As I lean over the lip of Walnut Canyon, the wind cuts through my many layers of clothing and I shield my eyes from the blinding December sun. I imagine the ecological event, possibly volcanic, that created this immense stone basin millions of years ago.
Wreathing the upper rim are piñon pine, yucca, and prickly pear cactus, more populous on the south side because it gets more hours of sunlight. In the center, a rock formation upthrusts like a castle surrounded by an empty moat, though not entirely empty, as a creek flows through the unseen valley floor. All that is visible of the canyon bottom are Arizona black walnut trees.