Gold Butte National Monument, Desert Springs, and Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness

So much to share, so little time. Here are some highlights from a family trip to Mesquite and Gold Butte N.M. just after Christmas. It's a total coincidence that we visited the Gold Butte area just a day or two after the monument was created.

Nearly 8 years ago, I completed a 32-mile mountain bike tour of the Whitney Pocket-Devil's Fire area, and I've longed for the day to show the place off to the fam.

Hundreds of people literally drive right over the top of Desert Springs (aka, Little Jamaica) every hour near Littlefield, AZ, and have no idea what they're missing.

Although calling the springs "warm" might be generous (perhaps lukewarm, but definitely warmer than the nearby Virgin River), the spring waters are rich in dissolved minerals  that crystallize at the surface forming nice mineral terraces.

Hanging at the hanging gardens at Desert Springs.

Zoe and Ava climb down to check the water of the Virgin River.

Typical Mojave Desert scenery as you enter the Gold Butte area. That's 8000-foot Virgin Peak on the horizon-should probably climb that sucker one of these days.

One of many reasons why people have argued for the protection of Gold Butte is the incredible concentration of rock-art sites. I've seen dozens of sites in a small area near Whitney Pocket, but I get the sense that I've just scratched the surface.

The geology near Gold Butte is pretty amazing as well.  Near Whitney Pocket, the Aztec Sandstone steals the show with alternating streaks of pink, white, red, and yellow. 

Many cryptic petroglyphs in the Gold Butte area are unlike anything I've seen elsewhere in the Southwest. 

The menorah.

Hmmmm...yeah, I have no idea on this one.

The "falling man".

On the hunt for rock art.

Aztec jigsaw.

Whitney Pocket.

The water-impoundment structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at Whitney Pocket are still looking great nearly 80 years after their construction.

Walking the rim at Devil's Throat. This giant sink hole reportedly first appeared in the 1940s, and it has been growing ever since. It is most likely rooted in gypsum-rich bedrock (probably the Miocene Thumb Member of the Horse Spring Formation) at depth.  There are several other smaller sink holes known in the area that are all related to the dissolution of buried gypsum.

Smaller sink hole 3 miles northwest of Devil's Throat. This tiny, but deep, hole will continue to grow over time and some day may rival the current size of Devil's Throat.

Climbing up to Devil's Fire (aka, Little Finland; aka, Hobgoblin Valley).

Topo map.

Playing with fire.

On the way home we explored Cedar Pocket Road (BLM #1005) that cuts through the Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness Area. Gotta love the wide open spaces out here.

Yet another sink hole in the desert! This one is a little less mysterious than Devil's Throat since you can see that it is formed in bedrock. The Permian-age rocks here have lots of water-soluble gypsum, and a nearby fault has also likely contributed to its formation.

We lucked out with lots of low-hanging clouds, which made this already impressive wilderness area seam otherworldly.