Alcoves Galore!

al·cove  noun 
A recess in the wall of a room or garden. An arched opening.
synonyns:  recess, niche, nook, opening, bay, hollow, cavity

I seemed to have stumbled upon the land of alcoves. Or perhaps "shallow caves" would be a better description? I seem to recall reading somewhere that alcoves are formed at ground level. When the very occasional rain water in the desert puddles up against a rock, and especially when the rain water is acidic, it begins to erode away certain areas of the rock. As this occurs over and over again, ta-da, you have an alcove! Remember, we're talking geologic time here.

Here's a typical alcove. They can be small, large, shallow or deep. All are interesting, and you never know what you might find inside. Nearly all have critter poop... mice, pack-rat, coyote, and a surprising number have bighorn sheep. Surprising because I don't know of a water source or spring anywhere in the area.

The opening to the above alcove must have been at ground level many years ago. Over geologic time, the sand and soil around the alcove slowly eroded away, leaving this alcove about 8' above ground level. Check back in 10,000 or 20,000 years, and it will likely be higher in elevation! According to this theory, alcoves high up in the rocks would be the oldest, while ground level alcoves would be relatively young.

Not quite an arch. More of a wave-shaped boulder. As we were checking out rock formations, three military helicopters flew in low overhead. This is Cousin Scott taking a picture of one. Quite a surprise, especially in this part of the desert, where you hear nothing but nature and rarely see another human footprint!

A couple more alcoves, one deep and one shallow. They are just a little above ground level, so easy access, and they are larger than they look.

View from inside looking out. Hi Scott!

Seems like alcoves often cluster together. A number of small alcoves here, with Cousin Scott for size reference.

The way these rocks erode can be pretty bizarre. Does anyone else see a scull?

Quack quack!

I can't tell you how many of these alcoves I've crawled inside to take pics, but it's a lot! I like the way the rock creates a natural picture frame.

One of my favorite alcoves discovered on this particular hike. It actually qualifies as a shallow cave because it's fairly deep. It has a squarish opening with a large slab of stone hanging down. It even had rough stone steps leading up to it!

Cousin Scott provides a nice reference for the size of the opening!

The view in. It continued beyond the large rock, but I didn't venture in that far!

The view out. A beautiful shelter, and quite spacious!

Mini-arch!

As you view the surrounding boulders and hills, you may notice many alcoves. It makes it difficult to follow a planned hike, because I am constantly veering off-course to go check out another alcove. But, hey, that's half the fun!

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!