The two RV Gypsies
at Meteor Crater in Winslow Arizona
October 3, 2022 |
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Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater approximately 43
miles east of Flagstaff, in the northern Arizona desert of the United
States. Because the U.S. Department of the Interior Division of Names
commonly recognizes names of natural features derived from the nearest
post office, the feature acquired the name of "Meteor Crater"
from the nearby post office named Meteor.
The site was formerly known as the Canyon
Diablo Crater, and fragments of the meteorite are officially
called the Canyon Diablo Meteorite. Scientists refer to the crater as
Barringer Crater in honor of Daniel Barringer, who
was first to suggest that it was produced by meteorite impact.
The crater is privately owned by the Barringer family
through their Barringer Crater Company, which proclaims it to be "the
most well known, best preserved meteorite crater on Earth".
Despite its importance as a geological site, the crater
is not protected as a National Monument, a status that would require
federal ownership. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in
November 1967.
Meteor Crater lies at an elevation of about 5,709 feet
above sea level. It is about 4,000 feet in diameter, some 570 feet deep,
and is surrounded by a rim that rises 150 feet above the surrounding
plains.
The center of the crater is filled with 700,000 feet
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
regional cracks in the strata at the impact site. |
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 This
is the second time that the two RV Gypsies have been here. The first
time was in 2012, and it was not commercialized at that time. There
were not any directional signs along the road, none of the stuff shown
below on the grounds out front existed. There was not a big parking
lot. So in 2012, the two RV Gypsies only took 2 photos and left, unlike
this time. And this time, there WAS a fee to enter.
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Below:The two walked around the exterior
of the building before entering the building and paying the entry fee. |
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Then it was time
to enter the building and pay the entry fee. Then they watched a free
movie as advertised in the photo below. It was narrated by the stupid-looking
bunny shown below and was boring, except for a few trivial questions
and answers shown below. |
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Below: Then the two RV Gypsies went behind the building
to see the Meteor Crater for their second time, the first time was
in 2012 and Karen and Lee Duquette were the only two people around.
This time there were people everywhere. Also in 2012, there was no
building showing movies, the history, or selling stuff. And the flag
and astronaut (shown in the below photos) were not there either.
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Below: Several views of the crater. The Astronaut and
flag are hard to see (the above photos were cropped closer from these
photos.)
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