Words & photos by J. Picard
It had been over a year since we traveled in any sort of significant capacity. We were those folks that took the pandemic extremely seriously, not wanting to risk our health and safety or the health and safety of those around us, not to mention the long term effects that come with Covid-19. That said, per the miracle of science, we received our first shot of the vaccine, scheduled our second and immediately shifted focus to the calendar and a world (or more so a country) full of possibilities! The search began with about a ten hour radius of our home in Denver, CO and was short-lived, as one place in particular kept catching our attention. Was it meant to be? Or was it just an algorithmic offering from the highest bidder, targeting our desire to hit the road? After a deep dive into Bluff Dwellings Resort & Spa’s reviews, website and story, we booked three nights at the resort as well as an all day rafting trip through their adventure company, Wild Expeditions to kick off our Coronamoon!
Just a couple of days before our departure we received a call from the resort letting us know that our rafting trip was being cancelled due to the low waters of the San Juan River. Though disappointed, we shifted gears towards relaxation and booked a massage and facial for my wife Carly at the Hozho spa on site. A day later we received another call from the resort confirming our reservation, inquiring about whether or not we had pets and if the third floor would be acceptable, as the building did not have elevators. We had a few questions that were answered by the helpful concierge and felt great about our decision to plan a trip to Bluff, UT!
We headed west out of Denver up I-70, over the sunny Vail Pass at 10,000 plus feet before descending into massive canyons towards Glenwood Springs and eventually Grand Junction. Through the Palisade vineyards of grapes and orchards of peaches we charged on, turning on the much smaller 191 south through Moab into an ever-changing landscape from some sort of Spaghetti Western. Towering buttes and bluffs reached for the sky contrasting an otherwise vast expanse of lowlands. Through Monticello and lastly Blanding, a town that seemed to have more police than people, we chugged on towards our destination oasis. There seemed to be nothing in any direction, then the road dropped down into a small canyon and Bluff Dwellings Resort appeared like a mirage.
The establishment from our Northern approach seemed under heavy construction. For what was being spent on this trip and it being our “coming out” party, I felt a brief sense of disappointment. That feeling disappeared immediately after making a left onto the property and pulling under the large archway that welcomed us to the beautiful site. On our right were rafts and pavilions, as well as a grassy area where it appeared a team of people were transporting an injured or deceased person. We realized that it was a training for search and rescue personnel and had a laugh accompanied by a feeling of relief. We parked on the left, put on our masks and headed into the lobby to check in.
There was a gift shop on the left that had everything from local jewelry to hotel and expedition apparel, camping gear and backpacking meals. The front desk agent came around the corner surprised to see us and pulled up her mask. She was very friendly, got us checked in and pointed us in the direction of our room. But before we headed up I inquired about alcohol. She informed me that they had a small area adjacent to the gift shop, where I would find what I was looking for. Multiple local craft beer options, White Claws and a variety of snacks, drinks and deserts were available for purchase at very reasonable prices. I purchased a four pack of tall boy IPAs and large White Claws for my wife.
We got back into the car, pulled just across the way to the guest building, parked, grabbed our bags and headed into the dwelling. We were welcomed by a large rounded common area with comfortable outdoor patio furniture. We continued on just past the stairs to the rear of the building that featured multiple fire pits, a fireplace, several wooden deck chairs and incredible perspectives of a towering rock wall and natural surrounding beauty. My first impression was that the owners and builders did an amazing job of blending into the surrounding landscapes and that their attention to detail was stunning and we had yet to leave the ground level.
Up a flight of stairs we found a view of the guest area below in the circular foyer, as well as an ice machine and additional seating area. We continued up one more flight to the third floor and had our breath taken away by the panoramic views of the surrounding landscape and overall perspective of the property. Again, there was a very comfortable seating area, the best yet in regards to views. I waived the keycard in front of the door and into our four day/three night accommodations we went. The room smelled clean and new and was decorated with native Anasazi style art, photos of red arches and wooden beams accenting the space. We were thrilled to find that the room had a balcony with a table and four chairs facing the rear of the building, overlooking the fire pit and patio below and up at the incredible cliffs.
