The Meteorite Crater in Arizona

After our visits in Sedona we drove to Flagstaff and found a very nice RV place there by the Meteorite Crater. In the picture you can see the 4 mile long road up to the crater and in the back the San Francisco Mountains with snow

The San Francisco Peaks
are a volcanic mountain range located in north central Arizona, United States, just north of Flagstaff. The highest summit in the range, Humphreys Peak, is the highest point in the state of Arizona at 12,633 feet (3,851 m). The San Francisco Peaks (known locally as simply "the Peaks") are the remains of an eroded stratovolcano. An aquifer within the caldera supplies much of Flagstaff's water while the mountain itself is located within the Coconino National Forest and is the site of much outdoor recreation. The internationally known Arizona Snowbowl is located on the western slopes of the Mountain.

our small RV in the parking lot by the crater

An Apollo test capsule sits outside as another photo-op -- the moon astronauts trained here for their flight to the moon

The origin of this classic simple meteorite impact crater was long the subject of controversy. The discovery of fragments of the Canyon Diablo meteorite, including fragments within the breccia deposits that partially fill the structure, and a range of shock metamorphic features in the target sandstone proved its impact origin. Target rocks include Paleozoic carbonates and sandstones; these rocks have been overturned just outside the rim during ejection. The hummocky deposits just beyond the rim are remnants of the ejecta blanket. This aerial view shows the dramatic expression of the crater in the arid landscape. (Courtesy of USGS/D. Roddy and LPI)

This is a display of the largest fragment of Meteor Crater meteorite to survive, a comparatively puny 1,400-pound blob. The adjacent gift shop sells "Crater Dust" for ten bucks a baggie, and tosses in a magnet so that the mining-minded can extract the particles of space rock.

The sky is burning

At 7:17 AM on the morning of June 30, 1908, a mysterious explosion occurred in the skies over Siberia. It was caused by the impact and breakup of a large meteorite, at an altitude roughly six kilometers in the atmosphere. Realistic pictures of the event are unavailable. However, Russian scientists collected eyewitness accounts of the event. I believe that we now know enough about large impacts to "decode" the subjective descriptions of the witnesses and create realistic views of this historic asteroid impact as seen from different distances.
You can get a sense of the magnitude of this event by comparing observations made at different distances. Seismic vibrations were recorded by sensitive instruments as much as 1000 km (600 mi) away. At 500 km (300 mi), observers reported "deafening bangs" and a fiery cloud on the horizon. About 170 km (110 mi) from the explosion, the object was seen in the cloudless, daytime sky as a brilliant, sunlike fireball; thunderous noises were heard. At distances around 60 km, people were thrown to the ground or even knocked unconscious; windows were broken and crockery knocked off shelves. Probably the closest observers were some reindeer herders asleep in their tents in several camps about 30 km (20 mi) from the site. They were blown into the air and knocked unconscious; one man was blown into a tree and later died. "Everything around was shrouded in smoke and fog from the burning fallen trees."

Crater overlook #1

Meteor Crater
Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater located approximately 43 miles (69 km) east of Flagstaff, near Winslow in the northern Arizona desert of the United States. The site was formerly known as the Canyon Diablo Crater, and scientists generally refer to it 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 via their Barringer Crater Company.

The crater owners proclaim it to be "the first proven, best-preserved meteorite crater on earth."

Meteor Crater lies at an elevation of about 1740 m (5709 ft) above sea level. It is about 1,200 m (4,000 ft) in diameter, some 170 m deep (570 ft), and is surrounded by a rim that rises 45 m (150 ft) above the surrounding plains. The center of the crater is filled with 210-240 m (700-800 ft) of rubble lying above crater bedrock.

Meteor Crater is today a popular tourist attraction, easily reached via Meteor Crater Road (exit 233) off I-40. There is a $15 entrance fee to see the crater (adult rate). Despite its importance as a geological site, it is not protected as a national monument, a status that would require federal ownership. The crater is still privately owned by the Barringer family. The crater was designated a national natural landmark in November 1967.

