Flagstaff, Arizona

     We were impressed with the city of Flagstaff.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagstaff,_Arizona  It's a college town, home to Northern Arizona University and Coconino Community College.  We enjoyed watching the kids come and go to the NAU campus near our hotel.  We missed out on our Colorado River rafting adventure because of the national park closings, but we found plenty of things to do in Flagstaff.
     The Riordan's were one of the founding families of Flagstaff http://riordanactionnet.org/.  Matt, Timothy, and Michael Riordan came to Flagstaff from Chicago.  They were drawn by the lumber business.  It was only a matter of a few years until they went from employees to owners of the Ayer Lumber Mill.  They gave back to their community in many ways, but their most significant gift was Lake Mary, a reservoir that provides water to this day.

Timothy and Michael Riordan married sisters, Carolyn and Elizabeth Metz.  They decided to build their homes side-by-side with a one story family room connecting the sides.  Their compound has been called the biggest duplex in Flagstaff.  

What a pretty entry.

Stained glass in the dining room windows.

They called to room that connected the two sides "the cabin."

It seems that new visitors to Flagstaff can suffer a mild case of altitude sickness.  This can occur from 4,900 - 11,500 feet above sea level, especially if one becomes dehydrated.  Flagstaff's elevation is 7200 feet.  Symptoms are headache (like a hangover), feeling tired, and being short of breath upon exertion.  Symptoms usually go away in three days.  The museum warned visitors to drink plenty of water, and they offered these folding chairs for the tour.

After touring the Riordan Mansion, we went to Meteor Crater, the largest impact crater discovered so far in the United States.  The crater is not a national monument because it is privately owned.

Steven, our tour guide, showed us a chunk of the meteor that slammed this spot 50,000 years ago.  They don't worry about anyone walking off with this artifact because it weighs 1,406 pounds.

Besides the short trail on the rim, there are several observation decks.  Each telescope is pointed at a specific spot inside the crater.

Only scientists and film crews ("Starman") can go inside the crater.  The rest of us have to stand in front of this big poster. 

And here I am, pretending to be at ground zero.

          Our final stop this day was the Lowell Observatory.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Observatory  We were surprised to learn that the Lowell telescope mirror is only 24 inches in diameter.  This telescope is used today for public education. Mike and I peered through it to observe a far away star cluster.  Lowell Observatory has built the big boy of telescopes on a hill near Happy Jack, Arizona.  It's called the DCT or Discovery Channel Telescope because it was funded mostly by the Discovery TV network.  The mirror on the DCT is 14 feet in diameter.  If you have 42 minutes, watch this very interesting documentary about the construction of the DCT's mirror and the Happy Jack facility.