We went to see the meteor crater and let me tell you it is really awesome!  Privately run and highly commercialized, it doesn’t seem to live up to the hype, but is worth seeing.  From a distance, you can tell it is a crater.  The embankment surrounding is raised with a deeper colored dirt than the red clay soil where it stands.  You can see it from 8 miles away.  When standing at the rim, and looking across, you really can’t grasp how large it is.  Because the sightline is so clear, it really doesn’t seem as huge as it is.  Looking at a huge rock on the rim directly across, a mile away, it is astonishing to learn that the rock is the size of a house.  There is a guided walking tour around the rim which is 2.5 miles long.  Looking down into the crater from the overlook platform, you just can’t tell how huge it is, but the wind is incredible there and can easily blow you back!!! 

No meteorites to speak of… the meteor exploded and vaporized upon impact, but the heat from the blast melted the sand into tiny glassy, obsidian like bits that were expelled up to 7 miles away from the site.  We saw some in the museum but didn’t find any on the ground. 

We also get to hike the old Route 66 which runs alongside the campground here.

All in all, a good visit.  Today… we go see Winslow and Homolovi State Park, a site of an original Hopi settlement and archeological dig site.  Wish us luck!!!