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Return to the Racetrack. No, the tracks don’t disappear with the next rain.

A Raccing Rock

A Racing Rock. The Racetrack is for rocks, not cars.

Back in September of 2016 I visited the Racetrack and really had quite a reaction to the inconsiderate vandalism that had happened there. Some people had driven all over the playa, including in at least one spot over the tracks of racing rocks themselves. This is a unique spot on the entire planet, and driving is not allowed here. I was not prepared for that post to go viral, and I ended up being interviewed by the very kind Domenica Davis via Facebook Live on the Weather Channel’s page and my post was republished in Petapixel and reference in DPReview and other places.

Here’s a few other things that have happened since then.

Death Valley National Park posted on Facebook about the damage, including a traced map of some of the tracks across the entire lake bed.

News outlets like the LA Times published articles saying “Federal investigators have identified a suspect believed responsible for a frenzy of high-speed driving across “Racetrack Playa,” a remote dry lake in Death Valley National Park” after which I have not seen any further updates.

I heard a rumor that someone had laid new tracks around Christmas 2016 but I had not seen any photos or posts or articles about it.

Other kinds of vandalism have happened, such as defacing of historic inscriptions, which Death Valley also posted about on Facebook. A van drove out onto the salt flats at Badwater and got stuck. This is another place where tracks can last a really long time.

I visited the park three times, twice in January and once in February when Badwater flooded. Badwater when flooded is one of the most magical places I’ve ever seen, and home to the most incredible sunset I’ve so far witnessed in my lifetime. I hope to write posts about those visits at another time. A bunch of other priorities kept me from coming back to the Racetrack, however, until Memorial Day weekend. Plus, if Badwater was flooded that meant Racetrack Playa was likely flooded too, or at least wet, and you do not walk on it when it is wet. I wanted to go there with the specific purpose in mind of revisiting the damage that inspired so much anger last September and to see what the historically wet 2016-2017 winter has done to repair the damage, if at all.

Armed with GPS coordinates of photos I took last fall, I went straight for the Racetrack on Saturday, May 27th. I said some words to a car full of naive visitors in Panamint Valley who were feeding coyotes (DON’T!), and helped a family who had a minivan in need of a jump in Stovepipe Wells where it was nearly 110 degrees before finally I made the long dirt trek to one of my favorite locations in the world. Late May is already getting to be quite hot in Death Valley. I don’t like to come here when it is hot, but at least at nearly 4,000 feet elevation the Racetrack would only be in the mid 90’s.

Getting to the heart of the matter, I’m going to detail five kinds of vandalism that has happened around here, starting with the most obvious.

1. Vehicle Tracks

This is what greeted me in September 2016:

Tracks from the start

Tracks from the start

As you can see, tracks fly away right from the parking area. At first, in May it seemed a little more hopeful:

No tracks... for the first few feet

No tracks… for the first few feet

From this vantage point, we were looking good. I wondered if the NPS had done some rehabilitation of the area right next to the parking area, but all hope quickly faded away.

Just a few feet away toward the Grandstand, it begins.

Strange tracks leading towards the Grandstand, 2017

Strange tracks leading towards the Grandstand, 2017

September 2016 looking towards the Grandstand

September 2016 looking towards the Grandstand

I tried to recreate exactly the photos I took in September, but alas a few factors were at work. First, I think the GPS from my phone was not very reliable when I took many of those photos. Second, there is definitely MORE damage than I remember from then, making tracks mixed up. And third, I quickly became overwhelmed with the quantity of tracks. So the next photos are all from the damage around the Grandstand, mostly between the Grandstand and the parking area. This damage is NOT part of what the National Park Service traced on their GPS map overlay.

Current damage as of May 2017:

So many tracks

So many tracks, May 2017

more..

more..

Strange double-track winding in from northwest

Strange double-track winding in from northwest

Double track gets really close to the Grandstand

Double track gets really close to the Grandstand

All over

All over

Deep circles

Deep circles

Fresh looking motorcycle track crosses the older car tracks along with many footprints

Fresh looking motorcycle track crosses the older car tracks along with many footprints

Look how deep the car tracks are, and also all the footprints

Look how deep the car tracks are, and also all the footprints

Footprints are just as bad as car tracks! I’m glad the footprints didn’t venture far. Not all of the area around the Grandstand is currently in a ruined state, but most views to the East are polluted heavily by tracks. By my estimation, some of these tracks are new compared to my visit in September and others are the same. I wasn’t able to line up any exact photos of 1:1 damage between the two dates. However, I knew that Death Valley had posted that GPS map of some of the tracks and they were on the far east side. So I ventured out there to find those tracks as a measure of whether or not repair had happened this winter. More than 3/4 of a mile away from my car I found my answer. These next two photos are from the August 2016 joy ride that the National Park Service publicized not long after my viral blog post.

