Day 10, Part 2: Monday, May 1st, 2006
Beatty, Nevada to Death Valley National Park and back

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In the valley itself, you can see the reflection of Telescope Peak in the salty waters of Badwater Basin. The Basin is 282 feet below sea level, while the top of the mountain is 11,049 feet above sea level--more than two vertical miles high.

The area around the basin seems to have been built up considerably since I was last here in 1997. A broad, wooden walkway diverts tourists away from the pool of water, but lets them spill out into the empty saltpan beyond. These people all got off a big bus together, speaking German, and then got out into the saltpan ahead of me while I was taking pictures of the water. I walk by them all with frisbee, water bottle and camera in hand.

I throw the frisbee over the brilliant white plains a few times and then start to play a game whereby I throw the disc high into the air, run as fast as I can, and then snatch it right before it lands, some thirty or forty yards away from where I began. It's a game I haven't played in years, but I'm surprisingly good at it in the still air of the valley.

The thermometer's at 90 and rising, though, so the fun doesn't last too long before I get worn out by the heat. I say farewell to the frisbee festivities by giving the disc one last toss through the air and taking a picture of it before it lands. I whimsically think that it looks something like a UFO.


This is all you need in life, really.

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