Mesquite and the Virgin Valley · from the book and the press
Where Berg found an abandoned rock cabin after driving past the spot dozens of times: the hidden history All Around Mesquite was written to point out.
The Virgin Mountains stand over the Virgin Valley, and their back side is where the book's whole idea came together: get out of the vehicle, look around, and the history is still there.
Berg told The Progress about "a surprising discovery of an old abandoned rock cabin hidden away on the 'back of the Virgin Mountains.'" In his words: "We had driven by that area dozens of times and didn't know it was there. You kind of have to get out and hike and really look around and there it was. There is so much really cool history hidden away out there to be discovered."
That is the book's method in one story. "Sometimes wonderful things are tucked away in a rock formation somewhere and you'd never know it was there unless somebody tells you about it and you stop and poke around a bit," Berg said. The book tells you where to stop; the area guide map marks "Hidden Canyon / Virgin Mountains" among its points of interest, along with the Witwer Trailhead parking for the Virgin Mesa and the Virgin Mesa overlook and American Flag Monument nearby.
Sources: The Progress, "New Book Focuses on Regional Trails and Their History," December 5, 2023; the Comprehensive Guide & Map legend; the book's table of contents. The cabin's location is in the book, not here.
Keep exploring
The marker where the corners of Nevada, Arizona and Utah come together, just north of Mesquite, and the place that gives the Tri-State area its name.
The City of Mesquite's museum, the research stop behind much of the book's history, and the first name in its acknowledgments.
