Fires

Near the town of Carrizozo, NM, there's a BLM campground called Valley of Fires, where we spent 1 night.  The name was inspired by volcanic activity that occurred there 6000 years ago.  Most BLM camping is either basic or boondocking (no hookups or improvements of any kind); VoF is an exception, offering electric and water hookups, ramadas, picnic tables, fire rings, dump station, restrooms and showers.

A paved path with handrails meanders through the lava field, wheelchair accessible, with sporadic benches to rest on, and interpretive signs.

It is the best lava field walkway I've come across to date, have visited 2-3 others.

Above picture was taken from our campsite, pix below were taken along the path.

I thought the spiky plant was a yucca.

Nope: it's a sotol plant, a member of the lily family.

Interesting flow patterns in the lava.

This gnarly juniper is 400+ years old. 

Link to VoF website: http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/roswell/valley_of_fires.html

If the name, Valley of Fires, sounds familiar, it's because there's a state park northeast of Las Vegas, NV, called Valley of Fire (no 's').  The NV version is named for its fiery red rock formations rather than volcanic action.  We visited there last Thanksgiving with friends David and Elaine, and I wrote a blog post about it.