East of flagstaff, Arizona there is a giant hole in the ground that is totally worth a visit. It was created by either a meteor impact 50,000 years ago or a really big gopher. Whatever future studies conclude actually caused it, it is quite impressive.

If you are struggling get your mind around the idea that really big rocks sometimes crash into the earth at over 28,000 miles per hour, this is a good crater to visit. The dry climate of the region allows one to see the whole crater. Erosion hasn’t changed all that much since those heady days when giant ground sloths roamed the area. This crater also doesn’t have a forest to block your view of the destruction fast moving rocks can wreak.

Here, there is just a 4,000 foot wide hole.

Creative Commons picture by Marcin Wichary.

Creative Commons picture by Beige Alert.

Creative Commons picture by jurvetson.

This is incredibly gutsy. No matter how many times the math is carefully worked out on this one, only the most daring will actually attempt this. These are really really big rockets.

In fact, I am hard pressed to come up with a more gutsy action. Perhaps removing your own soon to explode appendix without anesthetic…but, that would usually fall into the “just crazy” category.

For those who would like to watch the launch of a humongous rocket that has people tied to it, the space shuttle discovery is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 12th.

As gutsy and amazing as this action is, and as terrifyingly powerful as those rockets are, there are other reasons to find this interesting. Watching a hurricane form from above (space) can be really helpful in predicting hurricanes in general. We could even say that much of our present weather predictions (and thus many farming decisions) are dependent upon people having done this very gutsy action. Oh yeah, GPS, Satellite Television, and Google maps are also dependent upon such gigantic rockets and the people who have tied themselves to them.

On your first day at the office faceball the biggest guy in there so people don’t mess with you.

Creative Commons picture by shioshvili.

These trees are committed to beauty. In the fall they expend great amounts of energy to produce a flash of beauty. With grace their magnificent color expands into the world around them making everything that much prettier. Deciduous trees are the makeover artists of the plant world, capable of turning an abandoned and rusting car into a jaw dropping work of art.

Awesome places to observe deciduous trees this coming fall:

1) The Ancient Aspen Grove at Fish Lake National Forest in Utah

Aspens are particularly amazing tree in the fall because whole groves change color at exactly the same time. Their roots are so interconnected that it is often argued that they are really one organism. The roots of this particular aspen grove is thought to be some 80,000 years old. They were sacrificing beauty for beauty even before the Trojan War.

2) From the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Southeast United States

An excellent way to marvel at a majestic seasonal transformation from the inside of your car. Plus, the people are really nice. I was once mountain biking here, broke my chain, and was quickly and generously offered a ride.

3) Washington DC

Not only is the leafy beauty amazing, but you can watch it secure in the knowledge that this is just one episode in the “which is the most beautiful tree” competition that rages here. When the spring comes the cherry trees will do their best to show up whatever you see here in the fall.

Good responses to this story

“I once dated a girl just like that”
“That’s what she said”
“Almost no other time has the discarding of a body part been so pretty.”