Meteor Crater aka Could've Been the End of Us All

Me, fighting the wind, at the top observation deck.

After leaving the Petrified National Forest and Painted Desert, we took I-40 south towards the Meteor Crater, also known as Barringer Crater. It’s an uneventful drive, to be honest, dotted with cheap tourist traps and sleepy towns. (“What’s with the all the freakin’ dinosaur statues?” My fiancé was nearly pulling his hair out at the sight of them by the end of the drive.) Once you turn to Meteor Crater Drive, there is another long stretch through the flat lands that are accentuated by round signs that pop up from the terrain advertising the park, facts about the meteor, and other fun desert weirdness.

The rim of the crater rises about 15 stories from the landscape, broad and flat like a natural plateau. The entrances to the lookout points and museum require an ascent (via stairs or an elevator) of about two stories. Even with the guardrails I was afraid of losing my balance and tumbling into the crater somehow; my small frame wasn’t much against the storm winds blowing in from the south. I clung to the handrails and made my way towards the top of the lookout point. The storm cell’s ominous clouds serve as a backdrop to all of our photos.

Full view of the crater, from museum doorway.

The view is breathtaking. The massive crater—two miles around, one mile across, and over 500 feet deep—burrows into the earth with an eerie beauty. When it landed, it would have killed everyone and everything for miles but now it’s harmless and awe inspiring. Though it’s hard to tell from the observation deck, the crater isn’t quite round. The edges are quite squared, which is more easily seen in an aerial view; some believe these corners is due to jointing in the strata.

In the depths of the crater are an array of strange materials placed there by early researchers and astronauts in training: a grill, a 6 foot tall astronaut with a flag (which is barely visible from the rim) and a small structure. I thought those things were a bit distracting to be honest and wish that they would’ve removed everything but the astronaut maybe. Aside from being funny, he gives viewers a good point of reference for depth perception. The other items just looked like trash at the bottom of a bowl.

A piece of the troublemaker!

My fiancé and I descended the staircase (hold on!) and passed briefly through the museum. I recommend spending more time in the museum especially if you have pre-teen and teen. Kids in that age group really seemed to get the most out of the exhibits. They were informative and had a few interactive elements that I liked. My favorite was a chunk of The Holsinger meteorite that formed the crater. I wish to God that I could’ve tried picking it up, just for fun, to get a better idea of the size and mass of the meteor that hit the earth so long ago. (Note: don’t try picking it up. You can’t. You’ll probably be arrested, aside from looking really stupid.)

I’d recommend a few of these tips to fellow travelers:

-Don’t rush. Giving yourself time to soak up the natural beauty around you is part of the fun. If you’re in a hurry, it’s easy to see the painted desert as some colorful hills and the meteor crater as a hole in the ground. Stop, think, and seriously enjoy them!

-Eat a lot before you set out. The food options are few and far in between. Stopping in Flagstaff and Winslow are your best bets but even then it’s slim pickings, especially for those with dietary restriction or a hatred for chain fast-food establishments.

-The informative stuff matters. Take the time to watch the videos, read the placards and whatnot. Understanding what you’re looking at enhances your experience exponentially.

The Petrified Forest & Painted Desert

My fiance and I took a trip to Phoenix, AZ in mid-July. Here's a bit of what went down:

Our first stop of the tour.

I’m not going to lie: the morning started off horribly. My fiancé and I planned to hike Camelback Mountain around 5am but only four hours of sleep got the best of us; he went back to sleep and I stared at the ceiling for an hour, which put me in a pissy mood (sorry, Babe!). I was a bit scared that this would be the suckiest day of our vacation, which would be horrible after leaving a less than divine experience in north Scottsdale.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, my fiancé and I headed northbound towards anywhere. Truth is, neither of us knew which of the parks we wanted to see first but we knew the general direction that we needed to go. We decided upon the Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, and Meteor Crater. (Canyon de Chelly was also on the list but was ditched at the last minute. It is nearly eight hours from Phoenix.)

The drive to the Petrified Forest is absolutely stunning, particularly for a southeastern girl with limited access to desert and mountain landscapes. Close to Phoenix, the stark hills rise like hiccups from the terrain. Desert shrubs and succulents dot the land. As we progressed closer to Flagstaff, the cacti gave way to pine trees. The wind rustled tall grasses in the vast expanses of nothingness between the foothills. As exhausted as I was, I couldn’t sleep. I kept my face pressed against the glass with my future father-in-law’s camera clicking away. 

Since I hadn’t planned on visiting the Petrified Forest, I expected all of the wrong things. I imagined that the landscape would change into more forested area as we breezed down route 180; somewhere along the lines a canyon would drop beneath us and inside—preserved by heat and obscurity—would be a forest of rock-solid trees rising from the depths of the canyon.

