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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BERNADETTE HEATH
Extreme Elevations
STORY BY JANET WEBB FARNSWORTH
Sun blinds me as it bounces off the white salt pan at Badwater in Death Valley National Park. At 282 feet below sea level, this ranks as the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. This afternoon I'll be some 100 miles west at Mount Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states. The point of my journey is purely philosophical ‹ to visit the highest and lowest points, and the stages between, on the same day.
Death Valley holds the dubious honor of the highest average summer temperature on Earth, and is also the driest spot in North America. Fall travel allows me to miss summer's extreme heat yet still visit Mount Whitney before snow closes the road.
I dip my finger in brackish water. One taste tells why early miners named this water hole Badwater. California gold seekers gave the region its gruesome name ‹ Death Valley. I'm traveling in an air-conditioned car and staying at the luxurious Furnace Creek Inn. What a contrast to early pioneer treks.
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The March/April 2003 Issue is out. Find it at Las Vegas bookstores today.
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