We quickly made our first stop of the day - Meteor Crater!
What can you say about Meteor Crater that hasn't already been said? Is it expensive? Yes. Is it just a big hole in the ground? Yes. Is it sensationalized? Yes. (They have their own low-range radio station which advertises the site with an emphasis on it being 4000 feet wide, followed by a loud echo - 4000 FEET WIDE!)
Was it fun? Yes!
Four of us on the half-hour tour of the crater rim.
Katie opted to wait in the air conditioned visitor center!
My impression of the crater was that it is larger and deeper than is often depicted in film and photos - it pushed up so much dirt and rock around it that resembles a huge football stadium. (The literature says 20 football fields could fit in the base of the crater.)
Since our family likes scientific things, we enjoyed the tour by our guide Eduardo teaching us about the history of the crater, how it was believed to be formed, and its modern background. The accompanying museum and 2 films were also very nice. We stopped in the gift shop so I could get the souvenir I most wanted on this trip: a cactus! (Hopefully it will survive the trip home.)
One highlight was getting to actually touch the largest surviving chunk of the meteorite itself - a 1400-pound fragment of iron/nickel. It was cool to touch a piece of outer space that had crashed into earth 50,000 years ago at 26,000 mph! (Yes, I learned a lot of factoids about Meteor Crater!)
Debbie and the Holsinger Meteorite (Genuine article, not a reproduction.)
Katie made it out to see the crater eventually!
It was hard to top Meteor Crater, but I think we did. We continued heading west, stopping for lunch in Flagstaff (it was so nice to be back in civilization) and eating at a Five Guys Burger and Fries, per Daniel's request.
We then headed down an incredibly scenic drive through Oak Canyon to Sedona. I had heard that one of the best things to do in Sedona for kids is an area of natural water slides. So we stopped at a little park called "Grasshopper Point" and headed to the creek. The kids got to jump in one time, and then a thunderstorm hit. We tried to wait it out (playing the "I'm going to Arizona, and I'm bringing..." alphabet game.) Eventually we gave up and went to check in to our hotel. We saw a break in the storm on the Weather Channel, so we headed back out. For over an hour, the kids fearlessly jumped off cliffs, and persuaded me to jump also, although not so fearlessly!
(I am not sure how to post videos on here - If I figure that out, I will put on some videos of the jumps. Bethany and Katie actually jumped off one of the high cliffs in the first picture!)
We ate dinner at a Burger King after driving around to look at the massive rock formations in Sedona. They were very beautiful and impressive. They all have great names like "Snoopy" or "Courthouse" or "Bell." Debbie and I couldn't discern any of the shapes, however. I guess that's why they offer tours.
Chapel of the Holy Cross
Courthouse Rock(?)
Two people recommended that we head up to the Sedona Airport for a view of the sunset. We did, and that was quite nice to get a sweeping view of the town and many of the buttes and mesas. It was a little overcast due to the weather, so it wasn't the best sunset, but it was still definitely a worthwhile experience.
Jon and Debbie up at the Sedona Airport
Bethany and I took a trip to Cottonwood for a Wal-Mart run while Katie swam in the hotel pool. After a very full and exhausting day, we were ready for the refreshment of a night's sleep.
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