Mr-Meteorite

Willcox Playa was not on my list of places to hunt for meteorites this past weekend. Of course I had heard of Willcox Playa, and even knew of a couple of meteorites found there, but I had not planned on hunting the dry lake bed any time soon.

In fact, upon waking Saturday morning I was sure that my Son and I were going to be heading toward the California state line. We had heard that there had been a few meteorites found there and thought that we would investigate. We wanted to see for ourselves what the area looked like. Maybe if the ground was conducive to meteorite hunting we could find a meteorite there too.

Just after leaving the house at 5 a.m. our plans abruptly changed. As fate would have it I-10 was closed due to some sort of an accident and would remain closed for the next three hours. Fortunately for us, the Radio D.J. that had just informed us of the News did so before we joined the growing masses stuck in that traffic nightmare.

"All dressed up and nowhere to go." were my exact words as we pulled off of Bell road shortly before heading to the newly closed interstate. "What are we gonna do now?" Ruben Jr. asked. I thought for a moment before saying, "Plan B, I've been dying to look at some dry lake beds in southern New Mexico, I-10 eastbound here we come."

I think it was somewhere between the “old pueblo” known as Tucson and the sleepy little town of Willcox Az. that my Son woke from his slumber and noticed that the sun had begun to rise. Unfortunately, it was now bright enough for him to read those huge billboards that appear about every mile or so advertising, "The Thing?"

It doesn't take long for a curious thirteen year old boy to begin asking some very annoying questions regarding such advertising. He began, "What is The Thing?" "Can we stop and see it?" "Is it for real?" Had he been my first child I may not have known how to handle the situation. But being the seasoned parent that I am, I knew just how to squelch this early morning talk.

The Thing is a “tourist trap” that features a whimsical museum with antique vehicles,

Wacky woodcarvings, old wagons, as well as “The Thing?” ( You can decide for yourself if it’s real) Yes, there is also a huge gift shop that sells regional souvenirs.

A half hour later, $1.75 poorer and with my Son's curiosity now settled we were back on the road heading to New Mexico. The eighty or so miles we had to go went quickly and it seemed as though we would soon be hunting a New Mexico, dry lake bed.

Ruben and Son with "The Thing" in the back ground             

Imagine our surprise when fate intervened yet again. The dry lake bed that we were looking forward to hunting on was anything but dry. It seemed that because of recent heavy rains, the area was covered with water, miles and miles of water!

"What now genius" Said my Son who must have been feeling confident after having just braved "The Thing?"  "I guess there's only one “Thing” we can do," I said with a smirk. "We’ve gotta hunt Willcox Playa."

It was about 10:30 a.m. when we finally arrived on the playa that we had already passed up once only an hour or so earlier. Even though the morning had been interesting, it wasn't what I had been expecting and I couldn't wait to actually get out and hunt.

Don't get me wrong, I had no delusions of finding a meteorite I was just glad I wasn't still driving. Maybe that's why what was about to happen next was so surprising.

After getting our gear and locking the truck we set out toward the center of the playa. We had only walked a few feet when we both began systematically checking one stone after another with our meteorite canes. I don’t think I checked more than about fifteen stones, when all of the sudden one stone lept to my magnet! "Wow that looks like a meteorite!" I shouted. “Yup, its one!” I say after a few seconds of studying the specimen. "There may be a few more meteorites in this general area, let’s cover it good." I order.

My Son feeling energized by my recent find agreed, and we both searched and searched.

We hunted the area till dark, stopping only briefly to eat. We set up camp only a few hundred feet from my find, then, completely drained from the events of the day we turned in early. The next morning the wind was blowing which made it much cooler than the previous day. Undeterred by the wind we continued to hunt till about noon on Sunday. After eating lunch we left the area without finding even one more extra-terrestrial specimen.

With over sixty square miles to search on that dry lake bed, my Son and I felt like we had just barely scratched the surface.  We vowed to return to the area as we're both convinced that more meteorites remain undiscovered just waiting to be found.

Willcox Playa                                                                        Willcox Playa Meteorite