Meteor Crater

One of the attractions that advertises in our guides, here in Holbrook, is Meteor Crater Enterprises. I needed to meet with them the other day and we also wanted to see the crater, since we ran out of time last year when we were here. This meteor crater is the first proven and best preserved impact site on Earth.

What an interesting history the Meteor Crater has had, from the time it was “discovered” (it was originally thought to be due to a volcanic eruption) to its’ use by NASA, for training of the astronauts. They have a great museum, with astrological and astronaut information. A guided tour around the rim of the crater is conducted each hour, unless the winds are too strong. Our tour guide, Eduardo, said the winds have been documented as high as 180 m.p.h. on the rim. I think they were gusting at 35-40 m.p.h. the day we were there….man, was it windy !

	Training capsule that the astronauts used to practice splash down procedures.
Eduardo leading our group…he was a great tour leader !	This is the bottom of the crater, where it was believed the asteroid could be found if they drilled below the surface. See the US flag and cut-out of astronaut. Astronaut is 6’ tall and could not be seen without zoom lens.
The RV lot, as seen from the rim of the crater.	Native flowers…Eduardo told us quite a bit about vegetation and flowers in the area.
Remains of a house that existed on rim of crater but that fire and wind brought down..	Hunka hunka burning meteorite….1,406 pounds to be precise. Only about 30” long and 15” wide but it’s 90% iron.
Astronaut Wall of Fame	Notice the “crater-do”, thanks to the 40 mile per hour winds !

What a neat place and really big-rig friendly, for folks on the move. I’m so glad we got the chance to go and see it. Very interesting and well worth the stop ! If you’re on I-40, in Arizona, between Winslow and Flagstaff, be sure to stop and check it out.

More friends dropping by…

We had a wonderful surprise last night when Vicki and Bob Moore called us and said they were stopped for the night just down the road from us and wondered if we could get together for supper. We had just put a tray of eggplant parmigiana in the oven so it was perfect timing. They jumped in the car and came over the see us and spend some time catching up. It was so great to see them. We decided to meet for breakfast this morning at 8:00 a.m., at Denny’s, before they needed to hit the road. Seems we’re not the only ones to get goofed up on “Arizona” time. Vicki and Bob arrived at what they thought was 8 a.m. but was really 7 a.m. They had consumed a lot of coffee by the time we got there at 8 but what a good time we had with them.

We had worked with Vicki and Bob at Amazon in 2008, in Coffeyville, Kansas. They have worked there for four years now….what troopers they are to keep up that brutal pace for four years ! It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen them so we’re so fortunate that our paths crossed, here in Holbrook. This wonderful lifestyle allows us to intercept our friends as we crisscross this great country. Good times !

Moving Motel

Last night, while we were sitting outside our friends motorhome, I saw this rig pull in the campground and up to the office. It seemed very tall but it wasn’t until another motorhome pulled up behind it that I realized just how tall it was. It said Das Rollende Hotel on the side of the bus. (If you click on the link, you’ll go to their web site and see some cool pictures but unless you understand German, you won’t be able to read anything on their site…cool pics though !) They pulled into a site that was close to the rest rooms and started to get set up for the night. The door opened and people started pouring out. Wendy took her smart phone and researched the name from the side of the bus. Turns out it’s a touring company that specializes in economical tours for foreigners.

The front part of the bus is where the 24 passengers ride, like on a typical bus. The back half is where there are 26 sleeping compartments (24 for passengers and 2 for the drivers). If you open the picture, the area under the large windows is a pull out kitchen. It was pretty amazing. All of the tables that they are sitting at, were unloaded from the bus storage bays. (That’s some serious storage space !)

 

 

 

On the left side of the bus, there was an entrance area for the sleeping compartment.We didn’t see them set it up but if you look closely at the picture, you’ll see that the roof part looks like it flips up and the floor of the area pulled out of the coach. There are legs under the area to support it and a set of steps leading up to the platform. Very interesting ! We were very intrigued by it and kept watching what they were doing and tried to snap some pictures without appearing too obvious. Made for an interesting discussion during happy hour.

Petrified Forest/Painted Desert

We had a wonderful surprise on Thursday when our friends Wendy and Cindy called us and said they had read our blog and saw we were in Holbrook. They were planning on coming through Holbrook and said they would arrive on Saturday and would be staying till Tuesday. What a great surprise ! Our friend, Ross, from Denver also arrived on Saturday after finishing his workamper job at Boyce Thompson State Park. He had to lead what was supposed to be a five hour hike and turned into an eight hour ordeal, which put him on the road much later than he had anticipated. The girls arrived around mid-day and Ross got in around 8 on Saturday night.

