The Mojave Desert Like You've Never Seen: Lit Up With Lasers And Fire

Johnson Valley, California hosts some of the wildest and most accessible off-road racing events in America. That's fun to watch, but when the sun goes down things get downright batshit out there. See a new side of the desert in this gallery of eye candy.

All these photos are from the 2015 King Of The Hammers rock crawler race, taken by yours truly with a Pentax K50 on a complex tripod of rocks and broken bottles.

Every night for about a week in February, parties rage in this cluster of camping rigs known as "Hammertown." For some perspective, here's what about 25% of that looked like in daylight:

Meanwhile the real maniacs will strap neon sticks and LEDs to their trucks and tear into the desert for four-wheeled shenanigans.

There's no better place to test your skills and equipment than a sanctioned off-road area, and if you do bite off a bigger obstacle than you can chew there's no shortage of other drivers with the tools to pull you out.

The culture is welcoming, mood's positive, and if you like anything related to motorsport or adventure you really have to check this race out next year.

Don't worry, that last guy was fine. He spent about ten minutes purposefully flinging his rig up that vertical face to see how his roll cage would fare in a tumble. This thing was righted and on its way shortly after with nothing more than a few paint scars.

Andrew P. Collins is Jalopnik's off-road and adventure guy. Shoot him an email or hit him up on Twitter to talk trucks.