Wow! Very nice description of an amazing place!
The guy that originally bought the crater (In like 1910) went broke mining for the Iron that he just knew was buried just under the surface!
The scale just can't translate until you see the place. It's really big!
It's not my favorite place near Winslow, however. I keep going back to Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park. It's a hidden gem of a place on several levels. Part of it (through Painted Desert) includes a piece of old Route 66-another level of interest.
Thanks for a great look at a great place. Come back in November, you'll like it a lot more :)
Yeah! I remember reading about the guy inside of the museum. Pretty sad! Something similar happened to my great aunt (89 years old now!) and great uncle who claimed a mountain in 29 Palms California back 70 years ago or so. They had some equipment that was registering a massive amount of thorium (I believe it was).
They spent years and a fortune trying to mine it, but could never find it. It turns out that there was a lot there, but it was much deeper (and a lot more of it) than they though. They ended up selling it to a company with deeper pockets and the best equipment.
Thanks for the tip! I will definitely be on the lookout for Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park next time we are driving through those parts. I feel like I've seen a sign for that, but I may be making it up.