We settled in and decided to order food from the Cedar Shack Café, which was the onsite restaurant who’s menu featured breakfast omelets, breakfast burritos, coffee, smoothies, sandwiches, pizza and more! I ordered a 12” pepperoni and mushroom pizza, my wife ordered a chicken bacon ranch pizza and we split a Caesar salad. The food was very reasonably priced and we were handed a buzzer to let us know when our order was up. We stepped out of the open air café into their outdoor seating area and took in the space. Natural rock formations climbed out of the grounds around us and we saw a lizard scramble by, stopping on a nearby rock to sun itself as we waited.
A short time later our buzzer vibrated and we exchanged it for our order which we took back to our room to enjoy on the balcony with beers. The food was great across the board! The salad was fresh, the dressing delicious and the pizza tasted like it came out of a brick oven! The sauce was sweet but not overwhelming and the ingredients were fresh. My Juicy Johnny’s Hazy IPA from Moab Brewery perfectly complemented the meal. We let our food digest and then changed into our bathing suits before heading to the pool. We were relaxed, for the first time in a long time. From the third floor seating and viewing patio we were able to look out over the property and on the far end almost out of sight we saw the construction that we were initially worried about but had already forgotten.
The pool area featured stunning views of the surrounding rock faces and provided a clean, relaxing, uncrowded experience. The hot tub was set to 103 degrees and the pool 75 degrees. Perfect temperatures for the region and time of year. Additional beverages were enjoyed as the sun began to set on day one of our Utah adventure! The remainder of the evening was spent relaxing on our balcony and watching the painted sky darken from the patio outside of our room. While the evening grew later, we solidified our plans for the following day.
The sun rose on day two and we were there to greet it! We packed water and a couple of Gatorades in our small cooler and headed down to the café to order a breakfast burrito to hold us over. It was delicious! From Bluff Dwellings resort there were what felt like endless brilliant options to jump off to so we hit the road heading south on 191 with our first stop being Sand Island Recreation Area. We pulled in on a short dirt road and followed the signs towards camping and the boat launch. We enjoyed morning views of the sparkling San Juan River and noticed about ten rafts preparing for the day’s float, though not from Wild Expeditions.
We headed further along the dirt road to find a breathtaking panel of 800 - 2,500 year old petroglyphs featuring a vast array of illustrations courtesy of the Anasazi people. I had goosebumps and was captivated by the history of the site. For anyone looking to avoid a long hike to see petroglyphs, Sand Island is your place with the rock face only located twenty or so feet from the road. We found human figures, animals, abstract designs and art open to interpretation carved across more than one hundred yards of darkened rock. It was an incredible site that we would recommend to anyone passing through. As well, the site is Bureau of Land Management land and is free to access!
We headed back out to 191 and continued south where the road turned into 163 another fifteen or twenty miles through beautifully desolate landscapes and landing at Valley of The Gods, a site worthy of its name. Red Rock formations climbed towards blue skies in a towering array, leaving us speechless. We drove off the main path onto a two track “road,” shifted into 4-wheel and found a secluded site that even had a fire ring. For about thirty minutes we walked a wash, looking at all sorts of interesting rocks including a bunch of agate!
We ran into an older couple wandering the wash and calling out for their dog who had ventured off. They told us that they were staying in the A-frame trailer and I told them if we found their pup, we’d bring her by. The sun beat down on us with increasing heat so we hopped back into the Jeep and headed a little further up the main dirt road. We pulled off and were treated to incredible layers of rock features in the distance. It was unlike anything we had ever seen. On our way out we stopped by the A-frame trailer to check in with the couple who's dog was at camp waiting for them upon their return. She jumped up on the side of our Jeep to greet us with her wagging tail and flapping tongue.
Southward we continued towards Mexican Hat, a rock feature that looked like a sombrero balancing atop a natural formation. We drove for a bit around the site’s dirt roads, eventually heading down to the river. A man from Minnesota sat in the bed of his pickup truck enjoying lunch amid fishing poles and tackle. We talked with him for a bit about the area and what we had experienced in lieu of our rafting trip getting cancelled. Then we headed down to the river's edge where a raft full of people floated by having the time of their lives. When we got back to the young man in the pickup he said with a smirk, “Their rafting trip didn’t get cancelled…” We all laughed.
