Weekend Road Trip – Arizona
Turn up the A/C because this week we’re headed to Arizona’s Painted Desert. First stop, Meteor Crater.
Meteor Crater is located just off Interstate 40 near Flagstaff. Drive twenty miles to the east and you can stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona (You have to be an Eagles fan to get that one).
Fifty-thousand years ago, a 150 foot wide meteorite struck the earth at 40,000 miles per hour. The result – a 700 foot deep crater (it’s 550 feet deep today) that’s 4,000 feet across and 2.4 miles in circumference. In the photo above you can see an observation platform in the lower right corner. That tiny yellowish speck at the end of the platform is a full-grown man.
The Painted Desert stretches from the Grand Canyon to the Petrified Forest, covering nearly 94,000 acres.
Petrified tree bridge
Wow, those are some truly amazing pictures. Nice how the sky cooperated dramatically for you!
My father was born in Winslow, AZ in 1919. I did not know this until I was filling out a U.S. passport application and they specifically ask for my father’s birthplace. My mother wondered why I was laughing when I put the information down. My father passed away sometime ago so I had to ask her.
As always, great locations, Lee. I’ve been out that way and I have to tell you, it’s one thing to see those pictures, but it’s something really awe inspiring to actually be standing at the Grand Canyon.
My petrified forest story:
When my father was young, his parents took him and my uncle on a trip to that area. At the petrified forest, my grandfather had the two boys get out, stand on a petrified log, then he snapped a photo, said, “okay, we’ve seen it, let’s go.” Back in the car, and they were off.
So…when I was young, and my family went to the petrified forest, we spent an ENTIRE DAY walking around, standing on logs, and taking LOTS of photos.
🙂
Lee, guess you’ll just have to go back to Vegas to replace your pictures. 🙂
Elena, thanks for the recommendation! I’ll definitely look into it! I’m not sure how much “frantic energy” I can take for one week. Besides, I have no luck at gambling. If I lose $20 at slots, I give up and go to the gift shop. At least then when I put my money down, I know I’m going to get something in exchange (besides ten minutes of disappointment).
Carla – I did take plenty of photos while we were in Las Vegas, but I can’t find the disk. I guess it was misplaced during our move to Boston. When I find it, I’ll post the pictures.
By the way, my camera is very, very inexpensive.
Carla, you might also want to consider Valley of Fire state park. A good place for a picnic. It’s 55 miles NE of Las Vegas. I find it a lovely counterpoint to the sometimes frantic energy of Vegas. Though I enjoy both.
Have a wonderful time out there 🙂
Lee: “I’d love to do Area 51, but I’ve never been; therefore, I don’t have any photos. Do you have any?”
I might have some later this year when we go to Vegas. You don’t happen to have any Vegas pics to share? Recommendations of what to do (or not to do)? I’ve never been there before but I’m hearing it’s hard to get bored there. I’m hoping we can make a side trip and see the Painted Desert while we’re out there. We’re also looking into Death Valley Natural Preserve.
Thanks for sharing these! You’ve got a good camera and a great eye!
How wonderful to come home from the first farmer’s market of the season where there were hardly any vendors since it’s still too cold and wet to plant, and then have the wonderfulness of a trip to some of my favorite parts of Arizona.
I’m with you Terry, I’ll take that dry heat over damp any time, and my bones definitely agree with me 🙂
Though I remember a July in Flagstaff when it snowed, dry snow of course, can’t pack it -!
Thank you Lee.
You are right, it is best to support those that you follow. The register.com is 13.00 a month do it yourself. Unlike you, this is a small spot so I may post photos and allow response to ads.
I have been a volunteer since 1989. One of my many projects is rescue kittens / cats. I have a rescue arriving today. She will stay for a few weeks for assessment and then I will photograph her and hope to get her adopted on craigslist. I have done this successfully twice now and avoided pet fairs. However it is a lot of attaching photos to emails. If I can make a simple site, that is all I want to do.
It will probably take a year or better to self teach with books and blogs. When I can expand to greater adventures, I will gladly take your advice with Bytesize.
What a great week this was. I am still new to “blogging” and researching on the web. You had some great guests that I did not get to brain pick enough due to work. Keep up the great work !
SweetieZ – A company called Byte Size Media from Toronto built and hosts my website http://www.leelofland.com. The Graveyard Shift is tied to my website.
I met the owner of the company, Katherine Smith, at a writers conference in New Orleans a few years ago (I try to support writers and their ventures). I was very impressed with what her company offered, so I asked one of her clients, singer Anne Murray, if she was satisfied with the service. Anne simply raved about it, so I hired them to do my site. I wouldn’t dream of changing. Oh, the cost of the site and hosting are minimal compared to every other company I checked into.
Here’s Byte Size Media’s website in you’d like to take a peek.
http://www.bytesize.com/index.html
Ok, now that we have mentioned just some of all my albums. (vinyl) I was already feeling old after running for the first time in a while !
Terry, I LOVE South Park ! (helps ya feel young)
Great pictures. And the education. I used to always travel out of America. Now I have taken some trips in. When I went to Phoenix, I was astounded at how beautiful the freeways were. Of all the nature out there, I took shots of freeways. People must have thought I was nuts. They have geckos and South West themes. I thought it was a prettey way to stop and go.
Silly question here. I would like to make a website. I found “register.com” which has the .com, .org, .us . . . Anyone who has a website, is this how you started yours ?
Ah, it appears Lee stepped in and changed the caption, because when I read it, it definitely said “Eagles”. Their songs have inspired many click moments for my characters.
I remember waiting while DH hiked to the bottom of the crater and back up. Wasn’t my idea of a fun thing to do.
Carla — “dry” heat is MUCH easier to tolerate, although temps over 100 are still uncomfortably hot. I’ve lived in desert and sub-tropical climates and much prefer the desert variety.
DH also made a point (on another trip) to visit the ‘real’ South Park in Colorado.
Carla – You got me. Can’t believe I did that. I’ve played Take It Easy a gazillion times in bands over the years (I play guitar). Now I know I’m getting old. Thanks.
I’d love to do Area 51, but I’ve never been; therefore, I don’t have any photos. Do you have any?
By the way, if anyone wants to share their own Weekend Road Trip photos with us contact me offsite @lofland32@msn.com
And yes, the dry heat out west is much, much better than the heat and humidity of the east.
Lee: “you can stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona (You have to be a Doobie Brothers fan to get that one).”
I beg to differ. Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey wrote the song, then the Eagles recorded it, where it took off from there (pardon the pun).
Gorgeous pics, Lee! I’m wondering if the “dry heat” *really* is any better than what we get in Philly. Any chance we can take a side trip to Area 51? My brother lives in NM and loves that it snows overnight and by noon, there’s nothing left to shovel.