Silver and Sage

While I was in Las Vegas, I wanted to see what the desert held beyond the lights. A short drive out of the city took me to Goodsprings, an old silver mining town that time mostly left alone.

What remains is quiet and weathered. Wooden cabins lean into the brush, an old water tower stands watch over the town, and stone ruins sit against the mountains. Beyond the town, the land opens up into wide stretches of sage and Joshua trees under huge, moving clouds. The desert surprised me with color too: wildflowers pushed up through the gravel, and one of them had a butterfly resting on its petals.

Goodsprings felt like the opposite of the Strip, honest about its age and in no hurry to impress anyone. Standing out there, I could hear the wind and not much else, and that was enough.