Death Valley Days, Part Three - Racetrack Playa

Ever heard of a place where rocks move on their own? No one pushes them. No one has ever seen them move. But they leave evidence of their movement. Trails in the dried mud behind them. Scientists have studied. Theories have been formulated. But no one really knows the how or the why of the movement, only that it occurs.

Of course, a place like this draws me to it. It is at the end of 30+ miles of washboard road? Who cares! I'm in!! So off we went to find the Racetrack Playa!!

On the way to the playa, you pass Teakettle Junction.

The playa is a dry lake bed. The mud/silt that was once on the bottom of the lake is dried into an interesting series of cracks.

But the star of the show is the rocks. Unfortunately, not many had visible tracks. Our theory was that as the summer wears on, the heat dries the mud more and more. This makes the tracks less visible. Or aliens are responsible. We aren't sure which. But still it is a very cool place to visit.

And then, the most memorable event of the trip happened...