August 2016 tracks in May 2017

August 2016 tracks in May 2017

August 2016 tracks in May 2017 II

August 2016 tracks in May 2017 II

It’s safe to say NO, TRACKS DON’T DISAPPEAR AFTER “THE NEXT RAIN.”


These August 2016 tracks were very much not gone and judging by their depth they will be around quite awhile. Maybe years. If you think about it, it makes sense. The lake bed surface needs to soak to be vulnerable to reforming. Gentle winter rains are not going to come down with enough force to cause the sediment to stir up enough to fill in those deep vehicle grooves. Perhaps a violent summer thunderstorm could help, but it’s going to take some time before these scars heal. This is one of the driest deserts on the planet.

From the Grandstand I moved on to the middle parking area. This area was an absolute mess in 2016:

Middle parking area adjacent, 2016

Middle parking area adjacent, 2016

To my astonishment after the Grandstand I found that here some of the tracks were either largely repaired or diminished, or perhaps my phone GPS logged the wrong location. That’s not to say I didn’t find tracks there.

Tracks at the middle parking area 2017

Tracks at the middle parking area 2017

After this brief stop at the middle, I moved to the final parking area which is the one closest to the most rocks.

Car tracks heading straight out towards many rocks

Car tracks heading straight out towards many rocks, 2017

My heart sunk at the sight of this. I figured it didn’t bode well for this scene from September:

Car track crossing rock path 2016

Car track crossing rock path 2016

I tried to navigate to this exact spot but I couldn’t find it despite having GPS coordinates. Where it was supposed to be there was no trail: no car trail and no rock trail. Since I took those photos with my phone, I think the GPS coordinates were possibly off quite a bit. I’m hoping it was repaired. I wondered around quite a bit and did not find any car trails that made it still into the main area of rocks. This has me yet again wondering if the NPS did some work out there to try to help repair the damage, or if nature was able to do a little healing at this end of the playa.

More 2016 rock adjacent damage that I was unable to locate

More 2016 rock adjacent damage that I was unable to locate

2. Footprints

You’ve already seen some pretty terrible footprints by the Grandstand parking area above, but there were plenty of other footprints at the south end too. DO NOT GO OUT ON THE PLAYA WHILE WET. Footprints can be just as bad as the tire tracks and last just as long, spoiling the experience for others who want to enjoy this magical place. A large cluster of footprints near the main rock parking area didn’t extend too far out but did go more than 1/4 mile out to some rocks. Whoever did this is incredibly inconsiderate.

Nasty footprints wandering off onto the playa

May 2017: Nasty footprints wandering off onto the playa

What a mess

What a mess

Who wants to see that? Those are going to be there awhile. Please don’t do this. Posted signs say not to walk on the playa when wet for this reason.

3. Fake rock trails

Fake rock trails? Yes. This is a new form of vandalism I had not previously imagined. It seems some people arrived at the Grandstand on the north end and had no idea most of the rocks are at the south end. Perhaps frustrated and lazy, they opted to attempt to make their own fake trails using available rocks. You can tell they are fake because they just scratch the surface. I’ve been to the Racetrack more than enough times to easily spot this stupid faking. The ice floating on the water drags the rocks along, and the marks they leave on the surface even with small rocks has a well defined channel unlike these surface scratches. Look at this stupidity:

Fake rock trails, sigh.

Fake rock trails, sigh.

Don’t do this. My only comfort is maybe it’s good that such inconsiderate people didn’t make it to where the rocks really are.

4. Moving or Removing Rocks

Yes, people steal the rocks. This is a crime. Don’t move or steal rocks please.

Missing rock

Missing rock

Where is the rock? It’s gone. When the rocks move, they leave trails. They only don’t leave trails when they are picked up and moved by humans. It’s heartbreaking and sad that people would do this. I’ve heard stories, and thankfully I have never witnessed anyone taking a rock myself. This photo is from 2008, so it’s not a new phenomenon, sadly. Apparently some people, before it was documented how the rocks move, thought the rocks themselves had some kind of mystical properties. The only mystical properties I hope the stolen rocks have is that they act as a curse upon the people that took them.

