If you ever find yourself driving for 5 hours through Arizona desert, and a tourist sign for a meteor crater creeps closer and closer, you may ask yourself “hmm. Is that meteor crater worth the detour?” The answer is always YES. You may approach the destination and find out that you can’t simply walk up to the crater, but you actually have to go through a museum dedicated to the wonders of space and pay $16 to reach the edge of the abyss. You may ask once again, looking at the few dollars in your pocket- will it be worth it? The answer is definitely YES.
When Lance and I spent $16 on a ticket to see a (very gigantic and mesmerizing) hole in the ground, it represented a shift in both of us. We are both pretty rational, and love to pinch our pennies. The first time we approached the ticket window, we walked right back to the parking lot and glanced at each other, laughing at the “suckers” who would pay that much just to see this tourist site. We sat in the van for a few minutes, and looked up at the giant hill of dirt that was the mouth of the crater, and we could not keep our curiosity contained. We paid, we took pictures with our thumbs up, we dropped our jaws in admiration of the natural beauty in front of us. We even got to touch a piece of the original meteor that crashed over 15,000 years ago in Flagstaff.
The night before, Lance and I found ourselves streaming the debate between Bill Nye and Kenn Hamm about evolution vs. creationism in the science world. Hearing Bill Nye talk about the wonders of our natural universe, the history of our planet shown in every overturned rock and pebble- I had a whole new appreciation for the vastness of that crater in the morning. My mind filled with images of space and the reminder of how tiny our lives really are. I am not frightened at the realization that my life is tiny in the grand scheme of things. In the moments that I am humbled by my size, I am reminded how important it is to allow myself to take the detours every once in a while and pull over the car, just for the heck of it.
That night our show in New Mexico was canceled due to circumstances beyond our control, but it gave us a chance to hang out with our friends and hosts in Santa Fe. The architecture and historical scenery on every street corner was so beautiful. My friends lived in a little bodega house that was over 100 years old. We stayed up all night drinking margaritas, eating delicious food, and catching up on our lives. My friend Marie who hosted us was someone who I worked with in college back in 2010. When looking for places to stay, I sometimes get nervous to contact people from the past. Will we have anything in common anymore? Will we be an inconvenience to their daily routine? Will they think I’m a big weirdo? Every time I find myself pleasantly surprised at the endurance of human connection. Marie and I had not spoken in 4 years but it was as if a day never passed.
(Next week will be more about music and less about sight-seeing. The whole band is back together and we are starting our first round of shows with Graham Colton, a whole new chapter! )