Death Valley National Park - Post Three

Thanks to Caroline for taking these photos when my camera battery died!

The Devil's Golf Course is a large salt pan on the floor of Death Valley.

It was named after a line in the 1934 National Park Service guide book to Death Valley National Monument, which stated that "Only the devil could play golf" on its surface, due to a rough texture from the large halite salt crystal formations.

The Devil's golf Course

Jeff and Neil walking carefully! 
You would hate to fall and skin your hands or knees on these salt crystals.

We're off to another site. 

A striking feature of this National Park is the salt pan that covers the floor of Death Valley.

Intense summertime heat causes cracks to form on the surface of the salt pan. Beneath the crust is a mixture of mud and salt and as moisture evaporates from the mud, salt swells and fills the cracks, building the ridges. There are sections of the salt pan that have these patterns extending seemingly endlessly in all directions.

Caroline taking a photo of Neil on his cell phone.

Scenes from the movie Star Wars were filmed here. 
Standing in the middle of this - you definately feel like you are on another planet!