From Chaco to Monument Valley we went for a leisurely cruise through the landscapes that continue to amaze us by how much they change in such a short space of time. From Chaco up through Farmington, over to Shiprock we ended up in Bluff for the night, a small town of 250 people with a very interesting tale to tell. It is here that one of the great journeys ended. In 1879 the head of the Mormon Church asked for 100 families to volunteers to settle the South-East corner of Utah, one of the last places to be explored by white America. Eventually 250 people set off on what was supposed to be a 6 week journey. It turns into 6 hard months. We all know now that the Colorado River has carved a massive rift in the floor of the Colorado Plateau, it was known then also, but it was assumed that it would be able to be crossed with little effort. Upon arriving at the chosen place to cross it was proved to be a lot harder than first thought. Firstly there was no place to go down, it was just a cliff, but no-one wanted to give up and return. The solution; blast a road down one of the small gullies. The gully chosen was named 'Hole In The Rock'. It was too small to even get 1 cart down so one of the pioneers had to blast a road into the bottom. The total drop from top to bottom - 1.5 km's, the length - 2.5 km's. To even attempt the crossing at this point shows enormous fortitude and faith, the safe option would have been to back track and find an easier place but I don't think that that word was in the early pioneers language. After the arduous journey not a single person died, in fact 2 were born, and the settlement of Bluff was established. Today Bluff has a museum dedicated to these brave Pioneers that contains part of an original cabin and also one of the carts that made the journey. And its free so that's always a bonus.
We took a detour and went to Natural Bridges National Park which contains 3 easily accessible bridge to view from the Park Loop. These bridges form due to the constant flow of water, where as arches are due to wind and rainwater runoff, hence the difference in names. We could have walked down to the river but being 1 degree Celsius outside and just driving through a passing hail shower, we decided not to, to see these bridges from the view points was good enough.
Driving toward Mexican Hat you cruise along one 'step' of the Colorado Plateau uplift. At the end of this step you hit a 800m cliff that somehow the Yanks have managed to put a fairly decent road down its edge. It was still a little hairy and I had to travel down in 1st but what a view, the plains below stretching off into the distance, some mesa's and butte's dotting those plains and in the far distance, Monument Valley. Down the hill and only another 5 km's further on is a pretty spectacular sight; The Goosenecks. Here the San Juan river has carved a series of 'S'es into the shape of a double 'W'. 'WW' something like that. From the top it is a great site, a little grey because there is no vegetation and the conditions were cloudy but a definite picture worthy of a wall at home. Those overcast conditions will prove their mettle in the coming days ...