Memorial Day Memories

Not wanting to waste a perfectly good day off work, Shayla and I decided to throw Max and Harley into the truck and head off on an adventure. Our destination; the middle of nowhere!

We headed south on I-15, pulled off the freeway an exit south of Mesquite, Nevada, and drove off into the desert. I think Shayla was a little concerned about the destination. We weren't exactly sure what we were going to find, a little web searching gave me a bit of an idea, but a sign on the side of the road made Shayla a little pessimistic. It read, "The most exciting thing I have seen out here was a flat tire and a HOT radiator!" I hoped we wouldn't be signing our names to the bottom of it after our trip.

We drove along an old, decaying, paved road for some time before reaching a place called Whitney Pockets. As you drive along the small desolate road, the landscpe is barren. When you reach Whitney Pockets, it it still barren. However, it is drastically beautiful. It is also a cool place to explore and would be a fun place to camp for a couple days. Huge sandstone crags jut out from the desert floor as if a giant came and left big globs of playdough out to dry. Usually, when you see sandstone, it is similar in color to all the other sandstone around it. The colors in the sandstone here was as varied as moldy cheese covered in ketchup and orange juice. There were your standard reds and whites, but there was also pink, yellow, purple, tan, and orange sandstone. All of them were surrounded by a vast desert floor cobbled with old stones, dirt, Joshua Trees, and Creosote.

The sandstone crags also held a few other treasures. There was a small stone and concrete dam wedged tightly between two sheer cliffs and a small dwelling built into the cavity of the rock. Both were apparently built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. We ate lunch at the small dam, walked around for a little while, and then loaded back into the truck.

We headed back the way we came but instead of continuing all the way back to Mesquite, we veered off onto a dirt road marked by a sign that read, 4x4 reccomended. At the end of the road, we could see the northern end of Lake Mead. It wasn't too hot today, but we figured a nice cool swim in Lake Mead would be fun. We continued on this road 'till we came to another sign that informed us the road had ended. We were at what was supposed to be Lake Mead, but due to the low water level, we had a short walk to the Virgin River.

The water in the river was very nice. I thought it would still be a little cool, but it was perfect! Max and Harley had a lot of fun splashing around in the water and digging in the sand. We stayed and played for about an hour and then headed for home. It was a very fun little trip and a great way to spend our Memorial Day!

Keep scrolling for pictures galore!

Whitney Pockets

Max and Shayla (in the shadow) at the bottom of what I guess you could call a dry reservoir. I am standing on top of the dam. There are also a couple of smaller dams at the top of the picture. The one I'm standing on is about 20 feet tall.

Whitney Pockets

Whitney Pockets

and Whitney Pockets

Max loved running through the river!

And playing in the sand!

Harley loved running through the water too!

Shayla, Max, and Harley

Max had fun scooping water and sand into his bucket!

Here's a little video for those of you who like that sort of thing.