A handful of years ago, I was solo camping in my small car, very near the 29 Palms park entrance to JT Natl Park. I was parked in a designated overnight parking area that was all gravel with no plants underneath my vehicle.

Around 10 PM, I started to hear these odd, scratching noises. It sounded like thin, small claws were scraping the metal under my car.

It was slightly windy, so I thought it might be small, desert plants or a tumbleweed blowing in the breeze, or even a mouse or lizard crawling around in the undercarriage.

I eventually fell asleep, but I heard the sound again in the very early morning. I slowly opened my car door in hopes of catching sight of an animal, but the area under and around my car was indeed bare - no plants or animals whatsoever.

It was creepy and I was pretty freaked out, but I figured there must be a rational explanation.

Any ideas?