Racetrack Playa

Death Valley is definitely a unique place on earth...and not one you probably want to visit in the summer, when temperatures can be in the 120s easily. I'd visited once before, but always wanted to shoot the Racetrack Playa, a very remote dry lakebed famous for its "sailing stones." Only in the last couple years have scientists explained how they move, but the explanation doesn't make it any less amazing to see rocks sitting seemingly unmovable, with clear trails behind them. The Racetrack is quite difficult to reach -- safely getting there requires renting an offroad jeep from Farabees in Furnace Creek so that you don't destroy the undercarriage and/or suspension of a regular rental along the awful 27 mile one way sharp gravel route. I made it safely, and was even privileged to be there on a day when the sky added a lot to my photos -- unusual in a place that only receives 2.5 inches of rain all year!