Gold Butte National Monument, NV
We had made reservations for camping in Death Valley and Santa Barbara, CA for Spring Break that had to be cancelled amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Although we were bummed, a weekend trip to Gold Butte did not disappoint.
On the far East side of Lake Mead, past the more well known Valley of Fire State Park, lies Gold Butte National Monument. What was once a little known area became a National Monument in 2016 and the number of visitors to the area has increased immensely. Although the traffic to the area has increased, the 300,000 acre landscape leaves plenty of room to explore without seeing another human….this was perfect for maintaining our social distance.
We knew lots of people would be heading out to the area as it was pretty much the only nearby location available to camp, it was Easter weekend, and the weather was perfect for this time of year. Fortunately, Ella and Miles made it easy to get up by 6am and leave the house before 9am. Their early rising got us a perfect camping spot; one of the best camping spots that I think we’ve ever had. After we set up camp, we heading South on the dirt roads towards the old town of Gold Butte. What was once a mining tent camp of 2,000 men left behind cement slabs and a cemetery.
Ella and Miles did great in their respective carriers, Ella on Dad’s back and Miles on Mom’s front. Topo was happy to run along the granite rocks and sniff new plants. The wildflowers were at their peak and just gorgeous to look at the entire weekend.
On Saturday morning, after a relatively uneventful night of two pack n plays within five feet of each other, we set out to explore Little Finland, an area of uniquely carved sandstone rock formations. Before getting to Little Finland, we stopped at a giant sinkhole called Devil’s Throat. For safety, the area has been fenced off so we couldn’t even see to the bottom of the sink hole. Little Finland, however, was most impressive! Just like clouds in the sky form pictures in our brains, you could find imagines in the red rock everywhere you looked. Miles and Ella enjoyed some time out of the carriers playing the in weathered rock turned sand.
Amazingly, even though the driving distance between areas we wanted to see were long, the kids either slept or entertained themselves. I didn’t have to jump into the backseat a single time! From Little Finland, we headed back north to find some of the well documented petroglyphs in the area.
We headed back to camp for Ella to do a little Easter egg hunting. She loved it! She also discovered she is really good at scooping sand into a bowl and pouring it in different locations. Miles was a little more difficult to entertain…he pretty much just wanted to be held.
Sunday morning, we packed up camp (well Scott packed up camp while I tended to children) and sought out two arches near our campsite, Whitney Pocket Arch and Neopolitan Arch. We soaked in the last bit of wildflowers and beautiful limestone and sandstone rocks before heading back into isolation.
