Pond near Mormon Point (2010)
Death Valley National Park, CA

The winter of 2010 saw an unusual amount of rainfall in Death Valley.  By the time we arrived in February the Valley had already received a full year's worth of rain and more was on its way.  It doesn't take much water to start flooding the normally parched salt basins and playas.  Where Lake Manley once filled the entire valley 10,000 years ago, ponds and lakes form.  They will last for a few weeks or perhaps months before the inevitable hot summer air sucks them up again.

Being in the Valley at a time like this is a tremendous thrill.  It becomes hard to contain your excitement because you realize how incredibly special this is.  Standing on the edge of this pond at sunset you experience the immensity of the Valley and feel drawn into its sublime beauty.