Death Valley - Part 2

Today I'll share the highlights from day 2 of the trip (i.e. first full day in death valley). I plan on going in order of the things we did, but first I have to show my two favorite pictures from the entire trip...Troy and I riding rocks (read on for details).

Me riding the rock (note that the ground is level and the rock is over 100 lbs).

Troy riding the rock. This one must have been more wild since Troy is riding it like a bull.

Day 2 Highlights (Thursday)

1) Mosaic Canyon

First thing in the morning we hiked Mosaic Canyon. This was a real adventure since Troy and I managed to get higher into the mountain than we're suppose to but didn't know how to get back down. After an hour or so of hunting for ways down we managed our way out.

View of Death Valley from Mosaic Canyon (dots at the end of the trail in the lower left corner are cars where we start the hike)

2) Titus Canyon

Drove through Titus Canyon...this wasn't suppose to be but turned out to be quite the adventure. The sign says 4-wheel recommended, but we were told it was freshly graded and we assumed that the sign is probably overly cautious. Turns out that Death Valley isn't overly cautious about anything and our convertible PT cruiser definitely was feeling a little strained making threw the mountain range. There were numerous times Troy and I asked ourselves who thought it was a good idea build a road over this mountain range...there were so many beautiful views, but I didn't take any pictures because I was too focused on trying to help Troy drive with my mind control over the car.

3) Leadfield - ghost town

About half way threw Titus Canyon Troy needed a break from the driving and conveniently at about this point was a ghost town (there are ghost towns everywhere around here). So we took some time to explore Leadfield, which lasted 6 months. I don't know if the sign is visible, but Troy and I loved the line in the sign that states the town was "founded on wild and distorted advertising." I'm not sure if that is as funny as we found it at the time, but we really thought it was hilarious.

Leadfield town summary (left) and the actual town of Leadfield on the (right). The mine is in the middle above the mound, the post office is in front of the mound of rocks, and this picture shows the entire town with the exception of another building up the mountain a little ways.

4) Ubehebe Crater

Driving up to this place there appears to be sand dunes in every directions as far as you can see, but the dunes are really dark black. It turns out it is volcanic ash that has formed the landscape and the volcanic material got there from these craters (Ubehebe Crater is one of many, but is the largest). Basically the heat from magma under the ground heats/expands the air underground until the ground can no longer hold it in. Ubehebe Crater is 500 ft deep and a half mile wide.

Ubehebe Crater (this picture doesn't capture just how deep and large this thing is)

5) Teakettle Junction

On our way to the Racetrack we had to pass Teakettle junction (shown below). While there isn't anything too special about this place it was at this point that we realized we were nearly 90 miles from a gas station and according to the car we only had about 60 miles of gas left. Since we had driven for over an hour to get to this point and only had a few more miles to the Racetrack we decided to keep going and and just pray to get back...we did.

Teakettle Junction...only interesting thing besides Joshua trees for about 30 miles leading to the Racetrack.

6) The Racetrack

First thing I need to point out is that the rocks weren't actually moving in the pictures above...we were just being funny. The Racetrack was the last place we visited this day...this is the only thing I knew about Death Valley prior to my visit and I really, really wanted to see it. This place is so interesting, but honestly it takes an hour one way to get there and once you look at it for about 15 minutes you just drive back.

However if you've never heard of the Racetrack I'll give the significance of this place. Basically in this valley there is a 7 x 0.5 mile area that is really flat and uniform (it looks smooth from a distance but its actually pretty rough). Then at the far end you walk across about a half mile of this ground to the corner where a mountain comes up right next to the playa (that's what the surface is called). Stones from the mountain fall onto the surface and then they move across the surface by some unknown phenomenon. Impressions in the ground are only made when the ground is wet so they know the ground is moist when they move because of the grooves, but no one has ever seen one of these rocks move. While there are numerous theories as to how it happens it still remains somewhat of a mystery to scientists. I looked it up and apparently these rocks move only once every two to three years and the path they leave only lasts for three to four years. Also rough rocks make a straight path while the smooth rocks wander along there path. I really wanted to see this because it is a fluids problem (its assumed the movement has something to do with the surface getting wet and the winds in this area) I figured if I could look at it up close I would at least have some confidence as to how it works, but after seeing it up close I was more impressed/confused than before.

Some rocks from the Racetrack with there path formed in the playa.