27 Comments
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Sheryl White's avatar

Boy, wierd is right! I think that would have annoyed the bijibies out of me! I drove near that area early in May.

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

What helped it not be as annoying is that we were all pretty spread out (some of those photos were with the telephoto lens). And everyone's volume was respectful, so it was a lot of people watching, which Adam and I love to do 😉

Ralph Turner's avatar

40 degrees centigrade? That's at least 15 degree too hot for my liking! 🥵😏 and there's no accounting for some people's selfishness. Still, as you say, it all made for some interesting shots. The light looks beautiful. The fire dancers images are fab - not what you'd expect, but very striking, indeed. Thanks for sharing.

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

Thanks Ralph! So so hot. But yes, beautiful light in a very beautiful area. We want to go back ASAP.

Darin's avatar

I think that it helps to experience Badwater Basin on three hours of sleep. It is interesting to think that, the tallest spot in the continental U.S., and the lowest spot in North America, are an hours drive from each other. You should have woken up the late arrival by banging on his truck.

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

California is definitely its own separate country. And boy did we want to lay on our horn as we passed by Mr. Truck's campsite, but we didn't want to be assholes to everyone else. So I flipped the truck the bird instead, because that showed him 😂

Darin's avatar

Nothing that petty, can every be insignificant. You have done well, young Padwan.

Lin Gregory's avatar

Wow what an amazing salt basin, I'd never heard of it. Even on 3 hours sleep you managed to get some beautiful images Rachel such gorgeous light and the fire dancer images just adds to the uniqueness of that morning.

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

Thanks Lin! It was great light and a beautiful location, just a weird experience 😂

Liza's avatar

Sounds so amazing. The sea level sign really puts it into perspective. Beautiful water photos, Rachel.

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

Thanks Liza! The basin is one of those locations that you can't quite grasp its scale until you're there. It is so so beautiful!

Todd Haughton's avatar

Wow, it’s awesome to see so much water at Badwater! The last few times I was there it was dry as a bone, with far fewer people. I’d see it with a little water a long time ago, so your photos are a great reminder of what it can look like. Very nice!

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

Thanks Todd. I didn't realize how lucky we were to see water until we got back home. I'm so so glad we did - it was a nice reward for the lack of sleep 😂

Shital Morjaria (she/her)'s avatar

The water reflections are fab Rachel. Outstanding!

KewtieBird’s Photo Journey's avatar

Beautiful captures. But I’m also feeling a smidge (relative to yours) of the annoyance you guys had to deal with: the heat, the rudeness, more rudeness. At least it makes for good storytelling after the fact, in both pictures and words!!

søren k. harbel's avatar

Great read. Made me smile. Always good to know there are obnoxious idiots everywhere. There is a certain comfort in that. Like being there. Beautiful….

Kevin Hansen's avatar

Wow, what a horrible night! But I'm glad it led to such beautiful images. I'm curious what the window of time was where the water was just that depth, where everyone was standing on the surface of it. That photo of the three people looks like they're on ice.

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

It was a horrible night, then a beautiful morning. That's a good question about the water depth. Adam thought where we were, it was no more than an inch deep.

Jerrold Johnson's avatar

Great post and “interesting “ photos. I needed a spirit lift today, and this was the perfect kite.

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

You can't go wrong with a mountain reflection at sunrise.

Kenneth Nelson's avatar

I'm hoping the second 12 of 24 hours was much better 😬

Enjoyable even with all this aggravating circumstances. That reflective Basin was worth it.

Cheers!

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

It was a different version of hell 😂 But we survived. Death Valley was so pretty though!

Ken Smith's avatar

Great photos, Rachel! This is exactly the type of minimalist landscape I love to photograph. I need to get out there!

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

Thanks Ken! It's an incredible NP. We barely touched the surface when there, so we're already thinking about next time. We're hoping to get back out there this fall to experience it in (hopefully) cooler weather. More pictures to come this weekend!

Emese-Réka Fromm's avatar

Rachel, your photos are gorgeous! (as usual, I shouldn't be surprised). We spent a day in Death Valley a few years ago, in winter though, so it was a bit better... sorry you had to deal with the loud and obviously inconsiderate camping neighbor... we get annoyed when they come in late in loud trucks, but they usually try to be quiet if it's past midnight.

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

Thanks Emese! Adam and I have been joking about how we need to retire so that we can visit more hot places in the winter, and more cold places in the shoulder seasons. Only 20 more years 😂