Meteor Crater and Winslow

This morning we packed up and left Black Bart's on our way to NM. It was pretty hot again and we alternated between Rt. 66 and interstate 40 depending on what was interesting. I-40 is a nice road but with a 75 mph speed limit and the incessant winds it gets to be a pretty tiring drive (we travel between 55 and 60 mph with the windows open). Our first stop was Meteor Crater, a privately owned facility with a museum, a movie theater and, of course the crater and a piece of the meteorite that created it. Approximately 50,000 years ago a 150 foot diameter, iron-nickel meteorite weighing several hundred thousand tons hit the earth, blasting out a crater 700 feet deep and 4000 feet across! This site has a pretty interesting history of discovery and study by mining interests who wanted to excavate the meteorite (it was pretty much vaporized) and geologists who figured out that it was a meteorite strike not a volcanic steam vent explosion.

A fake picture of me in the crater.

The real deal!

After leaving the crater it was back on I-40 for a bit. Here are some miscellaneous shots of the old attractions along Rte. 66 on our way to Winslow, AZ.

In Winslow, there is a street corner park with a mural and a statue that commemorates the Eagles song that references the town. Don Henley contributed money and made suggestions for the park.

After Winslow we drove to Gallup, NM where we tucked into Red Rock Canyon State Park. Probably our best bargain campground yet at the princely cost of $10/nite with good showers included. More on the scenery and features of this area in the next post. Regards to all.