A Day at the Races

Apparently, Sunday was the big NASCAR event down in Vegas. We went to breakfast with many of the folks returning from their pilgrimage. So, in honor of NASCAR we decided to go to the Racetrack ourselves. No, not that racetrack. THE Racetrack. Home of the moving stones of Death Valley N.P. Moving stones? Keep reading.

So, we loaded up Libby, our rented Jeep Liberty and headed out. Now, getting out to the Racetrack is not trivial. After over 60 miles of paved roads our route turned to dirt at the Ubehebe Crater. The Racetrack Rd is some of the most rattling washboard you can imagine. Its really stunning scenery as the road runs southerly through a valley. There’s a fairly large population of Joshua Trees along the way and lots of cacti all shadowed by spectacular mountains.

After about 20 miles of this we came to the first landmark: Teakettle Junction. Teakettle Junction is a signpost adorned with teakettles originally placed by a prospector to mark the trail junction and as a means to leave a note for those following. The tradition continues today.


The Racetrack is another 6 or so miles along the road. We arrived with enough time to go and explore and find the best stones to photograph. For you who are unfamiliar, the stones here are of interest because they move across the playa, or dried, flat lakebed without human intervention. No one knows for certain since no one has seen them move, but the current theory is that when the fine-grained clay of the playa receives enough moisture to wet the surface and the wind picks up, the stones are blown from their current position to somewhere else on the slick clay. They come to stop when the clay dries and they wait for the next bit of moisture. Some of these stones travel quite a ways coming to a rest more than a 100 feet away and some weigh several hundred pounds. During their journey, they leave trails in the mud.





After spending more than an hour out on the playa photographing the stones and their trails, it was time to head back. All told we spent nearly 6 hours in the Jeep for a few hours at the Track. Well worth it!