Gold Butte N M - Whitney Pockets (3/28 through 3/31/2018)

It was almost exactly one year ago that I made a day trip to Gold Butte National Monument, posting two travelogues that can be found at Gold Butte and Little Finland.  With only one day there, and it cut short by rain, I felt the need to return and stay longer.  Despite my feeling last year that the road into Gold Butte isn't suitable for the motor home, I decided that I would never be satisfied unless I camped there and had several days to see the various parts of the monument that I missed last year.  By driving very slowly and weaving all over the road to miss the roughest areas, I managed to reach the camping area without incident.  Things got re-arranged inside the cabinets, but there was no damage.

During my four days at Gold Butte I took lots of photos, keeping more than 450 of them.  I plan to make four travelogues, one for each major area I visited, which means I will have to be very selective in the photos I post.  Further, I'll try not to repeat scenes from last year's travelogues.

Whitney Pockets is the area where the "paved" road ends and several gravel roads branch off to various parts of the 300,000 acre wilderness.  It's also where several camping sites have been provided, although almost any spot that can be reached by established trail can be used for camping.  I saw several campers along the main road as I came in.  I'm sure locals come here fairly often and camp in a number of different locations, depending on what they plan to do.

The campsite I chose is surrounded by magnificent rock formations of varying colors and plenty of desert vegetation, notably Joshua trees that grow all over the Mojave Desert.  You may be surprised at the amount of vegetation you see in some photos.  Unfortunately, wildflowers were just starting to bloom at lower elevations, not around my campsite.

One couple was camped in the same area and we became friends during daily happy hours.  Other campers came and went during my stay, as well as a number of day trippers hauling ATVs on trailers.  In such a place, it is assured that anyone you meet has pretty much the same interests as you, so everyone got along and showed consideration for the others.

Here is a view of the desert along Gold Butte Rd.

The best part of staying at Whitney Pockets is being able to enjoy sunrises and sunsets without driving in the dark.  As an added attraction, there was a full moon...a "blue" moon, no less,,, while I was there.  Hiking around the formations during "golden hour"...just before sunset or just after sunrise...allowed me to photograph some brilliant colors in the sandstone.

  

 

Cookie loved Gold Butte because I felt it was safe for her to go outside and roam around.

On my way out of the monument, I saw a few wildflowers in bloom.