REMOTE DESERT METEORITE EXPEDITION
One of the best places to look for meteorites are deserts and playas. If you are persistent you can find meteorites that have fallen over thousands of years. The lack of vegetation and rocks make spotting old meteorites easier. But it is still no easy task. In this adventure, my good friend Ryan Heather and I travel to one of the most remote parts of the country. The location remains undisclosed as it is a continuous multi-year project.
The place we are going is not for the faint-of-heart or those looking for a weekend drive. This trip must be carefully planned and many supplies taken including several cans of fuel, plenty of water and food, extra tires, and a personal locating beacon. Locating beacons can be rented for under $100 (vs. buying them for ~$600) and are necessary for areas like this where if something goes wrong, a locating beacon is your only option for help.
After countless hours of driving we finally reach the playa, which consists of hundreds of square miles of NOTHING. No plants, no animals, no rocks. Just plenty of meteorite hunting glory. This is the first time I have ever experienced a large playa and the first thing that struck me was the absolute silence. I equate the sound to like being locked in a small closet where there is absolutely no reverberation. You can scream at the top of your lungs, and it sounds like you are shouting into a box. We immediately begin noticing other strange effects including incredible mirages. We see a strange object on the horizon that looked like a small building and began driving towards it. After a mile or two the object began to shrink until we pulled up to it and found that it was a rock about the size of a basketball. Very strange effect! The fact that the playa changes only several inches in elevation over hundreds of square miles contributes to these amazing mirages.
Copyright - M.Bandli - Historic Meteorites
To save gas, our primary form of transportation were mountain bikes. The near-perfect flat ground gave no resistance and pedaling in any direction was a breeze. Another interesting effect was that you could drive in a straight line towards the horizon and the mountains didn't ever seem to get any closer. They didn't look like they were more than 20 miles away, but in reality, they were much further than that.
In between looking for meteorites, we would take breaks to have a little fun. At one point, I set the cruise control at 40 mph and climbed on the roof of the SUV for a 'self-guided' tour. The ground is so flat it felt like we were on a asphalt.
After setting up base camp, we began GPS gridding a pre-determined area for meteorites. The grids were a quarter mile square and allowed us to sample different areas. Though temperatures were well above 100 degrees, the extremely dry air and slight breeze kept things from getting too uncomfortable. We found ourselves consuming about 4 bottles of water per hour and all packed food was dry and ready to consume. It simply isn't feasible to take meals to cook. The wind, heat, and time involved in preparation are too much of a burden, so we relied on granola, snacks, jerky, and carb bars for food.
After a hard day of work, the feeling of driving or riding your bike just before sunset was incredible and refreshing. The views wer nothing short of epic and I found myself often in disbelief, that such a desolate land could show such beauty.
After showy sunsets, the true beast of the playa would awaken. About 30 minutes after dark the gods would turn on the wind. This wind was relentless and at times I felt as thought the tent was going to be picked up and swept into the distance. It was so incredibly strong that fear eventually turned into laughter, and we found ourselves laughing hysterically, as falling asleep among all the madness was nearly impossible.
TO BE CONTINUED...
