Sunday, March 23, 2014

Meteor Crater

It's been a while that my husband has told me about this meteor crater.
It is said to have been created by an iron-nickel meteorite about 50,000 years ago.
It s 2.4 miles in circumference and 550 feet deep.
If you go to google maps you can see the little green circle  on the map view, and you can see the crater on satellite view.

It is right off Route 66, about 20 minutes from the town of Winslow.
Astronauts train there every September and have been doing that since before they went to the moon. Scientists use the place to study impact craters on our galaxy, because it is the clearest and best defined impact crater on the planet. And a movie called StarMan, from 1984, was filmed there.
I have already added the movie to our netflix queue.

THE WEBSITE - PRICES, HOURS, AND TIME SLOTTED
Their website is a little hard to navigate, but not hard to find.
http://www.meteorcrater.com/
They have admission prices and hours.
Adults $16.00 and children $8.00 - Times are 7 to 7 in the summer and 8 to 5 in the rest of the year.
They also say the prices include 3 lookout points on the rim of the crater, an Interactive Discovery Center, a theater showing our movie "IMPACT" as well as a guided  tour on the rim of the crater.

They don't say how long should we put aside for a visit.
They say the movie is 10 minutes. I am guessing the interactive center is about 20-30 minutes. On IgoUgo they say it takes about 30 minutes to walk to the view points.  So ... 1h10m?
However, let's not forget the guided tour. Well, about.com says it lasts one hour. The problem is - when do they leave? The website only says "tours are offered, weather permitting".  I have read in IgoUgo - someone that posted back in 2003 - that they leave at 9:15 and at 2:15.Is it still true?
Let's figure then 2hrs.







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