We visited the old remains of the Gold Butte ghost town many
years ago. Gold Butte was incorporated in 1908 but didn’t last long, as total mining
production only reached about $75,000. Since we previously visited, Obama
designated the area a National Monument, less than two years ago. We scoured
the area back then but were never able to find the petroglyphs that were supposed
to be there. 
Making our way to the site took us right by the infamous
Bundy Ranch. In 2014 Cliven Bundy and a group of supporters engaged in an armed
conflict with law enforcement over a 21-year dispute between Bundy and the BLM
regarding the government’s authority to manage public land.
We were quite surprised given all the conflicts and skirmishes
to find all the huge American Flags that adorned the family’s properties. There
was even a very large and ornately decorated structure to show the family’s
patriotism. Interesting, and also very impressive.
On this visit we were far more successful. It turns out that Kona the pooch is a petroglyph hunter! On most of its
managed lands, the BLM has a policy of not informing the public regarding the
location of ancient rock art. Apparently since the government has not allotted the
BLM funding that would allow them to staff the sites sufficiently to protect
the art, their policy it to protect it by not telling anyone where it is
located. I guess this makes sense but doesn’t seem to me to actually serve the
public these lands are being preserved for.
Fortunately, some of those who agree with me make the effort
to post their location online. Usi
ng information from the Bird and Hike website
we were able to find a trove of native rock art that we missed the last time
here. In fact, we were fortunate enough to find the most famous rock art in the
area – the popular “Falling Man”. Nobody knows exactly why this image was created,
but give the route we had to take to get there, we totally understand.
Talk to you soon!
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