The Pinnacles

We had our first experience today in the desert, driving a five-mile dirt track to visit the Trona Pinnacles. At every point in the Mojave Desert, one is subject to stern warnings about the risks inherent in going "off road". In our B&B in Three Rivers, Sequoia, the night before, the landlady told us of a young couple who had driven off road, whose car had broken down only two miles from the main road, and who had tried to walk back to the road but had been found dead, a trail of empty water bottles behind them. We took the point.

The point is the heat. By the Pinnacles, the car thermometer showed 90degF, which is hot by any standards.

The Pinnacles themselves are remarkable. Tufa spires, rising in some cases 140ft from the desert floor, creating a very other-worldly landscape. Used regularly for filming, one expected to see Mad Max rounding the corner at any moment. But no, the only loud sound was that of the desert's total silence.

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