Beautiful colors within petrified wood.

Wrong.  The route 180 looks like rural Arkansas during a dust storm: hot, dry, and sunny with expanses of fields for miles and miles. Somewhere in the distance, gray mountains peeked over the horizon. A patch of greenery here and there signaled water. A few trees survived in these areas, along with a few residential compounds that looked like they were living off of the grid.

The entrance to the park pops up out of nowhere. Even after passing the sign, there are miles to drive before reaching the Petrified Forest’s information center and trails. The petrified trees have long since fallen and many have crumbled. Massive hunks remain, radiating various colors from within in a way that in intriguing and captivating. You don’t think looking at fallen trees would be cool until you’re actually doing it. Purples, reds, oranges, greens—the rings of the tree are obscured by glistening hunks of color that represent the presence of silica, manganese, carnotite, and cinnabar. The trees are almost fully quartz, so solid they can only be but with a diamond-tipped saw. It’s a bit mind-boggling. (I asked my fiancé how long he thought it would take human bones to petrified, if our composition permitted that at all. Seriously, I’d like my bones to be that awesome long after I’m gone.)

We only spent about 30 minutes at the Petrified Forest Welcome Center trails. I’d recommend spending more time. I believe that watching the video in the center will give you a better idea of how the trees were formed and what the environment looked like before when the trees were alive.

Blue hills towards the south of the park

We hopped back into the rental car and made our way towards my favorite part of the park—the Painted Desert. We began in the low-lying hills and buttes with beautiful bands of blue, gray, and white. Those closest to the road rose no higher than fifty feet; they are low but often wide, providing stunning panoramic shots that my camera simply wasn’t prepared for. (I must go back with the proper equipment!) To the naked eye, though, the vistas are stunning.

And they only get better. As you progress towards I-40, the hills become larger mesas that plummet down into canyons, like miniature Grand Canyons that are equally stunning in color though less in scale. The rocks and sand are painted bands of red, orange, pink, amber, and white.

The region that we passed through is part of the Chinle Formation, a series of hills, buttes, and mesas that are composed of fluvial deposits. Researchers estimate that these lands were formed 200 million years ago when the region possessed wetlands. Rivers carved through the mudstone and sandstone to create the masses we see today. When nearby volcanoes erupted, they altered the normal composition of the sediment and mineral deposits, contributing to the bizarre bands of color. In short, the colors are bookmarkers for what was happening in the environment at the time.

My fiance at a lookout point in the northern red badlands

I could’ve spent hours on that route, pulling over at all of the lookout points, snapping photos and simply absorbing the beauty of it all. Unfortunately, we were trying to cram in a lot in a little time so we drove through the badlands stopping only a few times.

Next stop: Meteor Crater!

Power Hang Gliding near Chattanooga

The much awaited video is finally here!

This adventure took place 15 miles outside of Chattanooga, TN with FlyThis.biz, a power hang gliding (or hangliding) business owned and operated by Erik. He was our pilot and companion during the experience. He is incredibly friendly, informative, and simply a pleasure to work with. We highly recommend him.

My fiance and I composed the video of footage recorded using GoPro Hero in addition to video recorded by Erik's on-board camera. There are also bits of film from my fiance's iPhone. Sorry for the changes in quality and the generic music. The videos will progressively get better as we improve as editors :D




The experience was amazing. Guests are given a brief overview of the craft before hopping in and descending a ramp into the water of Rankin Cove, Marion County Park. (Note: your feet will get a bit wet.) After taxiing to gain speed, the trike lifts effortlessly from the water and continues to rise...and rise...and rise...until it reaches 2,000. The trike maxes out at 14,000 and I suppose elevation depends on Erik's discrepancy and the comfort of his guest. The speed was about 45mph, which is hard to gauge that high up with no points of reference (other than clouds and cars on the ground that look like ants). It's a comfortable speed that feels exhilarating without the wind pressing your cheeks back to your ears.


The ride lasts for about 30 minutes, with Erik describing the natural and man-made landmarks along the way. You can also learn a few meteorological tips. It's important to make sure that you can hear him, as his comments greatly enhance your experience. I think my fiance got even more out of the ride than I did because he could communicate better with Erik. 


You may also be given the opportunity to steer! I loved it, though I didn't feel as comfortable as my fiance who steered for about 15 minutes. If you chicken out, just let Erik know and he'll take the reigns, no harm done.


By far my favorite part of the trip was the descent. We made corkscrew spirals downward, with the craft nearly on its side. I loooooooooved it and wished that we could've just done that a couple of times. Landing was a breeze (like I said, he's a good pilot) and the gentle splash of the water on my legs was a much welcomed refreshment in the hot summer sun.

We encourage you to give it a try! Check Groupon for deals.