Death Valley

I have meteorological dreams.
Last night I dreamed about Death Valley, one of the most visceral places I've been. To stand at the bottom of Death Valley is to stand on the surface of the moon. You can see for miles. It is bigger and stranger and darker than you can understand.
One of the first things that struck me about Death Valley was the sound. If you sit in the middle of the desert, in silence, your head feels stuffed with cotton wool. The silence doesn't sound like silence. Sound travels strangely and deceivingly - a voice on your left sounds like its coming from your right. The ground sounds hollow when struck. The only thing I can attribute it to is that Death Valley is one of the hottest, driest places on Earth. Perhaps the lack of moisture in the air means that the sound is hampered or modified in its travels.
Which is why I was surprised by my dream last night.
I dreamed about Death Valley in terms of moisture, dampness. The salt flats were flooded and the mountains were hemmed in with oppressive cloud. Everything was drenched in slow, heavy rain. I was sweating.
It is raining in Death Valley right now. This doesn't happen very often.

Also, there's this:
http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/OddPics/Playa.html