Everyone who is interested in Death Valley has probably seen many times pictures of the amazing salt-encrusted polygons. Most people believe that they can be easily found simply by walking on the salt pan at Badwater Basin. I tried doing that. I parked my car and walked for almost a mile west of the parking lot in the middle of the dried lake where the mud is covered by a thick layer of salt, but I couldn’t see any polygons. There were some faint traces of them, but I couldn’t find those perfect salt ridges forming the beautiful polygons I used to see in other photographers’ pictures. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed and I blamed it on the season. It was early March and it had rained a bit just the day before, so I assumed that because of the rain the ridges had “melted”.

A couple of days later, while I was at the Racetrack, another famous location within Death Valley Nation Park, I met a Canadian photographer and, while talking to him, the polygons came up in the conversation. He shared with me his disappointment for not being able to spot them at Badwater Basin but then he revealed to me that another photographer had told him about the perfect location to find them. To find them, one must drive about ten miles north of Badwater and then take West Side Road, which is on the left when driving north. After the turn, simply drive for about a mile and then, on the right, you will find the perfect location to photograph the polygons. Leave the car on the side of the road and walk a few hundred feet north until you are where the mud has cracked and all the cracks are perfectly covered with salt, creating the ridges that make up these beautiful polygons. So I went there a bit after sunset to inspect the location and, the morning after, I woke up early in the morning and, before breakfast, I drove to the location waiting for the sun to rise over the Panamint Range.