Sunshine can lift the spirits. Arizona has lots of sunshine. We rose this morning to a beautiful morning in Winslow, AZ to bright sun, blue, cloudless sky and a fairly short day of driving ahead of us. I woke up early with hopes of seeing a few AZ birds in the brush behind our hotel, and had some luck as I found Black-throated sparrows, Ash-throated Flycatchers and Yellow-breasted Chats-all new birds for our trip list.
The night before, I told Darby that she could sleep in a bit this morning, since we didn’t need to leave until 9am. Things didn’t quite work out as I promised, since I forgot my room key, had to rush back to go to the bathroom, then knocked a bit loudly on the door to get back in-all before 7am. It didn’t help Darby’s promised morning of peaceful rest when Theresa and I were sipping coffee and talking a bit loud. When I mentioned her name, I heard a Darth Vader-like voice project out from under the sheet. “Yes, I’m awake, how could I not be!” Oops, sorry Darb-I’ll give you another try at a morning sleep-in another day!
It was 9:30 am when we rolled into the Meteor Crater, just east of Flagstaff, AZ. Many signs dot the 6-mile road back to the site warning drivers to slow down because of calves that were just born and may wander onto the road. I was pretty much ignoring the signs until I saw one of the cute little moo-moos moving very close to the road shoulder. A sudden flash came across me as I envisioned myself trying to explain to the rancher and AZ Highway Patrol how I ran over one of his prize beef calves after passing 76 warning signs, while visitors in RVs passed by me shaking their angry fists! I decided to slow down and heed the signs!
50,000 years ago a large meteor crashed into the Earth’s surface in this remote spot. It left a crater more than ¾ of a mile wide, and over 500 feet deep, which scientists are still investigating today. It’s an amazing natural landmark, and you feel very tiny as you stand on the rim looking down into this large hole! In addition, Theresa managed to give us some wildlife bonus while walking on the pathways, as she caught sight of a cool looking caterpillar, a couple small birds that we identified as Rock Wrens, and two different species of lizards. At one point, I was trying to get a little better look at the birds when I tripped on the edge of the path. Fortunately, there’s a railing and I caught myself before I plunged over the edge of the rocky wall of the 500-foot deep crater! OK, so, I might not have been right on the edge of the large hole where I could have fallen to my death. But if I had fallen, then rolled 50 feet up across several large boulders, then bounced over two more railings, it could have been very dangerous for me!
Our destination for the evening was Las Vegas, where we’ll be for the next two days. But, as we headed north we had to stop at the man-made marvel and unbelievable engineering feat of the Hoover Dam. Although we missed the last dam tour, we’ll have enough time to return so Theresa and Darby can experience the same thrill that Tyler and I did in February. It was great, and I really want to see if I can get the girls down in the dam before we head to CA.
We ended our day with a great meal in one of our hotel (Paris-Las Vegas) restaurants, then walked “The Strip” to catch some of the sights, sounds and lights of Vegas! Good Night from Sin City!