A visitor center operated by the Barringer Crater Company stands on the north rim of the crater. The crater continues to be a focus for scientific research; during the 1960s, NASA astronauts trained there for missions to the Moon. The crater is a location in the 1984 film "Star Man".

On August 8, 1964, a pair of commercial pilots in a Cessna 150 flew into the crater for a closer look but were unable to climb out due to downdrafts. They ended up circling the interior until their fuel was exhausted and crash-landed. They survived their ordeal and a small portion of the wreckage not removed from the crash site remains visible to this day.

Crater view #2

Crater view #3

The "Ground Zero" of the crater

View across of the crater

View to the right of the crater

How the "heck" is this thing working...?...LOL..

...and then he got a job as a photographer too.... LOL...

At last but not least, we got finally our tourist picture made - a seldom moment to have photos taken of both of us :)

A fantastic view to the Grand Canyon chain (at the horizon) with the fabulous colors of the high desert in a late afternoon light

Question: Is this now a framed painting - or, is this reality....? :))

Hi my friends,

Thank you so much for all your wonderful compliments to my last post about and in Sedona.

We have enjoyed our stay in this amazing landscape of the Meteorite Crater and spent more than 3 hours there to get all the impressions of this natural and magic place, before we drove back to Williams,AZ where we spent one (dam' freezing cold!!) night on a RV campground... and yes, we were there already once...LOL...

The next morning we decided to leave this cold region and NOT to drive up to the Grand Canyons! We changed directions and drove down to the South, back to Phoenix, actually to Mesa AZ,where we met with David's beloved uncle Nick and his lovely wife. Some family photos will follow... :)

Thanks again my loyal friends, stay tuned with me - and see you later!
Susanne and David

Sedona, AZ - What a Magic Place!

Driving down the serpentine route from Flagstaff...

...the rocks are changing to interesting formations and into a deep red color!

They have nice names too... like this one is called "The Coffee Pot" - and it really looks like one (the last one to the right!)

Sedona
is a city and community that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 11,220.

Sedona's main attraction is its stunning array of red sandstone formations, the Red Rocks of Sedona. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The Red Rocks form a breathtaking backdrop for everything from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails.

Sedona is named after Sedona Miller Schnebly (1877–1950), the wife of the city's first postmaster, who was celebrated for her hospitality and industriousness.
According to the Yavapai Native Americans, their ancestors were the first people of Sedona, descendants of "The First Lady," daughter of the Lady of the Pearl. The Yavapai Creation Story recounts how The Lady of the Pearl was sealed in a log with the Woodpecker and sent from Montezuma Well at the beginning of a Great Flood. For days and nights to follow, it rained incessantly and flood waters rose to cover every land form on earth. After 40 days, the rain stopped, the water receded and the log finally came to rest in Sedona. The Woodpecker freed the beautiful young woman from the log and guided her to the summit of Mingus Mountain, bearing a white stone or "Pearl" her people had given her for protection on the journey. There, she met the Sun, who fell in love with her. Returning to Sedona, she bathed in an enchanted pool in Boynton Canyon. Soon afterward, she gave birth to a daughter, referred to as the "First Lady," mother to all the Yavapai people. (Source: Spokesperson/representative of the Yavapai-Apache Nation Clarkdale, AZ.)

The Yavapai-Apache tribe
were forcefully removed from the Verde Valley in 1876, to the San Carlos Indian Reservation, 180 miles southeast. 1500 people were marched, in midwinter, to San Carlos. Several hundred lost their lives. The survivors were interned for 25 years. About 200 Yavapai-Apache people returned to the Verde Valley in 1900.

Pretty sunset light over Sedona

David had the chance to meet one of his most admired Internet Marketers John Barker when we had lunch with the "Internet Mastermind Group" in Sedona.

Visit John Barker 's website http://affiliateblackbook.com

We met also Carl Galetti, another one of Davids highly respected Internet Marketer/Copywriter Gurus - they know each other since many years already.

Visit also Carl Galetti's website http://www.adsecrets.com

Hi my friends,

Sedona is a wonderful place to visit and I'm sure also for living there! It's beautiful, arty and very touristy too. We enjoyed our 2 days stay there and David was happy to meet his Internet Marketing friends and they had a good time to exchange some business ideas together.

