We arrived in Death Valley just before sunset, on a dusty road off the 178 highway. We passed the mineral mining companies destroying the saltflat in Trona (a truly weird town), and made our way into the park.
Camping was free in one of the campsites just north of Furnace Creek. We slept fairly well and headed off at dawn to the sand dunes in the valley.
The dunes were pretty well trampled, but this being America, you only have to walk a few hundred yards into the dunes to find pristine dunes…. People never venture far from their cars in this valley.
Underneath the dunes, there’s a wonderful mosaic of salty hardened mud. It crunches underfoot as I walk.
Next on our journey was the lowest point in the western hemisphere: Badwater – Death Valley, USA
Even in January it’s hot here – you can see the heat haze on the lake bed, but we set off on a 2.5 mile hike, towards the flattest part of the salt flats.
Some of the images will make it into my microstock photography portfolio!
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