A few nights ago

On the next block over from my house is an abandoned storefront that I had never noticed. It was snowing outside and I was with some nondescript friends. We followed another group of people inside, and came upon an endless expanse that looked a lot like that salt lake in Bolivia. We were under a big marquee near the door we came through. The floor was made of coarse salt, covered in a thin layer of water that reflected the cloudy sky. Not far from the perimeter of the awning, in every direction, there was 5 feet of salty snow on the ground as far as I could see.

The air was very thin here. My friend gave me a good explanation for why this was but I can't remember it now. The people we followed in plus some others were there too, but no one could make it very far out past the snow. I gave it a try myself. As soon as I got waist deep I felt like I was suffocating. My ears were ringing. I fell to my knees and grabbed at the snow. It didn't feel cold but melted in my hands.