Valley of Fires Recreation Area
Around 5,000 years ago, Little Black peak erupted and flowed into the Tularosa Basin, filling it with molten rock. This now solid rock is 6 miles wide and 160 feet thick. It covers 125 square miles. This is one of the youngest lava flows in North America.

Valley of Fires looks like barren rock but it has lots of interesting things to see. They have lots of flowers, trees, bushes, and catus. The animals include deer, rabbits, quail, barberry sheep, bats, roadrunners and other birds. Among the birds are great horned owls, burrowing owls, buzzards, hawks, gnat catchers, cactus wrens, sparrows and golden eagles.

 
 
 
 
This Western Kingbird made a nest in a Yucca on the side of the highway. It found some cotton to make the nest soft.  
 
 
These Pistachio are not ripe yet.  
Pistachio have female trees and male trees. The ones in this orchard (Pistachio Tree Ranch) have female trees grafted onto male stock. It takes at least one male tree to fertilize 8 female trees.  
 
Guess what made those circles in the sand around the plants. Mice? Snakes? No, the wind blowing the leaves of grass.  
 
Day 1 - Fluorite Mine, Wildfire, Kilbourne Hole
Wildfire #1 Kilbourne Hole
Day 2 - Three Rivers Petroglyphs
3Rivers #1 3Rivers #2
3Rivers #3 3Rivers #4
3Rivers #5 3Rivers #6
Day 3 - Fluorite Mine Fluorite Mine    
Day 4 - Hueco Tanks trip #1
Hueco #1 Hueco #2
Hueco & Aden Crater Hueco info
Day 5 - El Paso Missions
Missions Missions Info
   
Day 5 - Wilderness Park Museum
Museum Museum Info

 
Day 6 - Hueco Tanks trip #2
Hueco #4 Hueco info #2
   
Day 6 - Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe #1 Guadalupe #2
Guadalupe Info
Day 7 - White Sands National Monument
White Sands White Sands info
   
Day 8-9 - The El Paso Loop Trail Loop Trail    
Day 10 - Hueco Tanks trip #3
(The best of the trip)
Hueco #5 Hueco #6
Hueco #7 Hueco #8
Hueco #9 Hueco #10
Day 11 - Trip Home Trip Home    
Link to the Small Versions Back to the map page. Please mail me broken links-pics.