“Well…It’s a Big Hole in the Ground.”

Look, I get it – you traveled all this way aspiring to witness the majestic landscape of legends - The places that don’t look real in photos, that you must “see to believe.”

Zion, Bryce Canyon, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon (the ULTIMATE big hole in the ground.) Don’t misunderstand me here, some of my favorite expeditions have been to places on this list, but I’m just saying... Don’t forget the little guy!

And by little, I mean the “other” big hole in the ground.

METEOR CRATER

This site is special – meteors usually hit water.

So to get a glimpse 50,000 years in the past with the most well-preserved impact crater on the planet...well that's just ludicrous! (Cue cameo here) ;)

Historical Perspective

(It isn't good)

The land prior to the impact crater was believed to house a juniper woodland and several animals. Anything at ground zero would have been vaporized and if any animal was unlucky enough to be in the vicinity...they sadly would have died from shock-wave aftereffects.

This land was said to be inhabited by mammoths, sloths, and horses before morphing into the desert land you see today.

Meteor Facts:

30–50-meter (100-170 ft) diameter

Comprised of iron

Traveled at 26,000 miles/hour

Displaced 175 million tons of rock forming a crater nearly one mile wide and 570 feet deep! (read that again!)

Museum and Location Facts:

Also known as Barringer Crater to highlight the work from Daniel Barringer who had aims to categorize it as an impact site with efforts of keeping the site as preserved as possible.

The site is still a family-owned enterprise.

It can be found off exit 233 from Interstate 40 and Route 66 and is very easy to access.

It’s also 35 minutes from Flagstaff, Arizona.

Travelers can only access the crater through the Barringer Space Museum.

Close Encounters to Home

That is, Sylacauga. If you grew up there, then you know what I'm referring to. The date was November 30, 1954, when Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges was napping on her couch. On this day, she would become the first (and only) person to be struck by a meteorite (don't worry- she survived!)

That meteorite is on display at The Alabama Museum of Natural History. That story is one I've heard numerous times and have seen again and again at any space museum I've set foot into across this country. Because it was such a big deal for our small town, I always look for it when I'm traveling- that connection to home and my childhood imagination.

Another reference I look for in space museums now - The Saturn V.

Huntsvillians Unite!

It Came from Outer Space

Our own journey through space and time to Meteor Crater began with a direct flight to Las Vegas. For the record, I absolutely hate flying. So, I'm a travel writer who is really bad at traveling. Don't worry... The humor isn't lost on me!

Well, Las Vegas is super great if that's what you're into, but we couldn't get out of the city fast enough! Our first night of lodging was at the beautiful Charleston Peak, a place just outside the city that feels like it's in the middle of nowhere!

We then ran to Hoover Dam (which was awesome), toured Flagstaff (great city) and because we were so excited to get to the Grand Canyon, we almost, almost skipped Meteor Crater.

I’m sure that happens a lot around here.

And we really would have missed out.

So, How Would I Describe Meteor Crater?

Gosh, what a challenge. To me, it's an incredible historic site that takes me to a place in my mind that I will never be able to see in reality. The images of the landscape and animals who roamed here can only be imagined despite artist's gallant attempts.

It awakens in me a feeling of longing for a home I know nothing of, a seemingly substantial time that only exists now as a fragile whisper, and the notion again that we are more insignificant than what we choose to believe - that everything we know and enlist importance to can be obliterated in an instant.

To me, evidence that I need to live while I can.

So, How Would Other People Describe Meteor Crater?

"Well, it's a big hole in the ground."

Shine and such :)

Dr. V