The Big Hole in the Ground and more FAMILY!

"I got my kicks on Route 66!" my father sang that out loud back in 1967 when he, my Mom and I were on a cross country trip. Today, William - the younger - and I sang out a few times ourselves after driving out of New Mexico and into Arizona.

Kachina Dolls, no ancient aliens here!

Red Rocks is what the Southwest does best

Castle or bottom of a goldfish bowl?

We pretty much bee-lined it to Phoenix, except for when we got off the main highway, giving in to signage that assured us we could see the 8th wonder of the world, the world's LARGEST & BEST meteorite crater on earth.

Quite a promise really...

The Meteor Crater is not a state or federal thingie, as it is entirely in private hands. The crater itself is perhaps 10 minutes from the freeway.  

This entrance

Once we'd driven all the way to the facility, we were sufficiently horrified to find out the entrance fee was a whopping $18!  After the not unsubstantial drive in, I decided WTH, and in we went.

a tiny bit of the facilties

For a private site, it seemed a bit over priced but I admit the grounds were well kept up and there was a lot of information available.

 





















And yes, it's still just a huge hole in the ground, but it is awe inspiring in its size. It is really hard to get most of the crater into one frame. Should have taken more Panorama shots.

So without much more ado - here is the BIG HOLE.

The tiny specks on the white thingie in the lower right hand corner are people

 The crater is about a mile wide. William - and people more energetic than she-of-the-slug-variety, walked up to the top of a viewing area for a much better look at the canyon (William took the photo just above from the highest viewing platform).

This is as far up as I climbed - looking back down on the entire visitor center

 After our brief stop at the crater, we continued on, not making our way into Phoenix until after dark. We were supposed to stop off at and pick up our Cousin Rhonda at her apartment. Then we were to take her with us to visit our Uncle Matt and Aunt Arna. But nope! Don't ask me how I screwed up, but we ended up at Matt and Arna's sans Rhonda - oopsy. Oh well! We had a nice visit with Matt and Arna.

We visited with Matt & Arna for a couple of hours, which is always a treat. I wish they lived closer to Sacramento or that we all lived in Washington State (if wishes were fishes).

When we finally left, we headed back to Rhonda's apartment. I wish I could find the photos of Rhonda's apartment complex, it is like something out of Sunset Magazine, i.e., uber fancy. I had to laugh, as Rhonda led us though her facility towards her building, we passed through a couple of social areas where the tenants play ping-pong, get a soda from vending machines or rest on easy chairs. As we passed though, guys lit up and were all like "HI RHONDA!" Even in her fifties, Rhonda's a certifiable babe.

Half of Rhonda's front room, with my junk & Williams all over the place - sorry Cuz! 

So it was a long, long day today and a highly satisfying one. We've passed through a lot of country this past week and a half and we are stunned that our two weeks is almost up already. How did that happen? Talk about time flying! 

Thanksgiving Feast ala Brazil

Just another southern Colorado Mesa

We left The Garden of the Gods in early afternoon and headed south toward Albuquerque, New Mexico. Along the way, it was the unofficial sworn duty of the passenger to record the scenery along the way, and what scenery there was!

We very-nearly-almost saw a massive UFO... of sorts, hoovering over a mountain.

Incoming MOTHER SHIP! 

We made it all the way to the Land of Enchantment.

Plenty of scenery & mesas in New Mexico too.

We stopped to get a few snaps of a herd of Pronghorn spotted in the distance.

They were far off from the highway

But the super-zoom lens worked its magic

Doe with  over-grown twins

And the cow farm legacy continues... am I right Joann?

And it got dark, and beautiful. William, riding shotgun, took a portfolio's worth of beautiful sundown shots.

Close up of the 'sky salamander' (it's facing right)

We made it into Albuquerque, facing a dilemma - today is THANKSGIVING! We needed some spectacular & toothsome eats for our empty bellies. Where to go? William pulled out his iPhone & quickly scanned Yelp. A restaurant was open - even though most were closed or closing - and the best praised restaurant was Brazilian: The Tucanos Brazilian.

Brazilian for Thanksgiving? Hey, why not!

OMG, the restaurant offered a massive buffet with every American Thanksgiving item one can imagine.

They had yer stuffin' and yer yams and yer cranberry
sauces, yes everything you'd need except the Alka Seltzer

My modest holiday plate - um... not including my extra 'treat' plate

 You'll note this is a Brazilian restaurant, right? And all the dishes seemed quite American and therefore on the borderline of American ho-hum-drum, right? Wrong! Every few minutes one waiter or another would approach our table with massive spits, bearing every sort of Brazilian meat imaginable for our feast: there was Picanha & Alcatra (sirloin cuts), Assado, Fraldinha and Contra File (steaks!), Presunto & Lombo (pork cuts) and the unexpected as seen below, BBQ pineapple. At least I think that's the pineapple. If I hadn't been so busy stuffing my face I'd have gotten photos of the mesmerising & juicy meat-laiden skewers.

Abacaxi, i.e., grilled pineapple

All required was to indicate which or both skewers you wished to sample, and the waiter adeptly sliced off a chunk, placing it on your own personal 'treat plate'. My plate soon overflowed and I realized BAD things would happen if I gave into eating. Lucky William still possesses the stomach of a youngster so he did us both proud in the 'waste no food' theme.

Tada!  Another Thanksgiving day with thanks given and bellies overflowing. On leaving our Brazilian feast, we had adventures finding a hotel, but we did find great one. Thus ended the holiday. Go my family & friends, in peace.

The Garden of the Gods

Cathedral Spires, the primary spot for photo opts at the Garden

From the very start of our westward journey, William made calls to his family and college buddies he'd thoughtfully sprinkled throughout the country. A friend of his recommended we not miss his family's favorite local attraction. The friend and the attraction are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. So leaving Rocky Mountain National Park we headed south. After a fun & serpentine drive (thank you Waze!) we arrived at The Garden of the Gods.

Reminiscent of Zion National Park

The on-line stuff about the park states it is closed on Thanksgiving - which coincidentally is today - and the entry fee is $8 for adults. There was no entry fee and the site was open so SCORE!

Red, iron stained rocks are so striking

Although the park and it has connects to the building of the Pacific Railroad. It has merited National Landmark status and I wonder if its petite size is why it is not a national park.

A road loops through the park and today it was quite busy. As you circle among the red spires, ever turn on the road shows off  a new inspiring view.

William getting a different angle on things

A beautiful Golden Eagle floated over one corner of the park, though I've no photo to show for it.

I imagine a lot of bird species nest in those convenient cubby holes

Suspect this formation must be named, 'man with a goatee in a beret'

How did they iron out that white rock outcropping? 

landmark 'Balanced Rock' on the left

Last shots in the Garden of the Gods

The Garden of the Gods certainly was truly a worthy side helping on our Thanksgiving Day drive.