Total Freedom

Badwater Basin: The statistics tell the story. 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America. A vast salt flat in an endorheic basin made from an ancient lakebed. Besides that, you have the dramatic sweep up to Telescope Peak (11,043 ft.), the highest point in the Panamint Range. We visited at sundown (of course) and the purple evening light reminded me of our encounter with Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert last summer.

I have a special feeling for this place. Most of the time I have other people directing me and making decisions on my behalf. I don’t mind because it’s appropriate for me. I’m lucky to have caring support staff and a loving family to look after my interests and make sure I have a good life. But out on the salt flats I can run around wherever I want and vocalize at the top of my lungs with my dad a distant speck on the horizon. It feels like total freedom.

We last came to this spot almost exactly ten years ago. I’ve included a picture of me and Dad taken here on March 31, 2013 (my brother Jackson’s 23rd birthday). Dad will thank me for saying that he hasn’t aged at all since then, even though he knows it’s not true.