All the rain this winter has brought some color to the desert. Death Valley has received more than 3 times its normal annual rainfall so far this year, so Brooke and I took a drive out there (along with most of the people in Southern California) to see the wildflowers and the big lake at Badwater. Telescope Peak with Desert Gold in the foreground. Close up of a Desert Gold. These catepillars were crawling all over at the first spot we stopped to take pictures. We really had to watch where we were stepping. I'm not sure what these purple flowers were, but we saw scattered patches of them throughout the day. The parking lot at Badwater was full, and there were lots of people walking out to the water. Normally this part of the Badwater Basin is dry and you can walk out to the low point (-282 ft). If you want to get out there now, you have to swim. Or take your canoe... These guys were way out across the lake. Looking North up Death Valley across the lake with the shore covered in dry salt. Brooke and I at Badwater with Telescope Peak behind us. We drove down to the South end of the park to Ashford Mill since we'd heard that's where most of the floweres were. I guess the rumors were right... We saw some Desert Five-Spot scattered around, but they were mostly closed up. Desert Sand Verbena We got to this field of flowers and couldn't believe how many people were out wandering. The picture hardly does it justice... On our way out of the park, we stopped at the sand dunes by Stove Pipe Wells. We got there about an hour before sunset, so we walked around the dunes till after sunset and then headed home. A view of the dunes, field of yellow flowers, and the mountains in the distance. Patterns in the sand.