Valley of Fire, Carrizozo, New Mexico

My next stop was another Bureau of Land Management site, Valley of Fires, near Carrizozo, New Mexico, just a little ways down the road from Three Rivers Petroglyph Site.

I pulled in and selected a great campsite with a view. Even better than the view was the sense of accomplishment I had when I backed it in on the first pass and didn’t hit anything.

Actually, it wasn’t hard to select a campsite with a view. The campground was situated on a sandstone hill that the lava flowed around.

The lava flow has the distinction of being one of the youngest flows in the continental United States, which took place between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago.

The lava is between four and six miles wide and up to 160 feet deep. Due to the fissures in the surface and the dark color that holds the heat, there is a wide variety of plants in the valley. I read on one of the signs that there is double the number of kinds of grass plants here than in the surrounding desert.

There is a paved path that goes through the lava field. That made the hike more like a stroll.

It has two types of lava: pahoehoe (pronounced pa-HOY-HOY)  and a’a (pronounced ah-ah) The pahoehoe is a “ropey” lava and a’a is blocky.

The pahoehoe really does look like ropes and bundles of cables that are cut into chunks.

This formation wasn’t labeled, but it fits the a’a description as blocky.

There were signs that encouraged us to hike on the lava field. I took a few steps, but it was not a comfortable walking experience, in spite of the fact that I had my best walking shoes on.

The signs say that they have a nice assortment of animals. I only saw a lizard, squirrels and rabbits. The squirrels and rabbits refused to pose for me, but the lizard didn’t mind posing.

Along the path, there was a 400-year-old juniper tree.

Also, there were some lovely flowers in bloom.

I finished my walk through the lava field and started on my way back to Flo the Airstream. You can see her parked up on top of the ridge.

I stayed the night and left in the morning for a couple of days in Albuquerque to take care of some business. The next post will be about Taos. Stay tuned!