The Earth at Risk?

At the Great Meteor Crater, we asked this very question. Ben looked for details deep in space, while Alec and Casey took the more straight-forward approach. It turns out that if you take a moon-sized meteor traveling directly towards earth (no chance for atmospheric 'bounce') at 8 Gazillion miles per hour, then yes, the Earth is doomed.



We actually spent most of the day at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Arizona is hot in July. You can see and buy petrified wood in the park, or you can simply stop along highway 180 after you leave and pick it up off the side of the highway. It turns out that petrified wood is not rare; it occurs in all 50 states. While stopping to check out a geocache on 180, we noticed that the roadside was littered with agate, petrified wood, and other rocks you might pay for in a store. I guess geology is much easier when you go to a place that isn't slathered in asphalt and $400k townhouses.

My favorite spot in the park was called 'Newspaper Rock'. It's covered with petroglyphs - stone art from native Americans dating back almost 2000 years. It was fun talking to my 6 year-old - who spent most of last year learning to read and write - about languages that lack a formal alphabet and grammar. (You can, of course, find better pictures and information on the net...)

We're heading towards Flagstaff next for some hotel time, before heading up to the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, and Cedar City. 2 days in the desert was enough for us, although I did ask the kids what it would be like to wonder around one for 40 years.

Mike