What: There are times when nature decides to completely rewrite the rules of a landscape, and earlier this year, I witnessed one of the most incredible transformations in the American Southwest. Death Valley National Park, known for being the hottest and driest place on Earth, was home to a massive, shimmering lake. While the park is usually a world of salt crusts and cracked earth, the heavy winter rains transformed the famous Badwater Basin into a surreal mirror that reflected the snow-capped peaks of the Panamint Range.