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malithegreat
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has added a new journalBeautiful Scenery
One of the more beautiful areas I have ever seen is this mysterious place where rocks move by themselves. There is a little mountain in the middle of the dry mud with no growth in it.
The mud is so very flat, very flat...
The scene is as if the mud was a ocean, and the mountain was an island. Absolutely no vegetation grows on this mud bed.
Mud is Interesting?
The floor of the this playa is dried, scorched mud which has broken into perfect little octagons and pentagons. Not even a weed is present. This is as "desert" as you can get in America. It's as flat as flat can be.
Rocks are Even More Interesting?
Rocks lies on this mud beds seem to have little legs. These stones vary in size and shape from pebble size to half-ton boulders. They break off the hills you see in the background.
On this dry mud, the rocks leave trails as if they are moving. They are no footprints by the trails. The paths also curl in many directions, and extend for many and many feet. These rocks are also of a decent size... not small pebbles
Their tracks vary in length, going every which way from zig-zags to loops; some double back on themselves. Some travel only a few feet; others go for hundreds of yards, yet they can be right next to each other, and right next to some that don't move at all.
Theories to their movement are debated and scientifically studied. Some say the ground gets soft, and then the wind blows these rocks around. Others say magnetic fields play a part.
Aha gravity is it say you.... nah, since the rocks are generally moving slightly uphill!! (sorry .. you lose)
No one has actually see a rock move... no one...
In fact, upon my visit we saw telescopic instruments tracking the rocks movements... Also we saw a car watching us as we hovered around these instruments to see what they were doing. We ignored them though...
But this place haunted us further. Our jeep suffered a flat as the sun was setting. The flat was a result of some crazy driving we had done in a canyon path earlier; no one was there to help us. We were miles from help... then suddenly over this remote rocky path in the mountians came over only one vehicle. Luckily they stopped.... these ranger types had air to boost up our tire. Imagine the luck...
This place is so eeriely beautiful.
malithegreat
Just saw this related link www.desertusa.commalithegreat
assalam alaikum, very interesting. This was in Death Valley National Park?No one knows why the rocks are moving? Is it the rocks or the ground beneath?
There's this village called storytellers that you might think of joining and sharing what you wrote up here. You can share your stories of trips through different deserts there or just give them a link to this village so they can come here and read it. Very interesting, thanks for sharing :)