... nice view from the 'Willow Springs' picnic area - 'La Madre Mountain' in the distance - the 'White Rock Hills' near...
... there were a few pretty nice boulders right near the picnic area...
... all were well "chalked up" so we figured that they must be pretty decent - had some rock shoes in the pack so we decided to mess around on a few-'buddy Matt' climbing...
... "survival" crash pad - the rental car we had was equipped with four of 'em!...
... some interesting colors to the rock...
... some decent size, too - wound up hanging out here for so long that we never checked out the intended 'White Rock Trail'...
... so we bagged that and moved a bit further down the road to check out the shorter 'Pine Creek Canyon' trail - an "out and back" about five miles in length (round trip) - about 600ft elevation gradient...
... a myriad of plant-life thrives along the trail - a 'Cholla Cactus' here - you could spend most of the day identifying all the species...
... colorful rocks abound - always like how the green lichen contrasts with the pink and red desert sandstone...
... stones everywhere...
... think this formation to the north of the canyon is called 'Bridge Mountain'...
... viewing from the trail to the south - the obvious 'Rainbow Mountain' near and 'Mt. Wilson' (tallest peak in 'Red Rock Canyon') far...
... the formation 'Mescalito' splits the canyon - 'Pine Creek' to the south (left of photo) and the 'North Fork of Pine Creek' to the right...
... some large sandstone bluffs forming the north wall of the canyon...
... closer view of 'Mescalito' - if you look along the left skyline you can make out a few climbers for scale...
... beyond 'Mescalito' and some big sandstone walls forming the back side of the canyon...
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