McKittric Canyon at Guadalupe National Park. The ranger in the visitor’s center said this was the best hike in the park. It was beautiful. It is another example of the amazing variety of plant life as we walked from the open desert into the narrow canyon with a permanent creek (seems weird to me. I never thought of creeks NOT being permanent til we got to this arid, loose rocky soiled area). Anyway, lots of cactus and yucca transitioning to trees and lush shade. The end was at a grotto where the stream and ground water have eroded an undercut with funky looking stalactite things. The creek is crystal clear and some how or another had fish from somewhere. Lots of weird geology stuff going on too since the Guadalupe are formed from upheaval of a Permian reef…..I vaguely recall studying the shallow inland seas that covered the continent long ago. Now I see the real life affects of that. It’s all pretty cool.
There was a cabin that was made entirely of stone, even the roof. If not for the hikers at the front porch all the time, it could be a great place to spend a few weeks.