Finally, I'm catching up a little bit with my postings - thanks the great connections here in sunny and warm Phoenix - we could not stand the mountains cold in Williams,AZ (Gate to the Grand Canyon) anymore and moved down to the South again...LOL... :)

I'll still have to show you some very interesting "stuff" about our visit to the "Meteorit Crater" in Winslow Arizona - so stay tuned!

See you soon!
Susanne and David

I got my kicks on Route 66!!

We left Las Vegas after 6 days - yes we loved it THAT much... LOL... to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam and towards Sedona in Arizona, that was our next big goal.

As closer we came to the Dam, there were signs to see like the one in the photo above and believe it or not, a man in uniform came really inside of our camper and looked around five seconds - and left! That was the whole inspection! :)

Hoover Dam,
originally known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. When completed in 1935, it was both the world's largest electric-power generating station and the world's largest concrete structure. It was surpassed in both these respects by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1945. It is currently the world's 35th-largest hydroelectric generating station.

This dam, located 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, is named after Herbert Hoover, who played an instrumental role in its construction, first as the Secretary of Commerce and then later as the President of the United States. Construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule. The dam and the power plant are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, Hoover Dam was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.

Lake Mead is the reservoir created behind the dam, named after Elwood Mead, who oversaw the construction of the dam. The lakes water level is way below the usual line.

The Hoover Dam Bypass Project

(which includes the New Colorado Bridge) is a complex project made up of four miles of roadway (two lanes in each direction), eight bridges, wildlife crossings, a 2,000 foot-long bridge over the Colorado River and various pedestrian and visitor improvements. Because of the magnitude of this project, it will be constructed in four distinct phases: the Arizona Approach, the Nevada Approach, the Colorado River Bridge, and final roadway surfacing. Construction of the Arizona approach has begun followed by the Nevada Approach in mid-2003 and Colorado River Bridge in late 2003. The entire Hoover Dam Bypass Project is expected to be complete in 2007 at a cost of $234 million.

Construction is well underway on the Hoover Dam Bypass Project: both the Arizona and the Nevada Approaches are finished and construction on the Colorado River Bridge is steadily progressing!

Colorado River water irrigates more than a million acres of land in the U.S., and nearly half a million acres

in Mexico. The water helps meet the municipal and industrial needs of over 14 million people. As it passes through Hoover's turbines, the water generates low-cost hydroelectric power for use in Nevada, Arizona and California. About 4 billion kilowatt-hours of energy, enough for 500,000 homes.

This is the Road 95 going from Boulder City to Los Angeles

Then we drove trough these steep and hilly roads in Arizona trough wonderful landscapes (The State of Arizona begins after the Hoover Dam again)

Pretty landscapes like this....

...or this here! It was breathtaking - once more!

Just beautiful!

This was made with my 300mm lens... it's one side arm of Lake Mead within the mountains

We arrived in Seligman, AZ - the birthplace of historic "Route 66". We took a closer look into this little almost forgotten town, and we did not regret our decision! I always wanted to see a piece of the legendary Route 66

In the early Route 66 years,
Seligman accommodated many travelers with motor courts galore. Seligman is the beginning of the remaining 158 mile stretch of Old Route 66 to Topock and is rich in scenic and historic value.
Today a visit to this small town is a step back in time and tourism is still an important part of the economy.

There are stores like this "Return to the 50's"

Also James Dean is back to life on Route 66

The best gift shop in Seligman - you can get everything "Route 66"!!!

The original Barber shop, still in his originality, only the barber is no more there

Hundreds of business cards are hanging everywhere or just stiched to the walls. But not only business cards, also notes, photos, even real money from visitors of foreign countries are hanging on the walls. A very special place, indeed! I love it!

Souvenirs, souvenirs - with Route 66 design, of course!

And then a feast for the eyes were also these old cars: an old Dodge...

... or this old Chevy...

... or this old rusty car that has seen the golden ages of Route 66, I'm sure!

And then this old gasoline pump station here - just beautiful! Nostalgia, nostalgia...all the dreams come back to life, right? :))

I got my kicks, on Route 66!

