Trona Pinnacles

Passing a familiar landmark.

Entering the Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark from the southeast. It has been 15 years since my last visit to these unusual formations.

 Clouds darken the sky as a weather front moves into the area.

 Crossing the soft sand of Teagle Wash with our camp site in the distance.

Our camp east of Teagle Wash provided excellent vistas of the area.

The clouds clear and towers to the north are silhouetted by the sky.

A formation near our camp.

Late in the afternoon, off in the distance, a train rumbled by on the Trona Railway headed for Searles Station. What happened to the red and white locomotives?

Dawn breaks over a group of pinnacles to the south.

It rained several times during the night, sometimes fairly hard. The most interesting event of the evening occurred around 9:30 when a helicopter flew around the area lighting up the pinnacles with a search light. 

 View from our camp looking west.

Looking north from our camp.

Sighted a V-22 Osprey headed west toward NAWS China Lake.

The Searles Valley Minerals plant, formerly North American Chemical Company, formerly, Kerr-McGee, formerly American Potash and Chemical, and originally the American Trona Corporation. The town of Trona was built to support the facility.

 View of another formation.

The pinnacles were registered in 1968 as a National Natural Landmark.

The restroom is a new addition since my last visit.

Driving to another camp site. A site that is more accessible because we were expecting company of the 2WD kind.

Sunrise at Camp Two.

We spent a pleasant evening sitting around a campfire, under a clear sky filled with sparkling stars.

A portal to the Planet of the Apes perhaps?

 A closer look inside revealed some odd looking creatures.

Our camp, from the pinnacles.

 The Trona Railway looking south.

Last crossing before regaining the pavement.