Some Nice Surprises With Canyons and Flowers

 (Southwestern New Mexico.)  I seem to remember driving across this river last year, when it was completely dry!  

"Are you sure about this, Pops?"

"I ain't no water dog, and I ain't doin' it."

We biked upland, away from the river.  The ground and grass seemed like ordinary NM ranch country.  It was harshly tawny -- mostly dry grass with a few stickery things.  But just under the surface was lava/basalt.  

Then we rode by a surprisingly dramatic little canyon, with vertical rocky walls.  I'm not sure what the name is, or whether it even has one.  Did a stream carve this 100 foot deep slot through the basalt, or was there a crack in the basalt layer that the stream found an easy attack through?

I had to bring the bike and the Little Cute One down to the edge of the gorge to see if the noise I heard was wind or flowing water.  It was water falling over a small waterfall.  I was looking down into a private micro-paradise, with a waterfall, sycamores, and cottonwoods.  How sweet and seductive little surprises can be!

These flowers are open in the morning. What about before sunrise?  They totally close up in mid-day.