Solitude

Mosaic Canyon, Death Valley National Park, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Death Valley is quiet.  It's not silent.  When the wind blows hard, it makes a lot of noise, but it's like white noise.  Wind may make noise through the trees, but it also makes noise when there's nothing to blow through.  I've been there when the wind was blowing sixty miles an hour and I've been there when there was no wind to speak of, and if you need to get away and find yourself Death Valley is as good a place to go as any in either scenario.  The difference between quiet and silent is easily understood there.  It's the same kind of difference as being alone and being lonely.