Meteors and Rainbows

July 23, 2024 - Reading time: 401 minutes

We explored east Arizona today before heading to Texas.  

Meteor Crater has always been on James’s bucket list.  Today's adventures were a “blast” that made quite an “impact” on him.  (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)  Both the visitor’s center museum and the short documentary film, nicely housed in air conditioning, were outstanding.  The complimentary tour of the crater rim was hosted by Justin, our  fantastic guide who offered a wealth of information on the history and geology of the area (pre and post crater), all while spouting a steady stream of dad jokes.  

Next stop was Petrified Forest National Park.  We barely scratched the surface here because we still had a 6 hour drive to El Paso ahead of us. We opted for walking the Rainbow Forest trails near the south entrance to discover how they were transformed from trees to petrified logs.  The photos won't do it justice.  The rainbow colors of minerals inside each were a sight to behold.   

 

 

There were so many neat fossils in the Visitor's Center Museum. 

I had to pose in front of "Old Faithful," the same 35 foot long petrified log where Albert Einstein stood in 1931.  I'm a nerd. 

We spent the late afternoon hours into early evening with a drive through the Apache National Forest in Arizona and the Gila National Forest in New Mexico before reaching the hotel in El Paso.  We opted to travel the back roads for the majority of the trip because the sky was so blue and the day so lovely!  I regret not taking any pictures along the route, but James and I were busy singing to the radio and taking in the scenery.  Did you know there is a town on Highway 191 called Alpine, Arizona?  Just six miles from the New Mexico border, the area sits over 8,000 feet above sea level.  The 2010 census states a population of 145 folks.  There is abundant farmland and absolutely stunning fields of green grasses and forest.  Nothing at all like the images one conjures when thinking about a typical Arizona landscape.  If you ever get the chance, and have the time, skip the interstate in this part of the USA and take the scenic route.  You won't regret it!