoover Dam? Yes. Impact crater? No. But when I saw the sign, I knew we had to stop. And it was so much fun that T and I decided it was worth revisiting with L as we headed out to California.
Last time we visited, it was 15 minutes before closing. There were no tours left, and we pretty much had the crater viewing area all to ourselves. While a bit rushed, it was amazing to see the sun set over the rim!
This time, we planned to get there in the afternoon and have lunch at Subway (in the visitors' center) before we set off for the final leg of our journey. The day was glorious, and the crater was just as we remembered it. For L, it was her first look at the big hole in the ground. We watched the brief film and caught a tour with Edwardo, who gave us an overview of the history and geology. He was terrific.
We took a few photos:
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| Sign of a Crater |
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| The Crater looms ahead |
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| Pay to enter |
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| Edwardo |
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| Crater...see the hawk? Dead center? Click to zoom! |
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| crater |
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| bottom of crater |
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| T preparing to take a photo |
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| L preparing to take a photo |
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| L and T compare impressions |
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| The three intrepid travelers! |
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| The near rim of the crater |
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| The far rim of the crater |
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| Above the visitor center |
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| Struggling up the stairs...blah. |
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| Looking down on the lower viewing station |
By the time I was done climbing back up the stairs, I was craving the margarita that Edwardo offered in jest. Some things you just oughtn't joke about, Edwardo. ;)
BTW, when Google maps says it's 10 hours from Meteor Crater to TAC, they are right on the money.
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