November 12 at 7 a.m. - Hike up a canyon of 1.126 billion-year-old Red Bluff rock that was formed when our part of North America touched what is now western Australia. Our destination is the site of the 1944 B-24 crash.

This canyon is just to the north of the big letter “A” on the southeast side of the mountain. There is no real trail – just a beautiful rocky canyon. In some places you may need to use your hands so bring a good pair of gloves. This is a moderately strenuous hike over boulders with some bushwhacking.

The “A” on the mountain is a well-known landmark. Just turn west off of Alabama on to Memphis Avenue and go to where Memphis ends at Mayfield Terrace. There will be plenty of parking along Mayfield Terrace or Kentucky.

On March 23, 2026 a B-24 Bomber crashed at the top of this canyon late at night. Reportedly, “flames shot high into the sky, silhouetting the wreckage of the plane, and lighting the mountainside from the Austin High School “A” to McKelligon Canyon.” All seven crewmen were killed.

The crash site was long marked with a bronze monument and a cross erected by Marcus Uribe. The wood of the cross rotted and fell off the monument not long ago. The bronze monument went missing until two years ago. It is now at the War Eagles Museum in Sunland Park, NM. Karl Putnam had a new monument made and, with the permission of the Franklin Mountains State Park, erected it at the site.