Looking far down from the Black Mountains, an abstract world of textures stretches out across the lands north of Badwater. The ephemeral return of Lake Manley reflects a blue sky above. Strange shapes of floating salt float in its surface, as if this was all a painting and some brush strokes broke free from the shore and drifted out into the water. The path of countless tiny channels of water as it wages battle to erode the mountains over millions of years is revealed in the patterns of the mud and the outline of an alluvial fan that gives way to the flat expanse that fills this whole valley. The high water mark is traced by a beach of brilliant white fresh salt crystals, with further traces of mineral deposits all throughout the muddy and salty land.
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Patches of white salt still in the shadow of the Black Mountains give way to a portal to the Panamint Mountains which have become spectacularly bathed in warm light of a newly risen Sun. The surface of this rare water in Badwater Basin, the lowest place in North America, starts as a perfect mirror and then transitions to a slightly distorted view from gentle wind disturbance on the surface. From far away the ripples are not visible, only their effect can be seen. It looks to me as if there is a window or portal to another dimension here, as if you could walk across the salt and then fall in across the event horizon into this upside down world that plays tricks not he mind.
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The Black Mountains live up to their name in this view south of Badwater looking in that direction. To the north the ribbon of water, one of many, joins in the ephemeral resurgence of Lake Manly. On this morning I embarked to explore some of the vast expanse a little further south. In past explorations I have found this to be potentially problematic due to the endless mud which can become thick and stick to my boots or soft causing unsettling sinking. Here though with fresh salt as far as the eye can see, the crust was hard and crystalline. In passing I snapped this view of the wandering path of water with the reflected Black Mountains and since then it has grown on me. I like the sense of conflict of the wandering water vs the reflection. Blue hues rule the image with brilliant white salt that could easily be mistaken for snow.
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The Sun has disappeared but it has left behind a very colorful sky as darkness begins to arrive. After a spectacularly wet winter, Soda Lake and its surrounding network of smaller ponds reflect the subtle hues of the sky. In the foreground the slopes of the Temblor Range descend down towards the San Andreas Fault with yellow wildflower highlights muted in the encroaching darkness. I have really fallen in love with Carrizo Plain National Monument over the years since 2017 when I first visited, and I can’t wait to get back this year.
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Soft twilight light reveals the hues of the badlands in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California. A particularly wet winter brought accents of green throughout the landscape in this view from 2017. This was my first time exploring this area, and I have been itching to go back. Especially since I have grown so fond of badlands, which I view as anything but bad.
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