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FALL 2017 ISSUE 02 / VOL. 02
With its blinding white sand, desolate salt flats, bone-dry humidity and brain-baking midday temperatures, Death Valley can be a stark, forbidding place. During the summer months, the National Park Service issues stern warnings about extreme heat and the risks of dehydration and flash floods, and then there are the rattlesnakes, scorpions, black widow spiders and hantavirus-carrying rodents lurking in the shadows. But if you use common sense, are prepared for the conditions and travel during cooler months, then Death Valley is much more inviting. The magic really happens at sunrise and sunset, when the temperature drops and the sun is lower in the sky, creating a kaleidoscope of colors. Peter awoke before dawn to capture this photo of his campsite at Panamint Springs.