5. Defacing Rocks

While in the 8+ months since I first saw the massive extent of damage to this incredible unique place I reached a calm where my blood wasn’t boiling in documenting all this, but it still boils for this last one. This rock hasn’t moved since last September and there’s no word about any search for the awful people who did this. “D” and “K” should be banned from all national parks for life with this level of offense. The lake bed will heal one day. The rocks will not. These letters are chiseled into the rock, deep!

Defaced rock

Defaced rock, May 2017

Where’s the emoji for infinite rage? That’s what this makes me feel.

Final Thoughts

The Racetrack right now is still heartbreaking. Maybe that’s because in the past I’ve only seen some occasional footprints here, which in the long intervals between my visits have been repaired over a timeframe of years. There is just a whole new influx of selfish visitors reaching this place in recent years I guess. I fear it will get worse. Since the news stories and articles, the National Park Service I read was exploring various ideas to improve or change the Racetrack in response to these crimes including increased ranger patrols, volunteers, re-configuring the road, erecting barriers against cars, or other ideas. I should note that the massive proposed budget cut to the National Park Service certainly won’t help. Please contact your representative and encourage them to increase rather than decrease NPS funding! We need for the NPS to have the resources they need to protect our special places.

I haven’t seen any news reports about any charges in the case of the joyriders who left the tracks. I don’t know what direct evidence there is. The damage at the Racetrack has definitely made it harder for me to convince myself to make the trek out to the Racetrack. I’m not the only one to ponder whether visiting the Racetrack is even worth it anymore. (Note that link is an article from 3 years ago)

I find this valley to be absolutely spectacular though, even if the rocks were not there. So there’s definitely enjoyment to be had. If the bad people can stay away long enough and thus not cause more damage, eventually the surface of the lake will be repaired. In my head I keep going back to the magic of the first time I ever visited this place back in 2008. There were some really amazing tracks back then. Recent rock moving events have not produced such varied trails and I am ever hopeful for a really nasty and chaotic winter here so that really interesting new rock tracks can be naturally carved. It is a dynamic place but the change is slow, as evidenced by the deep trails from last summer still easily visible.

If you see someone defacing this place, document and report it. Especially if it’s the special type of jerk who would chisel into one of the rocks. That’s inexcusable. This is a special place. Help protect it!

One last bonus: there was one really unexpected thing I saw on this most recent trip to the Racetrack. It brought a smile to my face even.

Great Egret on the Grandstand

Great Egret on the Grandstand

At sunrise on Sunday I went to the Grandstand for a change. And while I approached it I saw something that at first I figured was a person. But then it flew away as I got closer. It was a Great Egret. I think a very confused one. I don’t know what would lead such a water dwelling huge bird to end up at a dry playa in Death Valley National Park on the cusp of summer, but it was neat to see this magnificent creature here. As I explored it would fly away to another part of the Grandstand, keeping an eye on me. It never ceases to amuse me that such neat creatures with clear air superiority are so skittish about us gravity constrained humans. Death Valley is full of surprises, I hope when you visit you are pleasantly surprised.

10 Favorites of 2016

It’s that time of the year again. It’s the time of year when we like to collectively examine what has transpired within this unit of time measure of a year. Our collective demarcation of an Earth solar orbit is a significant time scale for us humans, and thus I will attempt to decide on this year’s “10 Best” within that framework as I have been doing for several years now. If nothing else this exercise is great for forcing me to look back on where I’ve been and what I’ve seen and to prioritize images that stick out for one reason or another. For many years I have been largely captivated by Death Valley. I do truly love that park, but by far the dominant National Park for me was Yosemite. But before we get to Yosemite, we start far closer to home in Venice where a stroll to the beach after a storm produced this moment.

Sunset Between El Niño Storms

Sunset Between El Niño Storms

It had rained for several hours until finally, just at sunset, this winter storm back on January 6 broke and the sun shone through in warm sunset tones. The basketball courts of Venice Beach were covered in a thin layer of water that acted as a mirror, broken up by the subtle relief in the court surface as the water drains away. A couple of sea gulls also provide extra breakup.

Dawn Under The Pier

Dawn Under The Pier

Next up we have a return for me to a familiar favorite place: Manhattan Beach Pier. I have loved this pier since the moment I laid eyes on it for the first time in 1996. One day, a number of years ago, I discovered how interesting it can be at night. This time, I arrived just before dawn. The pre-dawn light lifted the sky out of darkness while the odd mixture of lights on the pier provided a colorful palette.

