I stopped at the library in Mesquite and asked if they had anything on Gold Butte. The helpful librarian guided me to a shelf of books on Nevada history, but none of them mentioned Gold Butte in their indexes. However, from behind the desk she did find a book from a local author. She handed me a 1992 copy of “Crazy Ed’s Sagas and Secrets of Desert Gold” by the late Eddie Bounsall.

Mr. Bounsall, a prospector and maker of build-your-own-airplane kits, educates the reader about mining and minerals in the region but also covers a lot of ground on other subjects. “I’ve never believed in ghosts before but in the last 22 years living in the Gold Butte area we have had many very strange supernatural incidents happen with my family and to people who either worked for us of who were just visiting,” Mr. Bounsall wrote before recounting some goosebumps-inducing events. In a chapter on U.F.O.s, he presents a sure-of-himself argument that the human-shaped petroglyphs found on the rocks are space people, and the local Native American tribes have been in touch with them for a long time. He also theorizes about how the early Spanish explorers left behind hidden treasure vaults of gold and silver in Gold Butte and the surrounding region. The Spaniards figured they could always get it later, so they left symbols etched to rock walls that indicated the secret way to the motherlode.

Suddenly, Gold Butte National Monument got a lot more interesting.

On the way to Gold Butte, I crossed the Virgin River. On the north side of the river were two flagpoles, each with an American flag flying. Atop one pole was some metalwork that said “We The,” and the pole next to it was topped with “People.” Down below on a fence, a tattered banner hung limp. It read:

LIBERTY FREEDOM

FOR GOD WE STAND

This is the stomping ground of Cliven Bundy, the anti-government provocateur who grazed his unpermitted cattle on Gold Butte rangeland and had a standoff here with government authorities in 2014. His ranch is right down the road. Across the bridge and at the turn off for Gold Butte Road, there is a gravel pull-in with some Plexiglas-covered B.L.M. signs about respecting and enjoying the desert, packing out trash and encouraging drivers to stay on marked routes. The signs are peppered with bullet holes. This is a common affliction among signs in the Gold Butte area.

Past the Bundy Ranch and some horse farms, the road goes into an expansive valley, and another sign appears, one so new that it hasn’t been shot yet. It’s the only official B.L.M. sign that I saw naming this place as a national monument. This is the jumping-off point. There is no ranger station, no information kiosk, no visitors’ center, no restrooms, no water, no shelter. This is also where cellphone coverage peters out.

After this sign, the valley widens and Joshua trees, which are primarily found in the Mojave Desert, appear. It’s not a woody tree but more of a fibrous sponge that stores water. I inspected a dead one, and it had the feel of a crusty coconut husk.