04/08/2025
With a Grain of Salt, 2024
Badwater Basin Death Valley, CA
Artist's Notes: Life doesn't always pan out they way we hope, but that doesn't mean something unique and special isn't right in front of you.
We went to Death Valley to try and find the mysterious Lake Manly that almost never appears, but for when the conditions are exactly right.
We drove to the famous Badwater Basin, where the lake was just a week prior. But due to incredibly heavy winds it had been pushed miles away, and almost completely dried up. What we found was an unbelievably beautiful lake of salt crystals that looked like new fallen snow, and gusts of wind that threw us around like we weighed nothing.
At first we were disappointed, but we ended up finding the whole experience hilarious and special.
Location Trivia: Lake Manly was a pluvial lake in Death Valley, California. It forms occasionally in Badwater Basin after heavy rainfall, but at its maximum extent during the so-called "Blackwelder stand," ending approximately 120,000 years before present, the lake covered much of Death Valley with a surface area of 1,600 square kilometres (620 sq mi).
Badwater Basin lies at the bottom of Death Valley. At 282 feet below sea level, it is the lowest elevation in North America. Badwater Basin is normally a dry salt flat.
