The Art - Photography

In the early 1990s we drove up to Meteor Crater, in Arizona, while on a cross-country trip, it being one of my landmark destinations, but it was closed due to inclement weather. A sore disappointment. We didn't have the opportunity to try again until 2005 and it was again closed due to weather. In December of 2006, we finally saw it, but as we arrived all tours were called off for the rest of the day as the winds were blowing so ferociously. We stepped outside briefly to view the crater and it was near impossible to stay on one's feet. There would be great gusts of wind, these would abate long enough for one to walk a few steps, then again would come this powerful wind and I’d stand and brace myself against it, wait for it to pass, then walk a few steps more. Interestingly enough, it raised no dust that I could see at least. Going back inside I did find myself picking a few bits of sand out of my mouth but there was no abrasive grit sting to the wind, unlike with a dust storm. They closed the viewing area, but we were headed back inside anyway as our young son, though thrilled with the experience, was unable to stay out any longer in the wind. In the gift shop they sold sand from the area and meteorite chips. We bought a couple of the chips.

The focus of this album is split. Images 2 through 8 are part of it but form their own section on the road to the crater and viewing, not yet knowing what it is, the crater's rim from afar, which rises 200 feet from the surrounding desert floor. Part of that series can be viewed on a single page here.

Of course, I had hoped to capture some good shots of the crater, but the wind made it impossible for me to explore, or even concentrate. I had hoped to capture a good portrait shot of the meteorite, but I realized that it was going to be fairly impossible to get one that I could isolate from the surroundings, so I ended up sharing its stage with a guide and my son, and asked permission for another shot of the two guides when we were later on our way out.