wilderness hike - death valley

i decided to stay another night because i was really enjoying myself.  i got a head start toward another dirt road that the ranger warned about flat tires due to sharp gravel rocks.   i took it slow and avoided as many visible rocks as possible. my traction system was going berserk because of the bumpiness!

trail of dust.

it took me about an hour to go those 8 miles.  one reason for the head start was because if i could make it the 8 miles down the unpaved road, i'd look for a hiking trail that the ranger said leads to some petroglyphs.  the sun was setting fast, so when i found it, i immediately started hiking.  

the trail was not difficult, but the beginning was not very distinct from the surrounding vegetation.  i paid close attention to my direction and landmarks. with setting sun behind me i had to move quickly.  after a slight upgrade, the trail dropped down through the bottom of a valley.  i was told i'd see what i'm looking for after about a mile... but after about an hour of hiking i didn't find what i was looking for and had to turn around for fear of getting lost in the dark.  on my return i found what i thought could be remnants of rocks that used to host petroglyphs.  this one may have been someones failed attempt at robbing the artwork in one piece.  the vandalism apparently occurred in the 1950's.

there isn't much life readily visible in death valley, but i found a spider.

while taking photos and exploring on the way back, going about 200 feet up the wrong path at one point, and loosing the tail end of the trail, i cut it close for getting to the van, but my attention early in the hike helped my find my way.  the hike was beautifully fun.

the place to sleep was another half mile up the dirt road where i turned onto an even less used unpaved path.  i went two-tenths up and pulled to the side to camp.