The last stop on our impromptu morning ramble led us north on 163 where we turned left onto 261 and then 316 a short distance later where it dead ended at Goosenecks State Park. We were welcomed to the park by an older gentleman who was manning the toll booth. When I noticed the cost was only $5.00, I informed the man that I would be paying for the two cars behind me as well. We found a nearby spot and enjoyed incredible panoramic views of the river weaving through stunning canyons. A man from one of the cars came over to thank us and said, “When I found out you paid for us, I went to pay for the car behind us, but you paid for them as well!” He asked where we were from, welcomed us to Utah and thanked us again. The conversation was worth the cost of admission. On the way back to the resort we made a short stop at Butler Wash for a meandering hike passing amphitheaters, old mining paths and archways.
We cruised back to Bluff Dwellings, arriving back at the oasis where we found out that we were about thirty minutes late to order breakfast and opted for sandwiches at the Cedar Shack Café. We took them back to our room to enjoy on the balcony. Unfortunately the sandwiches were dry, didn’t have any spread and were bland. We weren’t thrilled, but every restaurant has their off days and off meals. We headed down to the pool a short time later for a swim in the hot sun. We stopped back in and purchased a couple more mango White Claws for $3.50 each and set up at an umbrella covered table by the pool. The water was chilly and very refreshing. We hit the hot tub for good measure before heading back to the room.
At the room I slid my key card in front of the pad and attempted to open the door which was obstructed from the inside by the slide over lock. It was puzzling but after a short walk back down to the front desk we were headed back up to the room with a young man from maintenance who said he YouTubed the issue and had a solution. Back at the room he slid the key card in front of the door, which of course got caught on the latch. The man then slid a thin plastic placard that would normally hang on a door handle, with the hook facing inward and pulled the latch closed through a thin crack, opening the door. I told him we wouldn’t need the latch to function and he taped it closed, to be fixed upon our departure.
Just shy of the 4:00 PM hour my wife and I wandered down to the lobby and passed through it, up a flight of stairs to the Hozho Spa where I dropped her off for her afternoon treatments. As my wife is a Massage Therapist and Esthetician, this was an important part of our trip for her. The two room spa was quaint with a relaxing atmosphere. The woman at the desk was warm and welcomed us. Carly's afternoon began with the Turquoise Sage 90 minute full body massage that was incredible. The therapist used consistently perfect pressure throughout the treatment that included a foot massage, arm stretches and neck traction with steamed towels. Carly's massage was followed by a Hozho Signature Organic Facial. The esthetician was very professional, knowledgeable and kind. The treatment was relaxing and the organic ingredients felt calming on Carly's skin. Her Gua Sha massage techniques felt amazing and both therapists ended their treatments with a relaxing inhale of sage essential oil. The experience made Carly feel safe as both therapists wore their masks the entire time. It was much needed for Carly after a year and a half hiatus from the spa world.
After dropping Carly off, I headed back to the Cedar Shack and placed an order for a chicken bacon ranch pizza, cheese bread and buffalo wings. A short time later my order came up and I took it back to the room. At this point after some minor hiking and time spent in the hot tub, the three flight climb to our room was starting to burn, in a good way. I sat down to enjoy my meal and found the wings to be tiny and undercooked, the cheese bread without cheese or dipping sauce and the pizza missing toppings. I double checked the menu to confirm and scratched my head.
After Carly’s treatments and with my being unsatisfied with my day’s meals from the Cedar Shack Café, we headed into the town of Bluff and carried out from Comb Ridge. We arrived to find a line out the door and just about no place to park. We landed along the u-shaped driveway, out of the way of cars needing to back out or pass. The line moved quickly and the host was entertaining in an off-color way. I ordered the BBQ pork poutine and Carly ordered the Whiskey Burger. We enjoyed the meal on our hotel balcony as the sun sank in the distant westward sky. We were satisfied. That night we wandered around the resort for a short time, taking in the beauty of the dimly lit property and peaceful surroundings.
