Road Trip! Part 3: Don't Be A Playa Hata.

At 6 the next morning, the first rays of the sun hit me in the face, and looking out over the still-shadowed playa, I could see the last crescent of the waning moon hanging in the orange sky, with the brilliant dot of Jupiter nearby.

It was cold, so cold the my sleeping bag was coated lightly with frost. But at least the sky was still clear. The forecast was for a high in the mid-60s and already the sun was making an appreciable difference in the temperature.

By the time we cracked open our bags and made coffee, the day was getting much nicer, especially since the wind was fairly light. We decided to start the day with a walk up the canyon.

It had been a wet spring in the Black Rock and the desert flora 

were exceptionally lush, with wildflowers everywhere.

There was even running water in the normally dry creek bed. 

Which explained the frogs we'd heard the night before.

Frog heaven.

As we got deeper in, the walls of the canyon got steeper.

Steve took lots of great shots.

Eventually the path was blocked by a jumble of boulders and brush, 

and we had to turn back, but it was a stimulating way to start the day.

Fields of buckwheat shimmered in the increasing wind.

We packed up our camp and headed for Planet X, an art gallery 

and ceramic shop run by some people Steve knows. They were having a show 

and sale, complete with delicious barbequed snacks.

After Planet X, we headed for Black Rock playa. It's a huge area of about 1000 square miles,
so amazingly flat that it has been used for two successful attempts at the world's land speed
record, including the 1997 run by ThrustSSC, which broke the sound barrier at 766 mph.

We didn't drive quite that fast, but it is very surreal driving on this 

flat, monochrome surface with no nearby landmarks or points of reference.

It's an eerie, magnificent place.

In the late afternoon, the skies began to cloud over and though the air was definitely warmer,

 the wind was picking up again.  The ring around the sun is usually not a good sign. But the
forecast still called for 70s on Tuesday, so we had hope. We decided to return to
Smoke Creek to spend the night, since the campsites there were less exposed.

 

 We visited usually dry Smoke Creek, which was full of water and home 

to several families of ducks.

There were extensive wetlands around the edge of the playa.

 Shore birds were happily probing the muck.

 The Smoke Creek playa was alive with dust devils, and the car and all our gear was soon 

covered in dust.

We found a campsite and settled in, but the weather was not cooperating. 

The skies were gloomy and the wind was intense at times.

By sunset the clouds had broken up a little, but the colors were far more subdued. 

It was clear that we weren't gong to get a repeat of the previous night's
spectacular light show, but it was still beautiful in its own way..

Next post: A bad day at Black Rock.

For another take on this day, and some great pictures, check out Steve's blog.

P.