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Show W f i r" The Golden Butte Byway offers fantastic scenery. The distant mountains provide water for the Virgin River. By CHERIE HUBER Clipper Correspondent The Gold Butte byway is just one of several Nevada Back Country Byways for the adventurous traveler. Packets on all of the byways including brochures and detailed maps are available from the Nevada Tourist Commission or the Bureau of Land Management and are often distributed at roadside tourist information centers. The national Back Country Byways Program itself is an outgrowth of the national Scenic Byways Program. It is designed to encourage greater use of the existing ex-isting back roads through greater public awareness. The system, under the Bureau of Land Management, is expected to expand to 100 roads when completed. com-pleted. The program provides an opportunity for people to get to know the land by getting off the main roads and see areas that are still largely untouched by man and progress. Seasoned travelers know that sometimes the best way to get to know an area is to get off the highway and visit the backroads, the side trails and the hidden, out-of-tlie way places where the true qualities of an area still rernain to be explored and enjoyed. That's true of the Gold Butte trip. The traveler will find no Mac-Donalds Mac-Donalds along the way. Indeed, there is not even a gas station and there will seldom even be another vehicle on the road. A reliable car, a full tank of gas and a picnic lunch are all highly recommended. What there will be on this deserted road is the opportunity to stop, get out, walk around and touch things. Along the byways the visitor can get a closer look at a chola cactus cac-tus and admire the formations verted into a home which was surely sure-ly much cooler than other desert farmhouses. Don't be surprised to see a Washingtonian palm or two planted around ranch buildings and doing well in the warm desert air. There are also petroglyph carvings carv-ings and the remains of an old Civilian Conservation Corps (CCQ project, one of the many projects which were part of the Great Depression make-work plan. The adventurous can stay on the main road going south and continue to historic Gold Butte or with the proper vehicle take the non-maintained non-maintained section of the road and pass by Devil's Throat Devil's Throat is a sinkhole that continues to expand, a rare feature in this desert area. Further on along this more difficult road is the Lime Ridge Wilderness Study Area, which is under consideration for a possible wilderness designation by Congress. Con-gress. Lime Ridge offers an outstanding view of Lake Mead and the Muddy Mountains. At numerous points, large desert washes filled with desert willows, tanarisk and unusual rock formations forma-tions lie below the ridges of eroding sandstone. Those interested in mining history will be intrigued with the town of Gold Butte. The town was established in 1908 to service the mining operations in the area. Mining Min-ing in the area had already started in 1873. Historic mines with names like Azure Ridge Mine, the Hilltop Mine and the Tramp Mine are all reminders of the past glory days of the old West. Mineral extraction is still important in the area. The primary extractions at gold Butte are copper, gold, lead and zinc. Stunning scenery, a motoring adventure and a chance to be far from the maddening crowd.. .it's all there on the Gold Butte Back Country Coun-try Byway drive. formed by wind and water instead of man. Each bend in the road brings br-ings new sights and new pictures to take. The Gold Butte trip is especially interesting because it mixes nature and history. Along the way names like Devil's Throat, Lime Ridge, Virgin Mountain and Whitney Pockets add to the romance and appeal ap-peal of the area. The special byway that leads through the Gold Butte area begins at Mesquite, Nev. off 1-15 on the road that goes through the old village of Bunkerville. Bunkerville is older than Mesquite. Mes-quite. Because it is out of the way and off any major highway, there is still a handful of original pioneer homes that are still being used. An extra 15 minutes driving around to see the older buildings is well worthwhile. wor-thwhile. Then it's on the road again and off toward Gold Butte on Nevada state road 170. At the point where state road 170 swings back north to eventually intersect 1-15 is the Gold Butte turn- off which is marked. The first 24 miles after the Gold Butte turnoff is along a narrow paved pav-ed road. Then there is another 19 miles on a relatively smooth gravel road. Further on there is a dirt road that should only be traveled in a high clearance two-wheel drive vehicle. Along the way you'll see Virgin Peak, which towers more than 8,000 feet above the valley floor to the east of the roadway. Its vegetation vegeta-tion provides a definite contrast to the desert floor along the roadway. Much needed water is produced as the snow melts on the mountain peak. It drains down the mountain slope and flows into the Virgin River. The extra water means there is a larger variety of plants and animals in the area than otherwise might be expected in a desert. Watch Wat-ch for long-eared jack rabbits along the road as they dart in and out of the tumbleweed. Larger desert wildlife also thrive along the way to the Gold Butte area. B ighom sheep, mountain lions, mule deer and the desert tortoise tor-toise all call the region home. The desert tortoise doesn't mind being photographed but he should not be removed from his habitat. All kinds of desert life are dependent on the availability of forage which is itself tied to rain fall and runoff. Domestic livestock also graze the area during most of the year. Many of the ranchers are descendants of the pioneer families who moved into the area in the 1880s. At least three different Native American cultures also settled along the Virgin River riparian zone. The Archaic hunter-gatherers came first. The Paiute eventually replaced the Archaic culture. The Virgin River Anasazi also farmed the river banks. Later non-Indian explorers were followed by Mormon Mor-mon colonizers who moved into the area in the 1870s. There is some colorful scenery at Whitney Pockets, an area with an impressive combination of red and white sandstone. The area is named for the local pioneer family called Whitney and for the pockets, or caves, that have been etched by erosion ero-sion into the cliffs. You'll see the ingenuity of early settlers here. One pocket was con- 1 X , " v v i - r r, ? i k -l i " ' i. V 3 ' - i - , t f - .r, j ft f S I Not an arch, but a table, this formation was created when part of the sandstone fell away. Sandstone erodes to form many unusual vistas. lntec?!L ,00k? soft and y. bu the prickly spines protect the plant from becoming a meal. I |