The route along the east rim of Tranquille Canyon has no trail and there are many hills and gullies to negotiate, but it is a scenic route with a number of geological features and open views to reward the explorer.   This 8.25km route took a few hours but there was lots to see.

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Tranquille Canyon was carved by water and when the glacial lake broke after the last Ice Age, a lot of water came all at once, eroding the lava flows and glacial deposits of the canyon slopes.   Erosion continues to provide a number of interesting landforms in the canyon.

Along the loop there were sage grouse, whitetail deer, meadowlarks, and an immature eagle soaring above the slopes.  Bighorn sheep scats and tracks were visible for the whole route.

There is a sagebrush and grass benchland for much of the route, but the canyon becomes steeper and narrower about 3km north.

There were 2 sets of these sculpted landforms below not far past the dam.

Rills form along colorful slopes with no vegetation.

Drainage channels funnel rainfall and melting snows down to the creek.

Across the creek, rugged vertical slopes go all the way up to the Pimple (Tranquille Viewpoint).   We had lunch there last week.

At the north end of the loop colorful cliffs overlook the creek.

Beyond the colorful cliffs are the Guardsmen, a series of large hoodoos on both sides of the river in a narrow canyon (article on that route).

On the way out through the grasslands and on the way back, meadowlarks sang their songs from their perches on top of the sagebrush, inviting me back for some more exploration.

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