While exploring up the canyon, this amazing wall of giant 200 ft. hoodoos was an amazing sight. The combination of little rainfall to erode the surface and sparse vegetation to bind the soil when it does rain, results in many spectacular landforms in dry grassland regions. These bold landforms distinguish dry grassland landscape from wetter areas where abundant running water and greater vegetation cover result in more rounded landforms. While photographing here, I was constantly aware of the danger. Was I right in feeling that way? Go to the Photo Album –Landscapes and see for yourself!
Having looked into Churn Creek Canyon from above and having seen all the colours and formations, I couldn’t resist the challenge of hiking up the creek itself to view the canyon from below. I soon, however, discovered the dangers. The creek bed was like quicksand and I almost got completely stuck in mid-stream once. Most dangerous of all, were the rocks falling off the cliffs above. As you can see in this image, rocks and huge boulders were precariously lodged in very unstable soil. I would not recommend this trip for anyone and you will see why when you see my next blog entry. Meanwhile, I lucked out on this canyon expedition and the visual reward can be seen in the photo album-Landscape.
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