So, you bumble along on I-380, minding your own business, looking at the pretty mountains, and then wham, you realize the ground is BLACK. You look closer and think to yourself, "My, that looks like asphalt. What fool dumped asphalt all over this area?"… more »

This area is called El Malpais, or "The Badlands." (This is not the only lava flow area in New Mexico with that name.) Indeed, if you had to trek through this by horseback it would be a bit difficult, and by wagon, near impossible. By foot, however, it'… more »

I believe that's a banana yucca in the center. The plants are not at all bothered by growing on volcanic rock. It's almost like a garden. I think the cactus in the lower right is a kind of cholla. more »

This little cedar tree is growing back from an old stump which was probably struck by lightning, possibly more than once, or otherwise struck down by an often harsh environment. Actually I'm not sure what species of tree this is. If it's an Ashe Juniper… more »

I think this is a sotol without a stalk. Cute guy, eh? more »

One of many types of prickly pear. more »

There might be a coyote or something living in this little crevice, but probably not since it's really close to the highway. More likely this is a snake den. I did not check. more »

Yucca fruit and flowers are edible. This is a banana yucca (Yucca baccata). The fruits are sometimes called bananas. I have not eaten one, but supposedly they are sweet and squash-like with a slightly soapy/bitter aftertaste and are improved by baking o… more »

This kind of formation is called lava ropes, or pahoehoe. From Wikipedia/Lava: Pāhoehoe (also spelled pahoehoe, pronounced /pəˈhoʊ.iːˈhoʊ.iː/, from Hawaiian [paːˈhoweˈhowe],[8] meaning "smooth… more »

A javelina would make short work of this. more »