One day I attended a lecture of the world class photographer Michael Melford from the National Geographic Magazine and became inspired by him to visit the Racetrack Valley (Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, U.S.). He was telling us funny stories about his multiple tries to capture those sailing stones. It was mission impossible to catch them moving.
While we where traveling around the USA, I put it on our agenda. I confess it was challenging to get there, but it was 100 percent worth visiting it. We spent about 3 hours in calm and mystery, just two of us and our Maltese bichon. No tourists, no locals - nothing. It was something special...
Just a few words about this place: The sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack. The tracks have been observed and studied since the early 1900s, yet until 2014 no one had ever seen the stones in motion. In August, 2014, researchers observed rock movements using GPS and time-lapse photography. So rocks move when ice sheets are just a few millimeters thick start to melt during periods of light wind.
The only one four legged tourist
We have found it in the middle of nowhere
The Racetrack Playa from a distance
It looks like a scenic dry lake
It is forbidden to touch or move stones
That is why this place is called Racetrack!
Calm and peace troubles us a little bit
The surface is covered with small but firm hexagonal mud crack polygons
No vegetation just some dried plants
Stones are very heavy and big
What a strong power is our nature
Who is the next leader?
