Video: Huge dunes, cool pool, sudden rain in Death Valley

Here’s a video about huge dunes, a cool pool -- and what happens when rain hits Death Valley.

Most of it was shot in two dramatic spots, which lie about 27 miles from each other in Death Valley National Park.

One is Mesquite Flat, where sand dunes rise more than 100 feet from the desert valley’s floor, making for memorable sunrises and sunsets – especially when there’s unusual weather involved.

The second spot is the pool at the Inn at Furnace Creek -- probably one of the most tempting pools in California, given the miles of bare, dry, sun-baked desert that surround it.

And don’t miss the surprise treat at the end, when the video returns to the sand dunes.

“A Minute Away� is a video series in which nothing much happens -- except you see the world, and hear it, and get a respite from workaday life. We’ve covered Machu Picchu, Red Square, the Yucatan, the Alamo, an Alaska float plane and the reading room of the New York Public Library, among other places. We add a new minute just about every week. So if you’d prefer a full hour away, we’ve got more than enough here for you…