We decided to take all of them to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest today. We had such a good time, hiking and taking in all of the sights.

On Thursday we drove to Flagstaff to call on some customers. When we left Holbrook, it was sunny and warm although the weather forecast said it might rain. After we had been in Flagstaff, for just a little while, it started snowing like crazy. Wet, sloppy snow covered the car and me while we were out selling. Thank goodness Linda brought some jackets cause we were freezing. Linda had shorts on and I had capris on which made it pretty chilly. Guess it’s not all that uncommon to have snow in Flagstaff this time of year, due to the 7000’ elevation. We surely weren’t expecting it !

Overall, it was an awesome weekend. We are heading out in the morning for Snowflake and Show Low for an early morning appointment and a day of selling down there. It’s 45 minutes to Snowflake and on from there to Show Low. Hoping for a good day. We have one more evening with Cindy and Wendy before they head out.

Hope everyone’s week is a good one !

To boldly go where no one has gone before…

Wherever it is, I think you can get there in this ! Isn’t it the ultimate boondocking vehicle ? Ain’t no mountain high enough or terrain too rugged to get there in this….

 

 

 

And if you want to just take a “little” camping trip, maybe this will suit you..

 

 

 

 

 

Has been really hot here this week..in the 80’s but is calling for rain and windy conditions tomorrow. Nothing much going on here in Holbrook. Our friend, Ross is coming to visit us this weekend and we hope to take him to the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. More later….

Babies

We left Oklahoma on Friday morning and covered the 800 miles to arrive in Holbrook, Arizona Saturday just after lunch. We left tornado alley and are now simmering in the high temps they are experiencing here. Before we left OKC, we did get to go to the zoo. We wanted to see Malee, the baby elephant from last year. Not only did we see Malee but lots of cute babies. It was a fun day.

 

 

 

 

The parents were fun to watch too. They were up to adult like shenanigans…

The first part of the drive was very windy, pushing the rig a bit while driving. Not crazy about that but after we got to around New Mexico, the wind died down and it was much more enjoyable. Weather was great….blue skies and temps in the low 70’s. We spent Friday night at a rest stop in New Mexico and it was the quietest rest area we’ve ever stayed in.

In other news, Boomer is doing great after his surgery last Tuesday. He had a tumor inside his mouth that we only realized very recently when we had a new found friend, who’s a vet, look at it. She said it should come out, because it would only continue to grow. Boomer went under anesthesia and they cut it out and then cauterized it. He’s been on antibiotics but is back to normal. We’re happy that it went so smoothly.

In other medical news, my mom is home from the hospital. She went to Wal-Mart on Friday morning and passed out at the register. My sister took her to the doctor and they admitted her for 24 hours to check her out. Turns out the new heart medicine they had put her on a few days earlier was too strong a dose and made her blood pressure go really high. I talked to her today and she sounded great and they did a thorough check of everything while she was in the hospital. She too is back to normal and we’re very happy about that. Pennsylvania is under the gun today for some snow…yuck ! It was 85 degrees here today and they are looking at snow. Crazy weather…

Oklahoma City

We had wanted to go to the zoo last weekend but once I remembered that it was Easter and they were having an egg hunt (meaning lots and lots of kids), I decided that Sunday wasn’t the day to go. During the week we worked…that is always exhausting so we always enjoy the peace and quiet of the weekend. Mother Nature didn’t get the memo that those were supposed to be the conditions here this weekend. We were plugging along yesterday afternoon, with a few more stops to make, when we got a text from our friend Susie saying that there was a large storm headed our way. The sky had been darkening rather quickly so we drove back to the rig to assess the situation. The local TV channels were going crazy with tracking of the storms. Linda and I figured out our plan since there had been talk of bad weather this weekend. We had stopped in the office at lunch time and asked them about the siren system. As former PA residents, we don’t have those back in PA. We asked what exactly does it mean when it goes off ? Is there one on the ground within x miles or what. A: It means that one has formed or been spotted in that county. Where is the storm shelter and can we get in there after the office closes. A: It’s between the laundry room and the office and yes, the door will be unlocked after the office closes. Can we bring our dog in there ? A: yes  So we made our plan, knowing that the worst of everything was going to happen through the night.

