This is the first in a series of posts from Death Valley. I went with a purpose, to see Badwater Basin with actual water in it. I nearly didn’t make it before sundown, because cloud cover made interesting lighting the entire drive, and I kept stopping for scenes like this.

In the freground, sparse desert plants in sand. In the background, rough, rising terrain, with geologic striations and no visible flora. In the center, a bank of sand dunes with two people standing on one peak, looking very small in the giant landscape. The foreground and background are in cloud shadow, the valley floor beyond the dunes is brightly lit by the sun.