Northern Arizona - Day 2

On day 2 after Eric finished his job in Holbrook we set out to see the Wigwam Motel. Its cartoon form may be familiar to you if you have seen the movie Cars. The Cozy Cone Motel in the Cars movie is modeled after the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook. Also, if you watched Oprah and Gayle's road trip you may remember that they stayed there. If I ever go back to Holbrook this is definitely where I am staying!

Luckily they were cleaning the Wigwams so we were able to peek inside.



Sadie insisted on a picture with the tow truck (Mater). She informed us that that the guy who plays Mater in the Cars movie works with Eric. We had no idea what she was talking about, so she explained it to us. She somehow knows that Larry the Cable Guy plays Mater, and since she also somehow knows that Eric works with cable, she naturally thinks that they work together. Four year olds are irresistible.



While driving to our next destination we stopped at Geronimo to see the largest ever petrified tree (boring):



And stopped at another roadside attraction: A Blowing Dust Area



We didn't really see the appeal:



As previously mentioned we visited Winslow! The highlight of the trip in my opinion:



And then finally made it to our last attraction of the day:  The Meteor Crater



The Meteor Crater is the world's best preserved meteorite impact site and stretches nearly one mile across.

First we checked out the museum:



And then traveled down to the bottom of the crater for some pictures. Or stood in front of a picture of the bottom of the crater. You decide:



After the museum we took a tour of the crater and then explored it further:



After visiting the crater we headed home. Quick but lovely trip.

Northern Arizona - Day 1

A couple of weeks ago we took a mini-trip to Northern Arizona. Eric had two jobs to do in Williams and then another in Holbrook. There are a few perks to going out of town with Eric when he has work to do:

1) Our gas is paid for

 2) Our hotel is paid for

AND

3) He is usually working at hotels that have pools! So while he works, we swim.



After he finished he jobs we went to BEARIZONA in Williams. It was fantastic! I would totally recommend going if you are out that way.




We were immediately greeted by Buster the BEARIZONA mascot.



I sort of had to force Megan to be in this picture:



Our first stop was the High Country Raptors show. Jackson, Sadie and I were right in their flight path. As they quickly flew overhead they grazed our hair a few times. It was freaky!



In this next picture you can kind of seeing it getting ready to fly right over Jacksons head:



They had this cool bird that collected donations and then dropped them in the donation box. Brilliant!:



After the bird show we explored the outdoor area where they keep lots of animals, and visited the petting zoo:



We could have watched the bear cubs ALL DAY LONG. They were so ridiculously, playfully cute:



As I was reading the map this goat hopped up on the fence and tried to eat it:



This poor goat seemed upset the whole time we were there. He kept continually hitting his head against this tree. I realize they do this, but it seemed a bit extreme. I think he may have been depressed:



The foxes were located right next to the petting zoo. The poor things were furiously digging around the fence trying to get to the chickens housed right next door. I can't imagine their frustration!



More pics:





After exploring the outdoor area, it was time to climb into our car and drive around the 2 mile loop to see the bigger animals. You basically drive down the road and see the animals in their natural environment. There are no barriers. Except of course your car.



We often found the animals hanging out in the middle of the road and just had to wait for them to move on by. It was kind of surreal seeing huge bears walk right up next to your car.





After exploring the entire park it was time to head off to Holbrook and rest up for Day 2.