< Horsetail Falls

< Horsetail Falls

My first trip to Yosemite for the year was a trek to the “fire falls” of Horsetail Falls in February. With this annual event, the sun shines through a small gap to the west to light up Horsetail Falls off the side of El Capitan. This event requires certain wet conditions to be met as the falls only flows after relatively recent storms. I tried to get a perspective away from the hordes of photographers in the valley. While I didn’t quite get to the spot I really wanted, I did watch this < formation drift up the face of El Capitan until it reached this alignment. Ultimately I found this more interesting than any of the fire falls photos I made this trip and it remains one of my favorites of the year.

Steam Dream

Steam Dream

If you follow my photography you might find the regular landscapes are on occasion interrupted by my love of steam trains. The San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society earlier this year had a night photography session during the brief time that they had their magnificent locomotive, Santa Fe 3751, at the Fullerton Railroad Days event. I wasn’t really expecting a show but wow did they put one on! They lit the fire back on this oil burning locomotive and spent some steam through the cylinder cocks (out the sides) and the dynamos on top and of course out the smokestack. Some flash photography was coordinated but by far my favorite shot I’ve yet taken of a steam locomotive is this one with no flash but just a long exposure.

The Cable Route of Half Dome at Night

The Cable Route of Half Dome at Night

The Cable Route of Half Dome at Night, Wide Edition

The Cable Route of Half Dome at Night, Wide Edition

What can I say about these next two. Yosemite! Like my 97 Switchbacks At Night, these two images feature a well known trail traced by light at night. Unlike that project, this one is done digitally. These images are a shared copyright with friends Sean Goebel and Wade Meade. Spearheaded by Sean, we hauled a ton of gear up to the top of Mount Watkins while Wade scaled Half Dome alone in the dark. Filmed from across the valley with a variety of cameras and lenses, these two images are my versions of the stills, one wide and one closeup. Processing was labor intensive to minimize noise and to remove dozens of airplane trails, but the results were worth it. Check out the time lapse video too. The views of Yosemite Valley from up there were incredible.

Into the Sunset

Into the Sunset

This next image is one of the most remarkable sunsets I’ve ever seen in my time in southern California. I was fortunate enough to escape the day job for a few moments to run down to the beach. Just as the sunset was peaking a surfer walked up and started to head into the waves in the fading but spectacular light.

Super Moonset

Super Moonset

The so-called “super moon” sets over the waters of the Pacific Ocean at dawn in this surreal image. I was down at Manhattan Beach Pier and had almost given up on shooting for the morning when I saw how strange the moon looked just as it was setting on the horizon line. On a Sony a6300 at 400mm, the 600mm equivalent view shows the bizarrely distorted shapes of the moon and the equally strange colors of the ocean reflecting the morning pastel colors of a newly rising sun. It’s just so weird and thus it has remained one of my favorites this year.

Warp Speed at Tunnel View (Black and White Edition)

Warp Speed at Tunnel View (Black and White Edition)

In my final trip to Yosemite of the year, I headed in knowing that an incoming storm was likely. After watching a very nice sunset at Tunnel View, I stayed to try to capture the rapid movement of the clouds above. I ended up utilizing a 10-stop neutral density filter to elongate the exposure to a little over two minutes. This allowed the clouds to streak across the sky in the direction of their movement. After first processing this in color I later switched to black and white and love this version quite a bit more.

Sunrise at the Gates of the Valley

Sunrise at the Gates of the Valley

And finally, we have sunrise the next morning at the place I always think of as “Gates of the Valley” due to the photo by that name of the most famous of landscape photographers. Getting up at 4:30am was worth it. Hope had not been great for this particular morning, but a break in the clouds to the East made for a few minutes of color explosion across the sky. I’ve been staring at this photo as my desktop for weeks and have really grown fond of it.

So there you have it. As of this moment anyway, there are 10 favorites for 2016. I hope you have enjoyed them and I can’t wait to share more images with you in the future. Happy new year!

2016 Epson International Pano Awards

Earlier this year, I entered 5 panoramas into the 2016 Epson International Pano Awards. I entered a couple of panoramas last year and did not win anything. I set my expectations low. Life has been busy, and with everything going on in the world I didn’t have a chance until now to do a little write up. The Epson International Pano Awards have two competitions: Open and Amateur. They are judged separately. Since I do not make my living through my photography, I entered each of my 5 entries into the Nature / Landscape category of both competitions. The result? I won a silver award and 6 bronze awards! Check out the photos below. One of my panoramas did not earn an award, but I had considered that one a long shot.

