Monday morning Travis got a much needed haircut and shampooing. After the horrible grooming he got in Florida some years ago, this grooming was not too bad and it was cheaper than what we pay at home. In the afternoon, we took a walk in an area across from the campground. This is a such nice area.
This morning, Tuesday, we left Camp Verde traveling north to Flagstaff and then east toward New Mexico. We stopped at Meteor Crater. The crater was formed 50,000 years ago by a meteorite. It is 550 feet deep, almost 2 1/2 miles in circumference and 1 mile across today.
It is one of the smallest and newest craters in the world but it is also the best preserved due to the dry area. This crater was not positively identified as a meteor crater until the 1960's. It is privately owned. Apollo astronauts trained here because the terrian is somewhat moonlike. There is a nice museum and viewing area. We also took the walking tour along the rim with a tour guide. Everything is included for one price. The walking tour goes part way around the crater and takes about an hour.
We stopped in the town of Winslow for lunch at the La Posada Hotel.
This hotel was built by the Santa Fe railroad. In the 1930's La Posada was the finest small hotel in the Southwest. Mary Colter, a great Southwest architect, designed the hotel. Trains passed by frequently as we ate. The hotel has alot of Indian art displayed. Actually, in our opinion this hotel is the one bright spot in this town. There is a corner with a statute depicting "standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona" from the Eagles' song "Take It Easy".
This is the second time that we have stopped here and both times in the middle of the day we have seen drunk Indians hanging around on the streets. Seems depressing, doesn't it?
Finally, a little more than 150 miles from Camp Verde, we are stopped for a couple of days in Holbrook, Az. The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert are in this area. Petrified wood is seen along the roadways, behind fences. Even the campground we are staying has numerous large logs of petrified wood beside the office
