Horton Creek can be hard to spot because its bed is just a shallow path in the alluvial rubble, and the Coyote Willow that grows along the banks is very short. Alas, the Cottonwood trees betray its secret.

A field of desert scrub runs down to a low spot below a bluff of pink volcanic rock. A few trees stand in the depression, their trunks hidden by the terrain.  One tree has turned golden yellow with the coming of fall.