Textural Landscape, Silver Amateur Award, Bronze Open Award

Textural Landscape, Silver Amateur Award, Bronze Open Award

View Textural Landscape on Flickr

Sierra Crest Sunrise, Bronze in Open and Amateur Awards

Sierra Crest Sunrise, Bronze in Open and Amateur Awards

View Sierra Crest Sunrise on Flickr

Sneffels Sunset, Bronze in Open and Amateur Awards

Sneffels Sunset, Bronze in Open and Amateur Awards

View Sneffels Sunset on Flickr

Aguerberry Dawn, Bronze in Amateur Awards

Aguerberry Dawn, Bronze in Amateur Awards

View Aguerberry Dawn on Flickr

Vandalism at the Racetrack, Death Valley National Park

Edit:
Hello, Internet! If you want to keep up with my photography, follow me on Flickr, Facebook, 500px, check out my other blog posts or even visit my portfolios. Cheers.

I haven’t done a blog post in awhile. I’ve been extremely busy. It’s not that there hasn’t been things to write about, but rather that all of my photographic efforts have been exhausted outside of the day job and it just hasn’t left me with anything left to devote to writing here. However, a trip last weekend to the Racetrack has left me with a burning need to write, and unfortunately it is because of the worst kind of people.

My mission was to capture some specific images of the Racetrack for a project. I made haste to get there as soon as I could before it got too hot. It is after all summer, and I wanted to get up to 3700ft before the main valley hit 110. It was in the upper 90’s when I finally started upon Racetrack Road. Oh Racetrack Road, you are still as bad as ever. Those 27 miles are always a relief when they are over. Finally, the Racetrack came into view. I was blissfully ignorant of what horrors were hidden from view at this distance. What follows is a mix of iPhone and Sony shots taken between 9/11/16 afternoon and 9/12/16 morning.

The Racetrack Playa finally in view

The Racetrack Playa finally in view

The Racetrack is a very special place. There are only two known places on the Earth where rocks move on their own across a lake bed. How they move was a mystery until 2014 when a couple of researchers finally witnessed it. The conditions have to be perfect, and those conditions might not happen for years between events. This is because of course Death Valley is a very dry place, which leads us to why the Racetrack itself is so fragile. When wet, footprints can last for years before conditions reach the point where the surface can reset. This is why signs say not to walk out on the lake bed when it is wet. Well, you are also not supposed to drive on it. This is regardless of whether it’s wet or dry. Unfortunately, when I drove up to the first of the three parking spaces, I found this.

Car tracks at the Grandstand

Car tracks at the Grandstand

It seems the worst kind of people have recently visited the Racetrack. The worst kind of people.

If only there was a sign that said "NO MOTOR VEHICLES"

If only there was a sign that said “NO MOTOR VEHICLES”

They did loops around the Grandstand :(

They did loops around the Grandstand 🙁

It doesn't have to be wet to get damaged by inconsiderate people

It doesn’t have to be wet to get damaged by inconsiderate people

The Racetrack Playa has three parking areas. The middle parking lot offered even greater horrors. Whoever did this, they really had zero consideration for anyone else.

What a mess

What a mess

The damage was so extensive by the middle parking lot I couldn’t even bring myself to walk out and get a closer look. By this point my heart was really filled with dread. “Oh God, surely they didn’t go to the rocks too!” I thought. I pressed on.

Yes, they went there.

Yes, they went there.

At least one track ventures all the way to the rocks. They were thorough in defacing one of the most unique places on Earth. Yes, that’s a track that curves between rocks before looping around. Photographic compositions here will be ruined for years. Experiences will be marred by tire tracks next to rock tracks. My planned shots around the Grandstand were ruined for this trip.

Horrors

Horrors

Yeah, the car tracks show up from afar too

Yeah, the car tracks show up from afar too

The worst people drove right over some tracks

The worst people drove right over some tracks

From the rocks area, car tracks tail off into the distance

From the rocks area, car tracks tail off into the distance

It appeared that these people drove out right from the Racetrack parking area.

Tracks right from the Racetrack parking

Tracks right from the Racetrack parking

I don’t recognize the type of tread. Anyone know what these are from? It seemed to be pretty recent. It can be quite windy and I would expect the wind to erase the soft prints in the sandy dirty here before long.

