Blog

After departing Gold Butte we spent most of the day getting to our next destination, the White Pocket, located in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona. We pulled into camp near the trailhead right at dusk. The colors in the sky were amazing.

As we fell asleep a coyote came to say hello, we knew it was close by the sound, but the tracks the next morning about three feet from the truck (lots of sand makes finding new tracks really easy) proved it.

It was in the 20’s overnight but the dry air and the sun meant it wouldn’t stay like that for long. We packed up and headed over to the trailhead and things started to warm up. There was only one other vehicle here, which made it nice for photography, which as you’ll see was a good thing. The White Pocket is a photographers paradise. The sandstone colors, the wavelike patterns, the blue sky, it was a good day to be wandering around northern Arizona.

Make no mistake, when the BLM, who manages the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument says on multiple signs as you enter the area that “Four wheel drive, high clearance vehicles are required” and “know the difference: 2WD vs AWD vs 4WD” they are serious. Does everyone actually heed the sign? Of course not, unfortunately. We saw a couple low slung all wheel drive car type vehicles using their front bumpers and axles to plow or cut down the hump of sand in the center of the road as we made our way in the evening before. We appreciated the assurance that we wouldn’t high center as long as enough low clearance cars kept the roadway between the ruts knocked down for us. But really, we suggest you follow the requirements.

We took about two hours to wander the area. There were lots of areas where the pockets were filled by recent rain in the area.

You really have to puzzle for a while to think about how such convoluted formations could come about.

As the sun started to climb high in the sky the crowds started to arrive. It was time for us to move on to our next destination.