Bluff / Mexican Hat

We must keep the art in rock art

Yesterday, Susie and I drove the 75 miles north of Bluff to an area called Indian Creek Corridor on route to Canyonlands National Park. Our purpose was to re-visit a famous archaeological site known as Newspaper Rock, located in what currently remains of the Bears Ears National Monument. While...

Reservation lands receive delivery of sheep

Hundreds of live sheep were delivered to needy families on the Navajo Reservation on Memorial Day as part of the “Farmers Feeding Utah” project. The distribution was for families in the Montezuma Creek, Aneth, Red Mesa, and Tódahadekanii areas. An additional distribution of live sheep will take...

The Crazy Crow Café lands in Bluff

It’s been a long time coming, but the Crazy Crow Café at Twin Rocks has finally arrived. Steve has been considering a new restaurant concept for over ten years, and that plan is now a reality. Under the guidance of Frances van der Stappen, the cafe’s general manager, our new casual Four Corners...

Graduation for Class of 2020 to take place virtually this week

In one of the most unexpected conclusions to a school year ever, area students are set to receive diplomas this week from the five San Juan School District high schools. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in at-home education during the entire fourth quarter of the school year. While the hundreds...

The charm of hummingbirds

A “charm,” the collective noun used to describe a group of our tiny feathered aviators, has returned to Bluff for the season. Susie put out her first feeder in late March, and Frances filled the six stations on the Twin Rocks Café porch a week later. Ever since then, we’ve had a fine flock of our...

Navajo Strong – Empowering the citizens of the Navajo Nation with essential supplies

Last weekend, like the two previous weekends before, Bud Frazier was out delivering critical supplies to dozens of families in the Navajo Nation. Without physical addresses in very remote places, it was difficult to find the families who had reached out to Frazier for help. But when he finds them...

Virus counts more than double in past week

The number of reported cases of the COVID-19 virus in San Juan County exploded in the past week, largely due to more than 1,500 additional tests that have been administered. The Utah Department of Health and Utah Navajo Health Systems (UNHS) teamed up for two days of free testing on April 30 and...

Unseasonably warm April ushers in early spring-like weather

Unseasonably warm temperatures marked much of the month of April in San Juan County, with an early arrive of spring-like weather. The month closed with near-record high temperatures. While the warm weather melted much of the snow pack in area mountains, area reservoirs are filling but at a much...

A people story in dog’s clothing

This is a dog story, except... many of us realize a dog story is actually a people story in dog’s clothing. Storytellers from the beginning of time have used animals to tell humanity’s narrative – how Raven facilitated the emergence of the first people by prying open a clamshell or how Coyote...

COVID-19 cases grow, expand into Blanding

The number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in San Juan County is expected to grow in coming days as the results of a mobile testing unit continue to roll in. The virus has infected residents of most communities in the county, including Blanding, Bluff, Montezuma Creek, Monument Valley, and Navajo...