ROS AND JOHN RV LIFE: Billy The Kid National Scenic Byway, New Mexico

Saturday 20th May 2023

We packed up and headed west then south to our next stop in New Mexico. More to follow on our stay in another post but as this was such a great drive I am giving it it's own post.

We drove along highway 380 which has a section called the Billy The Kid National Scenic Byway and oh my was it scenic. We moved from miles of flat desert horizons to green mountains and valleys. I wish we had been able to stop and explore along here and it would be a route we would love to return to in the future. My pictures do not capture the beauty and history of this area.

https://nsbfoundation.com/nb/billy-the-kid-national-scenic-byway/

Smokey Bear Historical Park was established in 1976 to honor Capitan’s favorite son, Smokey Bear. Nearly three decades earlier, Smokey was an orphaned little bear cub with burned paws, found in the aftermath of the Capitan Gap wildfire. Smokey Bear rose to fame as an icon for forest fire prevention and he lived in Washington, D.C.’s National Zoo for 26 years. When he passed away, the famous black bear was laid to rest in his hometown. His burial site is a special place within the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

As we crested a big hill the terrain turned to black. We thought it was the scene of old wild fires but it was actually lava flow.

https://www.blm.gov/visit/valley-of-fires

Valley of Fires recreation area is located immediately adjacent to the Malpais Lava Flow. Approximately 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted and flowed 44 miles into the Tularosa Basin, filling the basin with molten rock. The resulting lava flow is four to six miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers 125 square miles. The lava flow is considered to be one of the youngest lava flows in the continental United States.

From a distance, Valley of Fires appears as barren rock but when you walk through the nature trail there are many varieties of flowers, cactus, trees and bushes typical of the Chihuahuan desert. Animals include bats, roadrunners, quail, cottontails, mule deer, barberry sheep, and lizards. It's also a virtual birdwatcher's paradise with great horned owls, burrowing owls, turkey vultures, hawks, gnat catchers, cactus wrens, sparrows and golden eagles.