The Amboy Crater

Designated a National Natural Monument in 1975, and administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Amboy Crater is the 250 foot high near-perfect cinder cone of a volcano whose most recent activity was a mere 500 years ago. Visible for miles, as it's the only thing rising from the floor of the Mojave Desert on this stretch of 66 between Needles and Ludlow, California, we figured we may as well drive the dirt road for a closer look. What the hell, it's not our car.

There's a parking lot, some (wisely) shaded picnic tables, two latrines, and the lookout point from which I made this shot. Oh, yeah, and 24 square miles of lava fields.

According to the marker near the heads, it's about a three hour hike out to the cone, up the summit and back. Unfortunately, Sherry was wearing her Crocs (see the entry below: Such a Fine Sight to See) and we'd left the 128-ounce economy-sized tube of sunblock back in New York, so we decided to take a pass on the hike. I did sign the guest book, however. We were the only visitors there today, though someone else was there the day before, when it was a balmy 102 degrees.