The next morning came with the smell of moisture in the air. It was a day that I had looked forward to for some time, as we would hopefully be exploring ancient Anasazi ruins. We got a couple of coffees and breakfast burritos, which again were great and hit the road. Though I had read the travel articles and trail guides on Monarch Cave, I made the rookie mistake of trusting Google, which took us past the Butler Wash to the Cobb Wash. The dirt road was well maintained and we drove along a large rock ridge to the spot where Google said we would find the cave and dwellings. It didn’t at all match the description and left us driving back and forth puzzled, looking for a trail that didn’t exist. We had no other choice but to move along towards House on Fire, following Google, now with a healthy sense of skepticism.
We arrived at a parking area atop a large ridge where there were signs for ruins. We asked a young couple if they knew where the path was to House on Fire. They said that they looked around but couldn’t locate it and had given up. We wandered paved paths which took us a short distance to a covered, well preserved kiva. It was incredible, but there were no paths that lead anywhere from there. We walked back to our car, then over to the pit toilets where there were small, what appeared to be game trails that lead away. We hopped on a path and meandered towards, then along the edge of a cliff. We eventually found a cairn and noticed a tiny, yet treacherous path leading down into the canyon. With no better option we began to descend. Down we went, leaning back at times, stabilizing ourselves on large rocks or nearby trees. About halfway down to the canyon we realized that we had miscommunicated and forgotten our water bottle at the car. That is not a typical mistake that we would make.
With about one third of the trail into the canyon still to descend, House on Fire came into view. At the bottom we found a group of senior citizens with walking poles, vizors and fanny packs on a short hike, clearly from another approach. We were out of breath and parched but excited to see the incredible site before us. Multiple enclosed stone granaries were tucked under a beautiful rock overhang. The site was in pristine shape and we moved delicately near the enclosures with respect and wonder. It was easy to see why the site was called House on Fire, as the sun hit the rocks above showing vertical striations of color in the rock that looked like flames. Along the ledge we passed through an archway of rocks and shimmied along an adjacent ledge where we found more ruins above us on the cliffs.
We wandered down the wash a bit in the direction from which the seniors came and we were unable to find a better path upwards to the parking lot high atop the ridge. We sauntered back, our mouths now extremely dry and made the miserable climb, retracing our steps back to the top. It was hard to catch my breath, but we made it. Back at the car we found another couple who was in a similar situation. The woman, who had knee issues had backed out of the hike halfway down and the man who made it, also forgot water. We quenched our thirst and were able to get a cell signal to look back at where we had went wrong on our quest for Monarch Cave.
We headed southeast on 95 a few miles and found a sign for the Butler Wash Ruins. At the entrance to the trailhead there was a metal box with a guest book and inside that box was a laminated sheet that informed us that the ruins were not that way. We headed another mile up the road and turned onto the Butler Wash from the opposite end of where the trail guide described. We headed down a long dirt road not sure of what we would be looking for from this approach, but open to the challenge.
We passed slowly, bouncing at sections that were less maintained than others. We arrived at a site that somewhat matched the description, but our trail guide wasn’t loading on my phone. It was not our day. We crossed the road and wandered aimlessly through strange otherworldly formations as a consolation for not being able to locate Monarch Cave. We saw a trailer pull in across the road below. We wandered back down to our car and parked back where we had lost the trail. We followed the couple’s footprints in the sand, passed some small ruins and about a mile up the small trail we found an older Colorado couple heading in our direction.
“Is this the trail to Monarch Cave,” I asked. They gave us a look of pity. “This is Fish Mouth Cave,” the woman said. As she pulled out her guide book and topographic maps, she explained that they'd had issues finding specific sites as well.
“It’s almost as if they don’t want you to find these places,” I said to which the couple agreed.
The woman speculated that if we continued down the road another five miles, we should find the proper parking area. We thanked the couple and turned around with a fast pace towards the car, focused on making it to Monarch Cave under increasingly ominous skies. Five miles further along, per the odometer we found a small pull off area with porta potties. We asked a group of older folks if we were in the right place. They assured us that we were and that the hike was so worth it. The setting perfectly matched the trail guide. We passed down a beautiful path through groves of trees meandering past grazing cows towards the dead end of the canyon. We ran into an older photographer from Massachusetts as it started to rain a little bit. We hiked up toward the large rock face on our right where we found petroglyphs and pictographs of people, hands and spirals.
