***October 1996 Expedition Now Forming ***
Check it Out
***October 1996 Expedition Now Forming ***
Check it Out
seeking Sinister
Sliding Stones
Our History
:
Our expedition entered Death Valley on Halloween 1995 only to be blocked by some locals.
We were forced to wait until they finished horsing around before we could complete our trek to Base Camp I
We pitched our tents behind the parking lot across from The Saloon at Stove Pipe Wells and spent the evening questioning barmaids as to the character, credentials and general sobriety of previous teams of investigators.
At the crack of noon, well fortified for our arduous journey, we ventured to
Race Track Playa,
home of the Mysterious Sinister Sliding Stones.
The Ubehebe Crater
marks the end of the pavement, another 18 miles of badly eroded gravel follow. There is but one turnoff on this graveled nightmare,Tea Kettle Junction.
The directions there are only slightly misleading. The sign says 6 miles to Racetrack Playa, BUT, to see any rocks you need to drive to the far end of the Playa, another 12 miles.
George, Terry, Carole, Judy & Ralph at the Racetrack.
Driving on the lakebed is prohibited and a ditch has been cut beside the lake to make it damn difficult. It's the tracks that the stones have left on the lakebed that make this trip worthwhile and if vehicles do venture onto the playa the tracks will soon be obliterated, so don't drive on the lake!
We managed some good photos of the rocks
by waiting until the sun was fairly low on the horizon.
Fortuitously the weather held, our hangovers weren't terrible, and we HAD purchased film.
After much posing with the aberrant rocks, much discussion as to their mode of locomotion and much griping regarding the lack of potable refreshments we returned to the saloon, which we now designated as Base Camp II. We eventually left the comforts of this desert Oasis and retreated to Rhyolite Ghost Town
and thence homeward.
| Carole Moran, |  |
a Baptist, is our Demonologist. Baptists know all about evil. |
| Terry Moran, |  |
of Irish heritage is Head of Leprechanology. |
| Judy Dosse, |  |
a Feminine Intuitionist of no small repute. |
| George Appleton, |  |
corresponds with Crop Circle Aficionados. and was a friend of Seldom Seen Slim |
| Ralph Fountain, |  |
has explored the outer boundaries of Area 51. |
Our Findings
:
The Stones:
The most common are sharp edged, dolomite boulders from the mountain east of the playa. These are usually less than 18 inches on a side and show no signs of wear.
Others were white and showed signs of stream rounding. These were usually smaller and were quite rare.
The Tracks:
We did not measure but most appear about one inch deep with a 1/2 inch burm thrown up on each side. They were made at times when the lakebed was wet and are well preserved. Some are older than others as the tracks often intersect with the newer plowing through the older.
The patterns are varied with arcs, straight lines and 90 degree angles being common. We found one instance where two rocks left identical trails perhaps 100 yards apart. These included long straight runs, short zig-zags, 90 degree turns and some arcs.
Another pair came from the south in straight lines, made sharp 90 degree turns to the west and then each had each made a big arc toward the other.
The Playa:
Racetrack Playa is widest at the north end where a rocky 'island' protrudes. The moving rocks are most frequent near the southern shore, an area where the wind funnels between two mountains.
The lakebed is a hard clay surface, unbroken but for the moving rocks.
This picture, showing converging rocks, where one is headed in one direction, one is headed the other and a third has moved a short distance at 90 degrees to the others indicates the difficulty of ascribing the movements to anything that would link the rocks together.
George thinks a dust devil may push the rocks when the lake bed is slippery and wet.
Ralph agrees, but feels that it must be a sucking action or the tracks would be blown away.
I believe they were locked in an ice sheet with a wind sheer, or downdraft providing the propulsion.
Judy and Carole both think that very small earthquakes caused the rocks' movement.
Both women attributed the motions of the rocks to some sort of seismic activity, women seem to
believe that a little vibration can make mountains move.
The men in our hardy band all concurred
that only a blowing or sucking action could have got the rocks off on their frenzied course.
The Future
:
To Study the migratory paths and patterns of these strange stones, preferably in spring or fall when temperatures are moderated, and to correspond electronically with other like-minded researchers.
October 1996 Expedition:
Our March Expedition this year was a bummer. It rained, it hailed and the snow level was lower than a lizards belly.
Our 4 day stay in Death Valley only netted us 1 hour at RaceTrack Playa. It started raining right after we arrived, the wind picked up to such a high pitch that we had no difficulties envisioning the rocks scooting all over the wet lakebed. Without rain clothing, unable to venture onto the lakebed without leaving indelible footprints and fearing a flash flood, we reluctantly wended our way back to our sodden camp.
Fortuitously L.A.Mensa arrived and we were able to mooch hot food and a warm place to thaw out in a motor home.
That night we attempted to communicate with the indigenous Kangaroo rats using a borrowed digerido. Kangaroo rats did not seem to appreciate digerido music any more than our fellow campers did. A good rule to follow is that when others offer the warmth of their motor home to strangers, the strangers should praise these motor-homers, rather than digeridoing them.
Our portable GPS navigation unit, being a nautical model, worked well during this period. While we were unable to get a fix on any of the rocks due to the wetness of the dry lake, we were able to ascertain that Racetrack Playa is only 23 miles from Stove Pipe Wells. This in spite of the 80 mile trip needed to drive from one to the other.
None of the photos taken were worth reproducing, soggy tents, sodden campers, snow capped cacti and a playa trying to revert to a tarn - depressing stuff.
October '96 should be a much better experience, last years fall outing went without a hitch and now we've got all this experience. (Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.)
We plan to be in Death Valley for Halloween, to camp very near the Saloon (Base Camp II), and to explore the Racetrack while it is dry.
E-Mail us if you'd like to join us, or even if you just want to harass us for heading out in such inauspicious circumstances. We promise not to send any digerido solos as attached files when replying.
Last Updated 6/14/96