Hack: I totally agree. I knew the Caverns were incredible, but no pictures or description could possibly do it justice. I actually had to actively stop thinking about how long it took, and how slowly, something that huge was created because my brain was in danger of explosive overload a la
Scanners. We hiked down through the cave entrance, which imho (as long as you're physically capable--there are lots of warnings about how difficult it is but its really not if you're in any kind of decent shape at all) is really the only way to see it. Half of the awe-inspiring nature of the place is just getting a sense of SCALE, and just how deep and huge it is. Taking the elevator down lets you see all the pretty formations in the main chamber, but you won't appreciate it nearly as much.
Also I forgot to mention that one of my all time favorite movies, the 60s version of
Journey to the Center of the Earth was filmed in there. HUGE geek out moment for me when we got to the place they had filmed.
Blackout: I know right? That cracks me up too. I guess the scientists have better things to do than come up with interesting names.
GP: Meteor Crater is really amazing. I knew it would be pretty cool, but I was unprepared for just how much so. The thing is HUGE. Unfortunately no one is allowed to actually go into or around it, so all of the pictures I have look pretty much exactly like the one I posted; I just picked the best and most focused one out of the lot.
Just for fun though, Meter Crater is in the high Arizona desert, and is surrounded (like a lot of the places we went) by a whole lotta nothing. This is the view from the visitor's center, and the looking out from the crater the other way:
And absolutely feel free to hit me up about things to do and places to see in the area anytime. There was a whole other list of things I WANTED to do that we just didn't have time for. THis trip was with my dad, but I'm hoping that over next summer my best friend and I will be able to take another Southwest trip, perhaps hitting more of Texas. I also want to see Zion, Bryce Canyon and the Trinity test site. I really wanted to see the Valley of Ice and Fire too--an active volcano that's right next to some real life ice caves (I had all of these great Final Fantasy jokes ready too) but we just didn't have time. We did pass through the Valley of Fire's lava fields though, and managed to pick up a couple small bits of dried lava. That was very cool.
