Flagstaff, Arizona to Santa Fe, New Mexico

For those of us who had traveled to Flagstaff from California, the temperature when we emerged from our rooms at The Knight's Inn was a bit of a shock. When we sprayed RainX cleaner onto our windshields to clean them, it turned to snow before our eyes, or froze on contact with the screen! After coffee at a nearby Starbucks, everyone had warmed up sufficiently to hit the road. Once again, it was a gloriously sunny day, so it was a comfortable temperature for everyone, including those in convertibles. Jerry headed of directly to Santa Fe to pick up his co-pilot David, from the airport. Meanwhile, the rest of the group decided to stop off at Meteor Crater about 40 miles outside Flagstaff.

And then there were five: Mike's S3, Lynn and Jan's S3, Kjell & Scott's S1, David's S2, and Lloyd's S2

Meteor Crater has been claimed to be the best preserved meteor crater on earth. It is about 3,900 ft in diameter, some 570 ft deep, and is surrounded by a rim that rises 148 ft above the surrounding plains. The center of the crater is filled with 690–790 ft of rubble lying above crater bedrock. It is believed to be around 50,000 years old. 

View from the rim of Meteor Crater

The object that excavated the crater was a nickel–iron meteorite about 55 yards across. Recent research suggests the impact took place at around 28,600 mph. It is believed that about half of the meteor's bulk was vaporized during its descent before it hit the ground. Impact energy has been estimated at about 10 megatons.

Lloyd, Lynn and Jan puzzle over the barbecue pit in the center of the crater...

The meteorite was mostly vaporized upon impact, leaving little in the crater.

The largest fragment discovered of the meteor is displayed at the visitor's center - about 30 inches long

The crater is located in the middle of a flat barren featureless plain, which makes it's height and volume all the more impressive.

View from the rim of the crater across the plain to Humphrey's Peak (12,637ft) around 40 miles away

With around 350 miles still to go to Santa Fe, we rejoined I-40 heading East. The group split up along the way but all arrived safely in Santa Fe by 6:30pm. The loss of two sealing plugs from David's intake manifold prevented his car from starting after a lunch stop, but some quick diagnostics and a helpful suggestion from Lynn soon resulted in the car being back on the road. 

In Santa Fe we are staying at the Inn of the Governors, a distinct step up from our previous accommodations.

Teddy was particularly delighted to find that he has a large bed all to himself!

In the evening we all got together and had dinner at the Thunderbird Grill in downtown Santa Fe.

From the Left: Drew, Mary, Jerry, David, Lloyd, Scott, Kjell, Jan, Lynn, and Mike: the other David behind the camera

Tomorrow we should be joined by the remaining Leakers in Santa Fe. The rest of us plan to explore the area, but probably keep driving to a minimum. The cars deserve a rest day too!