Late December Landscapes in Death Valley, California

We arrived in the valley just as the sun was setting. The sky put on a show for us, with intense pink and purple clouds stretching over the dark mountain ranges. It was a quick but dramatic welcome to the landscape before night fell.

The next morning was overcast and cool. We headed out to the sand dunes, a huge expanse of sand tucked between the mountains. It's a surreal environment. We walked for a while with our dog, who seemed to have a good time exploring the dunes. In the distance, we could see the peaks of the higher mountains were covered in snow.

Later in the day, we found ourselves in a completely different scene down on the valley floor. A thin layer of what looked like snow or salt covered the ground near a large, shallow body of water. It was strange to walk on the crunchy, white surface in the middle of the desert, with the tall, snow-capped mountains right behind us.

It was a short trip, just a day of exploring, but it was full of these stark contrasts—from the warm-toned sunset to the massive dunes and the cold, white salt flats. We took a few selfies to remember the strange and quiet scenery.