BLUFF...PART TWO

Just across the San Juan River from Bluff is 16 Room House.  Most visitors don't even know it's there.  There used to be a suspension foot bridge across the river leading to the ruin but a flood in 2007 wiped the bridge out.  Now you have to take the long way around by car.  The ruin sits on a ledge in a large alcove.  I climbed up to the ruin, but in order to get inside you would have to grab onto part of the wall to pull yourself up the last part.  I started to do this but I was afraid I would pull the stone out of the wall.  Still pretty fascinating from the outside.

16 ROOM HOUSE

We are staying at Cottonwood RV park here in Bluff.  When we arrived we were greeted by an elderly gentleman who told us to park anywhere and his daughter, who runs the place, would contact us later.  We later met his daughter who told us her family had owned the property for years.  She said she has lived in Bluff most of her life.  Besides the RV park there is a cafe, pawn shop, a store selling Indian jewelry, rugs, pottery and the like.  There are a couple of "motel" rooms in a small duplex plus an old gas station and garage, which are now closed.  She said her mother runs the cafe, so I asked her what time the cafe opened in the morning, thinking we might go to breakfast.  She told me her mom usually opens somewhere around 10 or 11 and then closes around dark.

We paid the cafe a visit because that's where the gift and pawn shop are.  We met the matriarch of the whole shebang who showed Cathie some jewelry she was interested in.  She told us that she had lived all of her eighty years in Bluff and married a local boy.  She and the local boy split their ways sometime ago as he was "like a bee going from flower to flower pollinating each one".  He stays on the property in his trailer from time to time, until he wants to find "more flowers".

For our last exploration in the Bluff area we headed out in the morning for Cedar Mesa, about 40 miles away.  I had read about an intact Anasazi Kiva that could be reached after 5 mile hike down Bullet Canyon.  We arrived at the trialhead around 9 am and climbed our way down into the canyon.  Heading down canyon was pretty straight forward, but there were several fun spots to negotiate.

 CATHIE HEADING DOWN DRY WATERFALL

 MY FAVORITE, LEDGES

LOOKING BACK AT A POUR OVER

Before heading down or over each of these obstacles, we had to determine whether or not we would be able to get back up.  Looked doable, so we keep on heading down canyon.

LOTS OF WATER IN THE CANYON

TWISTY TREE

After almost 3 hours and 5 miles, we spied the ruin in an alcove above the canyon floor and picked our way up.

 RUIN WALL CENTER RIGHT

 WE MADE IT



The kiva and the small building are fully intact.  The ladder into the kiva is a modern addition.  The building (room) even has it' roof structure with earth covering.

 INSIDE THE KIVA

NOTICE THE BLACKENED CEILINGS

SOME OF WHAT WE FOUND

CORN COBS

A REAL BLUE BIRD

We spent about an hour at the ruin before heading back out of the canyon.  After ten miles we were really dogging it up on over the obstacles that seemed so easy on the way down.  Oh, I almost forgot, the kiva has a name, it's called Perfect Kiva and I could see why.

From here we're continuing north with a stop at Canyonlands National Park for a couple of days.  Then on to Moab.