Sail Stones by josephrossbach

Sail Stones, Racetrack Playa, Death Valley, CA http://ift.tt/1itOuDr What an amazing place. I had the pleasure of visiting the Racetrack Playa while in DV last week. We picked a day with large storms brewing in hopes of dramatic skies at the playa, and we got what we were looking for. The sail stones have long been a mystery to science and many explanations have been proposed over the years, even many preposterous accounts of alien landings. Just last year the debate was put to rest when time lapse footage, gps recording and analysis were concluded that the rocks move when large ice sheets a few millimeters thick floating in an ephemeral winter pond, start to breakup during sunny days. These thin floating ice panels, frozen during cold winter nights, are driven by light winds and shove rocks at up to five meters per minute. other way, no matter what the explanation, this place is stunningly beautiful and eerie. That night was cold and our camp was battered with rain, snow and sleet. It was a long cold night of fitful sleep. In the morning we awoke well before dawn and made hot coffee before driving the 2 miles back to the playa. I have an image from that morning that really captures the strange feel of this location, but that will come a little later once I get a chance to process the file. This shot however was made the evening before when the sun broke free of the clouds for only a few minutes bathing the playa in golden late afternoon light. The dark and ominous sky adds to the drama of the image. via 500px http://ift.tt/1FfpJb4