We drove to Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon Resort in Acton, CA on 09/06/2006. We stayed there for 1 week and while there we visited the American Girl LA in Los Angeles, CA on 09/11/2006. On 9/13/2006 we arrived at Twin Lakes RV Park in Newberry Springs, CA. This RV Park is in the Mojave Desert.
Next week we arrived at Zuni Village RV Park in Kingman, AZ on 09/20/2006. While there we visited Lake Havasu in Lake Havasu City, AZ on 09/23/2006. Lake Havasu is a large reservoir behind Parker Dam on the Colorado River, on the border between California and Arizona.
On 09/24/2006, we drove to Boulder City, NV to visit Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam is a testimony to a country’s ability to construct monolithic projects in the midst of adverse conditions. Built during the Depression, thousands of men and their families came to Black Canyon to tame the Colorado River. It took less than five years, in a harsh and barren land, to build the largest dam of its time. Now, years later, Hoover Dam still stands as a world-renowned structure. The Dam is a National Historic Landmark and has been rated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of America’s Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders. Construction on Hover Dam started in 1932 and in three years the dam was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 09/30/1935.
We arrived at Meteor Crater RV Park near Winslow, AZ on 09/27/2006. This week we were busy because we visited six sites in 4 days. On 09/29/2006 we visited the Meteor Crater near the RV park. Approximately 50,000 years ago, on a continuous plain extending for miles in the high desert plateau of Northern Arizona, out of the northeastern sky, a pinpoint of light grew rapidly into a brilliant fireball. This body was probably broken off from an asteroid during an ancient collision in the main asteroid belt (between the planets, Mars and Jupiter) some half billion years ago. Hurtling about 40,000 miles per hour, it was on a rendezvous course with earth. In seconds, it passed through the earth’s atmosphere with little loss of velocity or mass. In a blinding flash, a huge iron-nickel meteorite or dense cluster of meteorites, estimated to have been about 150 feet across and weighing several hundred thousand tons, struck the rocky plain with an explosive force greater than twenty million tons of TNT. The picture is of Meteor Crater on Rim Tour at Picture Rock View.
Then on 09/30/2006 we visited Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Flagstaff, AZ. Erupting in the winter of 1064-65, Sunset Crater is the most recent six million year history of volcanic activity in the Flagstaff area. In 1930 Congress established Sunset Crater National Monument. The picture is of the west side of Sunset Crater.
Also on 09/30/2006 we visited Wupatki National Monument also in Flagstaff, AZ. In 1064 the people living in the area fled as Sunset Crater erupted. A few generations later they returned and farmed for another 100 years. By 1180 thousands of people were farming the area. By 1250, when the volcano had quieted, pueblos stood empty. The people of Wupatki had moved on. The Wupatki Nation Monument is part of the Sunset National Monument. The picture is of the Wupatki Pueblo.
On 10/01/2006 we took the Grand Canyon Railway at Williams,AZ to the Grand Canyon National Park. The picture is of the train we traveled on to and from Grand Canyon National Park.
The Grand Canyon National Park is unmatched throughout the world for the views it offers to visitors on the rim. It is not the deepest canyon in the world. Both the Barranca del Cobre in northern Mexico and Hell’s Canyon in Idaho are deeper. But Grand Canyon is known for its overwhelming size and its intricate and colorful landscape. Geologically it is significant because of the thick sequence of ancient rocks that are beautifully preserved and exposed in the walls of the canyon. These rock layers record much of the early geologic history of the North American continent. Grand Canyon is also one of the most spectacular examples of erosion in the world. Although first afforded Federal protection in 1893 as a Forest Reserve and later as a National Monument, Grand Canyon did not achieve national park status until 1919, three years after the creation of the National Park Service. The picture is of Grand Canyon National Park from Mohave Point.
Then on 10/02/2006 we visited Lowell Mars Hill Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ. The mission of Lowell Observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach programs to bring the results of astronomical research to the public. It was here using the 24-inch Alvan Clark Telescope that Lowell saw what was reported as canals. Also Pluto was discovered here using a different telescope. The picture is of the 24-inch Alvan Clark Telescope.
