Devil's Golf Course

Death Valley National Park

This is yet another bizarre other worldly landscape found in Death Valley.  These jagged salt formations are the remains of an ancient lake.  It looks like a field of dirty snow, but far from it.  My travel buddy and I walked out into the field with great difficulty.  There is no gentle crunching under your hiking boots.    The miniature canyons are hard and crusty.  There is a posted sign warning of falls.  "Be Careful!" it reads.  "A fall could result in painful cuts or even broken bones."

The devil is playing a trick on us.  The snow is crystallized salt.  The mud is rock hard.  A closer look reveals  a world of jagged spires created by wind and rain.  It is a forbidding place.  It is, indeed, a devil's playground.