More trekking

I got up rather late today. There's something about being in the middle of nowhere that I found restful and I had one of the best nights sleep in a long time. 

Today I decided to explore the northern part of the desert. I drove on a quiet road up to Scotty's Castle. This is a very strange place - an elaborate building in the middle of nowhere. 

The bell tower to the left of the picture chimes every 15 minutes or so with the same tones as the clock in my home town of Batley. Very strange!

I walked up the hill to Scotty's grave and took a picture from there too. 

The visitors centre had some information about the place and also on Scotty himself who sounds like he was quite a character. I'll add pictures from my other camera in due course. 

 I had hoped to visit The Racetrack to see the Sailing Stones but the ranger at the visitors centre suggested otherwise. He looked at my car and then the tyres and said there was no way I was going to be able to navigate the track, which has sharp volcanic rocks, without 4x4 drive and heavy duty off-road tyres. I thought it best to follow his advice given that he said that there's no way he'd go there at the moment in the heat. It'll be top of my list to visit the next time for sure. 

I drove back down the road and headed to Ubehebe Crater. This was formed by volcanic eruptions some 2000 years ago. 

The landscape around it is covered in black volcanic rock. There was no one else around and I found the solitude and isolation quite invigorating. 

A wind and sand storm erupted out of no where and I was battered with hot air and  sand. It was awesome and magnified a great experience into one of the best of my life. 

More inclement weather was to follow. Much to my surprise it started to rain. And rain hard. 

The rain was accompanied by heavy winds and lightening. The car was shaking from side to side from the forces of the weather so of course I decided to stop and experience it for myself. I didn't regret it one bit and it was another great experience in my life. The heat of the rain landing on me was surprising. Here is a picture of the storm from a distance. 

Returned back to the accommodation and washed the sweat and grime off me. I'm waiting for it to get dark so I can head out again and take some pictures of the night sky.