The Racetrack

I have come to learn that to get to the 'cool' places in the park, I need a vehicle with high clearance, four-wheel drive, and tires that can withstand sharp shards of volcanic rock.  I love my little car, but she definitely doesn't fit those standards.  Don't worry, there are plenty of places she can get me to as well.

 

I was privileged to have a day in the schedule where I got to use a government vehicle with those specifications and spend some time in the back country, and more specifically, the Racetrack.  I have been anxious to get out there since a co-worker at Great Basin told me about the moving rocks.

 

We passed a large swatch of Joshua Trees.  I love these guys, but know not to get too close; they are dangerously sharp!

Teakettle Junction.  Lots of folks leave a teakettle behind.  Law enforcement had recently cleared it off, so the collection was in the building phase.

The Racetrack is a dry lake bed, or playa. (I know playa in Spanish means beach, but they still call this dry lake bed a playa.)  It was vast.  Near the top end of the playa was the Grandstand, this lovely outcropping of rocks in the middle of the playa.  Of course, there was nothing else to do but scramble all over this.

Enjoying the view.  That's me in the bottom left corner.

From the Grandstand, you get a small glimpse of how vast the playa is.

Now, on to the reason we came out here, the moving rocks.  There are rocks that slide and slither their way across the playa.  We know they move because of the trail that is left.  How exactly they move is still unclear.  The theories range from wind pushing the rocks over slick ran-wet or frozen mud to aliens to the dolphins that live in the aquifer under Death Valley.  Regardless, I found them absolutely fascinating.

 

I tried to get the snaking curvature of the path this rock took.

These guys are solid and heavy!

My water bottle next to a rock for some perspective on how big some of these rocks are.

There are some paths that have no rocks.  The rocks move, they don't walk off unless people take them.  Unfortunately, that happens.  I'm pretending to be a rock in the picture below.

Another picture showing the vastness of the playa, and the size of the rocks that are traveling across it.  That's a rock just to my right.

The park is covered by abandoned mines.  We stopped at the Ubehebe Lead Mine that was last in operation during WW1.

 

This poor truck has been waiting a long time for a tow...

Me and Paul at the mine entrance.

Sunset in the desert.

I do feel I need to say there was some stress related to this trip.  However, it was an almost magical experience to visit the Racetrack and see the moving rocks.