Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level, so we had to pay the place a visit, if for no other reason than simply “because it’s there.” Like so many features of the desert, the relative distance on the map belie the true dimensions between points – Badwater is 17 miles south of Furnace Creek, and we quickly realized as we made our way down the Badwater Road that our day was going to be completely taken up by visiting just the attractions in this area of the park. We arrived at the nearly-full parking area to see a steady stream of people making their way westward and back across the adjacent salt flats, most in street clothes and more than a few having been brought in on tour buses. We snapped a couple of photos and joined in the general procession, right away being impressed with how high the water table is in the basin – at several places along the well-traveled route, shallow holes not more than a few inches deep have been dug by passers-by, and all of them were filled with water about three inches below the surface elevation. We angled southwest away from the crowds after a half-mile or so, continuing another few hundred yards across the flats to a point further west and well south of the less ambitious souls in the area. The salt was crusty beneath our feet, but it was also apparent that we were not likely the first people to ever walk around in this area – the surface looked to be marked everywhere by footprints, although perhaps the texture is continually subject to pressure from wind and rain and is constantly changing. Telescope Peak stood due west across the valley, such a contrast in extremes of local elevation at 11,000+ feet. Jane couldn’t resist tasting the salt, and Chris tried it as well – very potent it was, and the aftertaste of Jane’s larger piece remained with her throughout the day. We wandered back in after a short time, eager for various other excursions before returning to Furnace Creek.