We took a drive out toward the Northeast side of the commons yesterday. There were a dyad of hikes in that place nosotros wanted to banking venture stand upwards for out. The kickoff nosotros came to was the Keane Wonder Mine. It required driving out iii miles of dirt road. Mike was real brave this time. I took to a greater extent than pictures than this one, but it volition give you lot the "big picture" of what the house looked like. When nosotros larn dorsum to network access civilization, I'll tell you lot to a greater extent than virtually it together with post unopen to to a greater extent than pictures. For now, last careful hither because I haven't yet told you lot all the ways you lot could perish out here.
The 2nd hike was sort of a bust. It wasn't far, but the ghost town of Keane Springs pretty much no longer exists. And, again, I'll state to a greater extent than virtually that when I tin exhibit you lot to a greater extent than pictures.
After the 2nd hike, nosotros decided to drive into Beatty, Nevada, simply exterior the national commons boundary. We were hoping to abide by a grocery store, but no dice. Also, nosotros wanted to fill upwards our fuel tank. Diesel inside the national commons is nearly $6.00 per gallon. In Beatty, nosotros flora it for $3.09. When your gas tank is 48 gallons, that is a important savings.
Along the way, nosotros passed the route out to Rhyolite Ghost Town. You tin encounter where it is indicated amongst an arrow inwards the prototype below.
I was for sure together with for sure I'd written virtually Rhyolite on this blog. After an exhaustive search (meaning, I was exhausted), I could abide by goose egg virtually it. Checking through quondam motion painting files, indeed, nosotros visited Rhyolite pre-blogging days. So that's okay...I volition resurrect those quondam pictures together with tell you lot virtually it inwards a hereafter post. Instead, I'm recycling an quondam post from our take in to The Racetrack Playa hither inwards Death Valley. It's ane of the to a greater extent than interesting together with mysterious features of the park. Along the way, you'll encounter Tea Kettle Junction, a monument to the American feel of humor. So...here goes. I promise you'll bask this post written March 15, 2011.
It is xxx miles over a crude oil gravel route to accomplish the Racetrack. What makes it therefore interesting is that in that place are moving rocks on the playa. No ane has e'er seen them move, but it is clear that they do. (You'll encounter inwards a moment.) The prevailing theory is that the movement happens when pelting slicks the clay playa surface, together with and therefore air current moves them along. It seems plausible to me. This is what the surface looks similar when it's dry.
The kickoff affair you lot come upwards to on the route is Teakettle Junction. If you've e'er seen a shoe tree (a tree amongst shoes on it), together with therefore you'll sympathize Teakettle Junction. Other things accept been flora in that place too, similar a broken laptop computer. We saw solely teakettles, together with what a lot of teakettles in that place were!
Aren't these therefore funny? I honey it when our collective feel of sense of humor shows.
Nine miles later, ane begins to encounter the formation known equally The Grandstand. This is how it looks from a distance.
And this is what it looks equally you lot walk upwards to it. It's big!
It reminded me of a rocky outcropping inwards the bounding main amongst waves washing upwards on the shore.
The rocks autumn off of this outcropping. The ones that are moving together with leaving trails behind them are quite unopen to distance away--driving distance--from the outcropping. They've moved quite a distance simply to last located where they are, together with and therefore they larn out these long tracks equally they slip along the playa's surface.
Cool, huh? I sort of similar this lightening bolt trail:
So that was pretty much all nosotros did inwards our iii days inwards Death Valley. We saw real few flowers, but the creosote bushes were blooming. We'd never seen that earlier that I tin recall.
Everything growing seemed dark-green together with healthy, together with therefore the bloom is notwithstanding coming. I think nosotros were simply likewise early on for it.
So we're dorsum to the introduce now. No plans for today beyond relaxing. We accept at to the lowest degree ii to a greater extent than nights hither inwards Death Valley, together with and therefore nosotros accept unopen to thoughts virtually where we'll larn next. More virtually that nosotros we brand upwards our minds.