Deep Impact......

7:29 am - Thursday - January 31st - Winslow, AZ - 26º F, 73% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the east......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 61º F.

I had a 10 am doctors appointment Wednesday morning......originally I had both appointments scheduled for Tuesday, but about 2 weeks ago one of them had to be changed to Wednesday, so we had to make the 110 mile round trip into Flagstaff once again.  We left home at 8:30 am so we would be sure to arrive 30 minutes before my appointment, and we succeeded.  In all my appointment took about an hour, and  then we were free to roam the streets of Flagstaff to our hearts content.

First up was a visit to Findlay VW on the east side of Flagstaff where we ordered some parts, and scheduled an appointment for February 1st to have them installed, so we will make another round trip into Flagstaff then.  We had work done on our Beetle at Findlay about 5 years ago, and were very happy with the work, the price and the service.  From there we drove a couple of blocks over to 'Savers' Thrift Store to see if they had anything without which we could not live, and they did.  I don't think we have ever been there when we did not come out with something.

At last it was time to revisit one of our favorite local breweries.....Beaver Street Brewery for lunch........

....about 10 minutes later we were walking in the door and ordering some brews.....Yelp gives them a solid 4 stars on 1,152 reviews, and we would agree.   I ordered their seasonal Shandy, and TLE an Oatmeal Stout......both were very good.  For our entrees I had their Chicken Caesar, and TLE their 'Personal 3 Smoked Meat Pizza' and a salad....

.....soon it was time to head back to Winslow, but we had one stop to make on our way home.....'Meteor Crater National Landmark'.  Like the Petrified Forest, we have driven by this site numerous times on our way east and west on I-40.  It is located about 1/2 way between Flagstaff and Winslow, and is about 6 miles south of the Interstate.  Meteor Crater is the best preserved meteor crater in the world, and is where scientists learned how to identify other meteor craters around the world, of which there are estimated to be over 200.  The iron/nickel meteor traveling at some 26,000 mph impacted here 50,000 years ago, and is estimated to have been about 150 feet in diameter, weighing in at several hundred thousand tons.  In seconds a crater almost 1 mile in diameter, and 700 feet deep was created.  The explosive force created by the meteor impacting earth, which formed the crater is estimated to be equal to 20 million tons of TNT.  The rim of the crater stands over 150 above the desert floor.  Over 50,000 years erosion has reduced the depth from 700' to just over 550' today.  In another 300,000 years it will be completely filled.....

 The largest fragment found to date of the meteor

 Pano of Meteor Crater

Pano of the surrounding area

......the crater is privately owned by the Barringer Family, and all of the facilities on site were built by them under the auspices of Meteor Crater Enterprises, Inc.  In 1967 Meteor Crater was designated a National Landmark.  With the senior discount our combined admission cost was $30.....a little steep by our standards, but we are happy we decided to pay the fee, and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  The fact it was a windless, clear blue skies kind of day only served to enhance our experience.  There is an extensive museum providing a lot of very interesting information....we recommend Meteor Crater very highly.

We were home just before 5 pm and settling in for the evening....what a beautiful day Wednesday was!

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