We shuffled along the face of the rock towards ancient Anasazi structures in the distance. On the ground we found perfect round holes in the rock where the native people used to grind grains. We also found a large grind stone, corn and pottery strewn about through the entire site. I found a piece that was painted multiple colors and seemed almost glazed. Another piece I found was dark grayish in color and rounded. We stopped just shy of the site out of respect for the past. We perched on the rock and took in the site. It was one of the most special places that we had ever been.
We hiked out and in the distance I could see the Colorado couple making their way from the parking lot towards us. I wanted to jokingly inquire if they were headed from the direction of Monarch Cave, which would have added ample confusion and may have very well been lost on them. They asked what our plans were for the evening and we told them that we were planning on having steak and hitting the hot tub. They told us that they were going to take a baby wipe bath and have rice-a-roni in their truck bed trailer. Quite the contrast in experiences, though I was oddly jealous of their lifestyle.
Back at the car we checked our mileage on foot for the day and fell just short of ten miles. Not bad for a chubby guy wandering the vast desert. We drove another handful of miles and spilled out onto 163/191 and headed back the short distance to the resort. We rested our legs for a while before showering and dressing up for an evening at the steak house!
We pulled back into the town of Bluff proper and parked at out front of the Cottonwood RV Park at the Cottonwood Steakhouse, which was a very cool courtyard with picnic tables throughout and western antiques on the wooden walls of the parameter. We ordered at the counter; A brisket platter for me and shrimp and salmon skewers for Carly. We got a couple of local IPAs to start and were handed the number "1" on a metal stand to signify our order number. Off we went to get after our beers, which were delicious. The place filled in with older folks either passing through or stopping for the town staple. The owner came by the table to thank us for coming in and the staff was extremely attentive! Of course, one of the servers was from the town over from us in Colorado.
While our meals were being prepared a large local grey cat with black stripes slinked over to us to get some affection. A short time later our salads came out followed by our meals. To wrap up our evening we closed with the warm bread pudding and chocolate brownie with ice cream. At just over $100.00 for the meal, it was a perfect date night and way to conclude what was one of the most wonderful days that we had experienced in some time despite the difficult search efforts. When we got back to the resort the fireplaces were lit and the cotton candy sky was on full display as the sun set. We hit the soft comfortable bed hard that night.
We awoke on the day of our departure from Bluff and packed up a few items, moving slowly from the previous days' mileage on our lower bodies. Following one good day and one bad day of meals at Cedar Shack, we decided to give it one last try, purely out of convenience. I ordered a ham and mushroom omelet, which came with a bagel and cream cheese and potato medley. Carly ordered a ham breakfast burrito triggering me to order a bacon breakfast burrito as a backup option. We got back to our room with the food and the bagel was missing cream cheese, the potatoes were cold and the omelet was runny and inedible. The Café that started off strong, ended up being pretty awful. The food, which featured good ingredients, was poorly prepared and there was zero attention to detail. It was extremely disappointing given how satisfied we were with every other aspect of our trip, including all of the other restaurants.
We hopped on 163 headed south for about 35 minutes to Forrest Gump Point, overlooking the iconic landscape that was used as the backdrop for the scene in the motion picture when Tom Hanks stopped running across the country. We spoke briefly with another couple from Colorado and we took turns snapping photos before deciding to continue another twenty minutes or so to the Arizona border and entrance to Monument Valley. It was our first time in the state and would be as far as our Jeep would take us from home on this trip. As we headed back in the northerly direction we started reflecting on how special our few days in Utah had been.
Back at Bluff Dwellings, we packed up the remainder of our room and checked out at the front desk, thanking them for a wonderful stay. We took an alternate route home through Durango and the incredible lush green Colorado Mountains. We stopped briefly at Mesa Verde National Park to check on the possibility of seeing the dwelling from the road side, but were informed by a park ranger that the dwellings were twenty miles through the park and as suspected, deserved a full day of exploration. We drove in a few miles per the ranger’s recommendation to check out a stunning vantage point from a nearby lookout, but planned to return for a future adventure at the legendary park.
We arrived in Denver feeling fulfilled and recharged from our first trip in over a year. We felt inspired and relaxed, ready to plan our next adventure… www.bluffdwellings.com
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