A Whatdo?

Yoohoo! Have you seen a hoodo? A whatdo? A hoodo! One of these:

Well, this one's kinda small but I've seen them grow much bigger. Or is that shrink much bigger? Hmmm...
What's a hoodo? A whatdo? A hoodo. Oh, right, a hoodo. Well, according to the dictionary, a hoodo is a "column or pinnacle of weathered rock." I'm sure the definition gets more technical than that if you ask a scientist, so I'm not gonna. I just think they're really, really cool. And weird.

Where can I find a hoodo? Well, there aren't any in my neighborhood. Or is that neighborhoodo? Sorry. Couldn't resist. I found out that a bunch of them are located in a small, off-the-beaten-path place called The Bisti Badlands Wilderness in northwestern New Mexico.

The what? The Bisti Badlands. Never heard of it. Neither had I until I ran across a New Mexico photographer's website the other day. Here's one of the other pictures I found (didn't want to post his w/o permission).

Isn't that weird or what? Those towers of rock behind the smooth circular thing are hoodos. The whole wilderness area is basically one big erosion zone, where water, wind and sun are gradually shaping the soft rock, forming quirky, unique formations. Here are a few others, called, "The Cracked Eggs."

Apparently, you can walk right up to these formations and snap as many pictures as desired. No security guards to stop you, no paths to stick to, just a great big hoodo of a good time!

Needless to say, I've added the Bisti Badlands Wilderness to my list of places to visit next week during my Rio Grande adventure. I'll let you know whether or not it was worth it. I'm thinking this may be one of the coolest places on my journey. Here's a parting picture. Click to enlarge.


— John