Biospheres and Meteors and Eagles (Lyrics)

The second day began with an hour drive to the Biosphere 2, the research facility and Pauly Shore inspiration for "Biodome". For those unfamiliar with it, it was built in the late 80's and was supposed to be a human experiment where people would be completely locked in it for 2 years and they would see if they could survive.  It was supposed to simulate colonizing another world and would incorporate all different kinds of biospheres. It didn't quite work as planned (apparently ordering pizzas is not something you can do on the moon, though that seems like something Papa John might try while drunk) and despite a second attempt at the experiment, it eventually became a university research center and is currently owned by the University of Arizona.

I should note that the construction and research got a lot of press in the late 80's and early 90's and I was fascinated by it as a kid. I remember thinking this was going to prove we could colonize other planets and within a couple decades we'd be on the moon! It didn't work out obviously (or else I'd be blogging from the moon right now and not a Best Western in Winslow, AZ with the slowest internet connection imaginable). I also recall being really disappointed when the original goal fizzled out and they needed outside help. Still, it's one of those places I wanted to go and it lived up to the hype.

It's a huge facility and the fact that some oil guy funded the construction and actually got it built is amazing. Even with its flaws, the engineering is impressive and it's still yielding good research today. The tour we took walked us through the inside, including the rain forest, simulated ocean, fog desert and savannah. We also saw some of the technology underneath the facility, including a huge room that was an artificial lung that moved up and down, allowing the air pressure in the sealed structure to be dealt with in a way that didn't destroy the windows.

After the tour, we had to quickly leave so we could get to Meteor Crater before it closed. That's another place I read about as a kid and have been fascinated with so this was a pretty great day for 12 year old Ryan. We did get a bit sidetracked when we passed by the Casa Grande National Monument and since it was right on the road on the way to Meteor Crater, we stopped to get a stamp and check out the prehistoric structure built by the Sonoran Desert people 500-1000 years ago. The ruins are pretty cool especially with how much of the main house is intact and was definitely worth a quick stop.

We got to Meteor Crater only about 30 minutes before closing but that was good enough to look at a big hole in the ground. It's the best preserved meteor impact site in the world and the scope of it is pretty incredible. The museum was nice too and had a nod to Jess's hometown so she was happy.

Finally, we went to Winslow. Arizona to stand on a corner. Specifically, we went to the corner that they put a couple monuments and signs up (along with some Route 66 stuff). It was the highlight of Winslow considering there weren't many places to eat and the Denny's we went to was a huge disappointment (and that's saying something considering it's a Denny's).  Now we're at the hotel and will have to get up early for another packed day on Monday.

As they say at Meteor Crater, "Come see our hole for free!" Note: They do not say this.