
Finally here we are at Badwater, which was aptly named.
This is a very "long" shot but I wanted to introduce by giving you this wide shot. Tomorrow, we shall see a different and closer view.
The white reflection that you see on the valley floor, in the distance, is primarily salt - the same salt used in the Borax works years ago. In some years - very occasionally - during winter and early spring, enough rain water does collect here to form a lake of varying sizes, depending upon the amount of rain that particular season. But normally the white, bright reflection of the salt is all that is there.
As I mentioned earlier in this series, the elevation at Badwater is 282 feet (86.0 m) BELOW sea level , the lowest spot in North America. The heat is intense here beginning in May, really, and continuing into October. The hottest temperatures normally strike in June, July, and August, reaching well into the range of 120 degrees F.
In the distance is 11,052 foot Telescope peak overlooking the valley. This is the same peak that we saw from the other side early last week as we entered the park.
Tomorrow, I will show you a different view of the salt flats here in Badwater....one which will lend some perspective as to the size of this huge salt flat.
** Staples Singers - "Respect Yourself"
- " We do not move forward from a middle opinion, which is undemocratic but mediocratic.
We advance from a creative passion "- (Edgar Morin)
- "To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at
that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy."
- Henri Cartier-Bresson.
::Words from Denny:
- My beliefs, and values, have always been strongly tied-to music, especially Jazz, and Blues.
- The following artists and lyrics seem to "sum-up" where my spirit resides:
EARTH WIND AND FIRE;
"HOLD ON TO YOUR SPIRIT,
ALWAYS FEEL YOUR SOUL....
HONOR THE MAGIC IN YOUR HEART"; Earth Wind and Fire
FUJIFILM FinePix E550
1/280 second
F/8.0
ISO 100
8 mm