So, back to watching the weather on TV…Linda was texting our friend Susie at the University, in Norman, where she is working. The TV station has a chopper in the air, near the storm. As the pilot is talking, he zooms in on the rain wrapped clouds and a funnel cloud appeared out of the clouds and dropped to the ground. Holy crap ! They are so precise out here at predicting the movement of these cells (they get a lot of practice !) Long story short, it touched down in Norman and skipped across an area about five blocks from the University where Susie was working. Bunch of damage….just a few minor injuries. Norman is the town where we were last week. We left the state park there last Friday and moved to Oklahoma City…an hour away.

Last night we had a 30% chance of any storms hitting the OKC area. We thought it would be a quiet night. It wasn’t….once the storms fired up, it was so noisy most of the night. So much lightening and thunder. We tried to lay down at 8:30, knowing that it was going to be a busy night. Didn’t get much sleep till midnight with all the storms. At 2:30 the siren went off. Even with my ear plugs in, I heard it. I had been concerned that I might not be able to hear it. We jumped up, did what we had pre-arranged to do and headed out the door to the shelter. I had Boomer and ran to the shelter with him. Linda took the car and drove to the shelter. We were one of the first to arrive. A lady met us as we came through the door and said the tornado was in Piedmont and was moving away from us. We had no idea where  that was but when we got back to the rig and looked off in the distance, the sky was going crazy with lightening. Tons of rain over night. The water was running down the street, here in the park.

We had a great break today. Susie and Dave Smeal met us at the Warren Theatre, in Moore to take in a movie. We first went to Taco Mayo, just a short distance from the theatre, for a bite to eat. We went to see 21 Jump Street, which was hilarious and the sound and picture image was the best I’ve ever seen (or heard). This is a gorgeous theatre !There is a restaurant and bar on the top floor, for folks over 21 years of age and willing to pay more to go up there. Lots of neat areas, wall murals and gorgeous neon in the art deco style. We loved it and it was nice to see Dave and Susie again before we leave the area. So glad that Bobbie gave us their contact info so we could meet them. Looking forward to meeting up with them out on the road as we criss cross the country.

It was a nice break but we arrived back at the rig to see that the TV stations are already tracking storms in the western part of the state. Very windy here right now. We pulled the slide in so the slide topper doesn’t take a beating.Bracing for more storms tonight. The good news is that there is a Sprint cup race tonight. The bad news is that it’s on FOX and will probably be pre-empted by the weather.   :(

National Cowboy Museum

We left Lake Thunderbird State Park, in Norman, on Friday morning bound for McClain’s to get the parts put on and then on to Oklahoma City to our next park. Arrived at McClain’s and left the rig to get the new board put on the monitoring panel and the new turntable on the microwave. We went out to make sales calls while they worked on the rig. Around noon, we came back to check on the status of the repairs. They were all done so we headed out to get set up at the park. Seems so good to have the microwave working again and now we can assess all of our systems since they got the new board put in. Life is good with the rig right now.

This morning we decided to go to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, which is only a couple of miles from  the park. We’ve never been there before but have heard great things about it. Wow, what an awesome place. We spent about two hours there and could have spent even more time. Anything to do with cowboys, settling of the west, rodeo and art work is there. The place is huge, as are some of the sculptures. Linda is standing at the base of this sculpture, which is 18 feet tall. It’s massive but so expressive and has an amazing history. The piece stands in the main entry of the museum.

Not only are the exhibits neat (and I’m not a great fan of most museums), but the outside grounds are breathtaking. The azaleas (many different colors), hostas, waterfalls and flower beds were beautiful. Check out these pictures…

The on-premise restaurant is gearing up for tomorrow’s Easter brunch. We got to see the menu and it looked awesome (was making me hungry just reading it). Brunch is something like $21.98 per person and includes free admission into the museum. The restaurant and the large banquet room were being set up for what looked to be a very large turnout.

Inside the museum they have a replica of an old western town set up…19 full size buildings with many of them open so you can walk inside and check out what the schoolhouse or bank would look like. A really neat way to show kids what it was like in the old west.

This is a picture I took of the blackboard in the old school house. Do you think those two words that are missing from the Pledge of Allegiance are a result of modern day controversy, weren’t there in 1905 or someone snuck up there and erased them? Curious minds want to know.

Neat place with lots of things to check out…a good place to take the little buckaroos too. Tomorrow we’re thinking about going to the zoo. Last year, at this time, a baby elephant was born but we weren’t able to see her due to the bonding of mother and baby for several weeks after the birth. Malee will be one in another week and we want to see her. Hoping for a nice day so we can go. Hope everyone is having a great weekend ! More to come….

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