Treads of bad people

Treads of bad people

If I sound repetitive referring to these people as the worst, or bad, or terrible, or any number of other negative adjectives I’m not really sorry. This damage could last for years. The Racetrack is a special place. It’s not a place for cars to race, it’s a place for the Racing Rocks. Period. It’s a National Park. Be respectful. What I’m writing is incredibly tame compared to the thoughts that were racing through my mind as I came across this mess. This level of disrespectful, inconsiderate car track graffiti exceeded everything I previously thought possible. But unfortunately, the horrors would continue. 2016 has had abundant horrors.

Out at the rocks, some fainter trails of … something … crossed through some of the area. I don’t know what to make of them or how old they are, but they are just as abhorrent as the car tracks.

Human caused tracks of something crossing a rock trail

Human caused tracks of something crossing a rock trail

I don’t know what to make of this. At some other point on the playa there seemed to be bicycle tracks but the side-by-side nature here I find puzzling. This is minor compared to the final insult.

Chiseled into a rock, the initials of horrible people

Chiseled into a rock, the initials of truly horrible people

A few weeks back I had heard a rumor that I prayed was not true. The rumor was that people were carving initials into rocks at the Racetrack. It’s been bad enough over the years that people steal rocks and move them. But this, this really takes the cake. At least the damage to the playa surface will one day be undone by the weather, even though it could take decades. This though, this will last far longer. These people, “D” and “K” chiseled a 1/8″ deep graffiti gouge into the surface of a large rock on the playa.

How does one get it in their head that this is ok? How does one think “Oh, it’s the racetrack! Let’s drive on it!” How does one think “Let’s chisel our initials onto one of the special rocks!” How does one get to such a selfish place in life? I hope these people are caught. I know that hope is about as improbable as winning the Powerball lottery, but in a perfect world, these assholes would be brought to justice. Anyone with any information please contact Death Valley National park. Defacing the racetrack is a crime.

I wish that the entire racetrack could be surrounded with severe tire damage spikes, carefully camouflaged to blend in unnoticeable from the surrounding dirt. I imagine such a person as recently defaced this sacred place trying to drive upon the playa only to have all 4 tires shredded before they could damage much. This would necessitate a very, very expensive tow from Miller’s Towing out of Lone Pine. But such things are just thoughts. Please be respectful to our sacred and protected places. They belong to us, they don’t belong to just you. Please, if you know anything contact the National Park Service. Please don’t deface the Racetrack, drive on it, steal rocks, or chisel into the rocks.

Edit, Tuesday 9/20:

Thank you to everyone who has responded to this post. I did not expect it to take off as much as it has. Seeing those recent tracks was infuriating but they are hardly the first ones I’ve seen there. They are the worst kind of people to visit the Racetrack. To be clear, if it wasn’t obvious, I’m not comparing them to all the other bad people or bad things that happen on the Earth

A few people have claimed that the car trails will not last years. I present you this shot from 2013 of vehicle tracks that you cross between the parking lot and the main moving rock zone. While I did not take a photo of these tracks on 9/11-12 of this year (2016), they are just as present now as they were then. It is plainly visible in Google Earth.

Old vehicle tracks seen in 2013 still visible in 2016

Old vehicle tracks seen in 2013 still visible in 2016

I hope that the awareness instilled by this post will encourage others to document and report anytime they see anyone driving out there or defacing or stealing stones or walking out on the playa when wet. I hope it will encourage people to be respectful of this uniquely amazing place. And finally I hope that Death Valley National Park can do a little more to discourage driving out there and stealing / defacing rocks. There is certainly room for improvement in signage and in obstacles to getting out there. I want us all to be able to respectfully enjoy this amazing spot in my favorite National Park. Please enjoy the unique natural beauty of the sailing stones of the Racetrack and leave no trace that you were there.

And finally I’ll add one of my photos from my first ever visit to Death Valley and the Racetrack back in 2008, when I fell in love with this incredible place.

Racing Rock, 2008

Racing Rock, 2008

Please leave no trace.

Edit: I was interviewed live on Facebook by the Weather Channel’s wonderful Domenica Davis to talk about the damage and what makes the place special.

September 20, 2016 - 11:05 am
September 21, 2016 - 8:25 am

The Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park marred by vandals: Digital Photography Review - […] he documented on his blog, landscape photographer Kurt Lawson was in the area scouting shooting locations for a project […]

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