Bluff Fort Historic Site - Bluff, UT

After a warm welcome at the Visitor's Center, we sat down to watch a movie about the Hole in the Rock/San Juan Mission pioneers. Mormon pioneers who received the assignment call to establish communities in southwestern Utah and the Four Corners area left Escalante, UT in 1879 and arrived in the San Juan River area in 1880. Their journey had them endure unbelievable difficulties as they blazed a trail across some of the most rugged terrain imaginable. Their path included a journey through a crevice through the Colorado River gorge now called Hole in the Rock. After crossing the Colorado River, they had to forge a path up Cottonwood Canyon and then San Juan Hill. Seven horses or oxen teams had to be hitched together with men pushing each wheel to pull each of the heavy wagons to the top. Can you imagine? It certainly left me feeling very impressed with the sacrifices, toughness and commitment to faith each pioneer showed during their journey. The average age of the pioneers was 17 and amazingly, not one life was lost during their six-month journey.

When the pioneers finally arrived and settled what is now the town of Bluff, they built one-room log cabins that were arranged to form a large square. Their assignment was to "feed the Indians; not fight them". Descendants of these pioneers have formed an organization to preserve and restore the original fort site. Volunteers were busily working putting the final touches on the premises today as they were getting ready for an unveiling of a statue and dedication on Saturday. We walked around the fort and while they still have a lot of work ahead of them, we got a good glimpse of pioneer life:

Navajo Hogan

Interior of the Hogan

Typical Ute homesite

Fort grounds

Part original/part restored home of Joseph and Harriet Barton

Chair

Now, a table. Cards anyone?

Shot of the Bluff valley taken from the Pioneer Cemetery

Distinctive canyon walls

Twin Rocks above the Trading Post and Cafe

The area around here is remote to this day. To think of it in 1880 when the Mormon pioneers arrived leaves me impressed with their dedication and conviction to establish a home in these barren lands. The quote of one the pioneers, Jens Nielsen, "If we have plenty of stick-ta-tudy, we cannot fail" and they didn't.

Bluff, Utah

We left Moab a little after 10 a.m. and pulled into Cottonwood RV Park in Bluff, Utah a little before noon (roughly 100 miles). We are going to use Bluff as a base of operations for seeing the numerous sights in the southeastern corner of the state (better known as four corners). This park is truly big rig friendly with long, wide sites and very quiet. Our two rigs' front doors face one another so we have a nice private common area.

The cottonwoods are in their fall color and add a special beauty to the surrounding red-walled canyons.

The evening sun shining on the canyon walls is beautiful. We hope to get some better shots the week we are here.

We took a drive around the town of Bluff and found three geocaches along the way. One of the geocaches was at the Bluff Fort Historic Site. It sparked our interest so we will return to visit the Fort and Visitor Center tomorrow.

After dinner, we played cards at Rick and Y's before calling it a day.

Islands in the Sky - Canyonlands National Park

After two days off to basically chill and a day of off due to rain, we decided to visit Canyonlands NP as our time here in Moab was quickly coming to a close.

Canyonlands is divided into three sections: Needles, Maze, and Islands in the Sky. The section closest to us here in Moab was Islands in the Sky. I would have to say this section was aptly named as the following pictures will show. With the valley receiving rain, the higher elevations of the LaSal Mountains received snow and provided a beautiful backdrop to Canyonlands.

John and I are sitting in front of Mesa Arch. The views from this area were spectacular and well worth the hike to the arch. The arch itself looked like it was barely attached to the canyon wall which was an illusion, I'm sure. I don't think too many people would consider walking on top of this arch as there is nothing but a free fall into the canyon should you slip.

There is so much to see and do in the Moab area. This area will definitely be put on our must visit again list as we have enjoyed our time here and would look forward to returning.