Hi my friends,

I hope you've enjoyed my post here today!

Of course, we will visit more pieces of this legendary "Route 66", it's to great!

We drove from Seligman to Flagstaff Arizona and the next morning we went to Sedona. I'll show you some photos from that beautiful place tomorrow or so... :))

Stay tuned with me!
Susanne and David

From Calico Ghost Town to Las Vegas

Finally I'm able to post again - yeah! :))

Well... my last post was about our stay in a ghost town in the desert of California with the name CALICO. (see my post from some days ago).

We left Calico towards Las Vegas and we have seen this road sign. Can anyone of you spell this name of the street?...LOL...

Death Valley
is a desert located in the southwestern United States. It is the lowest, driest, and hottest location in North America. Badwater, a basin located within Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 85.5 m (282 ft) below sea level. This point is only 76 miles (123 km) east of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Death Valley holds the record for the highest reliably reported temperature in the Western hemisphere, 134°F (56.7°C) at Furnace Creek in 1913—just short of the world record, which was 136°F (58°C) in El Azizia, Libya, on September 13, 1922.

Located on the border between California and Nevada, southeast of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert, Death Valley constitutes much of Death Valley National Park and is the principal feature of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve. It is located mostly in Inyo County, California. It runs from north to south between the Amargosa Range on the east and the Panamint Range on the west; the Sylvania Mountains and the Owlshead Mountains form its northern and southern boundaries, respectively. It has an area of about 3,000 square miles (~7,800 km²). Death Valley shares many characteristics with other places around the world that lie below sea level.

We went over high hills and even over a pass - and still 72 miles to go to Vegas

Breathtaking desert scenes with white sandy hills are leaving you really speechless!

We are driving now the last miles in California over white desert sands before we will be crossing soon the border into the State of Nevada

Nevada welcomes you!

We are arrived in Las Vegas!
We had first no idea where to go and get pretty much lost in the Down Town area and finally we have found the way out to a Casino that offered affordable parking spaces for RV's.

Las Vegas (Spanish for The Meadows)
is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and entertainment. Las Vegas, which bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of casino resorts and associated entertainment. A growing retirement and family city, it is the 28th most populous city in the United States with an estimated population by the U.S. Census Bureau of 603,093 as of 2008. The estimated population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area as of 2007, was 1,836,333.

Established in 1905, Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911. With the growth that followed, at the close of the century Las Vegas was the most populous American city founded in the 20th century (a distinction held by Chicago in the 19th century). The city's tolerance for various forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and this image has made Las Vegas a popular setting for films and television programs. Outdoor lighting displays are everywhere on the Las Vegas Strip and are seen elsewhere in the city as well. As seen from space, the Las Vegas metropolitan area is the brightest on Earth.

The name Las Vegas is often applied to unincorporated areas that surround the city, especially the resort areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip. This 4 mile (6.5-km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard is partly in the Las Vegas city limits, but mainly in the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester, and continues partly into unincorporated Enterprise.

As we drove trough the town with an immense traffic jam and a lot of waiting time at the red lights, I had time to capture some impressions of this extremely dynamic city - that people say - she never sleeps :))

Constructions are going on, everywhere!

I love the architecture of this town!

Casinos at the strip are calling the gamblers and the tourists.... :)

Many of the largest hotel, casino and resort properties in the world are located on the world famous Las Vegas Strip. Eighteen of the world's twenty five largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms

On the back side of the strip are the delivery entrances to the Luxor and to the Excalibur Casinos

The Beatles are alive! The group "Cirque-de-Soleil" is performing to the Beatles songs

The Australian Chippendales - Australians hottest export is also in town! ...wow...Ladies! To have a closer look, click into the picture! :))

And these two "guys" we do know too, right? :))

Hi my friends,

I'm so happy, we are arrived today on a nice Campground in Williams,AZ and finally I have here a perfect Wi-Fi Connection!!! I hope to upload more photos of our adventure trip in the last days.

Stay tuned and thank you for all your wonderful comments!

See ya later!
Susanne and David