This trip was to be my yearly pilgrimage to Death Valley, coinciding once again with the Death Valley 49ers encampment. I went there indeed, but this year was so windy that I returned home early.
It started well enough as I voted in the midterm elections in the morning then drove to Ridgecrest for an overnighter where I was able to listen to the election results. The next day after getting some provisions and gassing up, I continued to Death Valley itself. As I was driving, I passed the turn-out for the Trona Pinnacles as I had always done previously, but this time, I decided to visit them, and made a quick turn around as I was already past it. The site is about 5 miles down a gravel road. This is BLM land with fewer restrictions, so the road turns into a maze of roads as you approach the spires, and you can drive in and around them, or stop and hike around like I did.
The pinnacles are tufa spires which formed when the site was underwater much like in present day Mono Lake. This shows what Mono Lake would look like if it ever dries up. The shapes have interesting names like towers, tombstones, ridges, and cones.
Several movies and television series were filmed here such as Battlestar Galactica and one of the Star Trek movies. It is a fascinating place which deserves better protection.