The Chiricahua Apache, who once camped among these pinnacles, called them the “standing up rocks” because it was a place like no other – a magical kingdom of natural formations formed 27 million years ago when the Turkey Creek Volcano erupted, spewing ash over a thousand square miles. The heated ash melted together, forming layers of Rhyolite. Eons of weathering and erosion cracked these rocks into strange sculptures, herding them into a mass arrayed along the slope of an isolated mountain rising above a grassland sea. They comprise the most striking feature of this isolated national monument, which is located about two hours east of Tucson. In this landscape image, I offer a layered view of these formations. Huge boulders lead us to the sculpted rocks, while winter grass leads the eye to the distant mountains at the top of the frame.