Bluff was intriguing to us, with its big stone walls on either side of the narrow river valley, and no obvious commerce going on with the San Juan River. We walked down to the river before breakfast. The river was running, and seemed ripe for rafting and fishing. We ate breakfast at Two Rock Cafe and asked the waitress about the river. She said people in Bluff (300 population) were "of two faces," some wanted to commercialize the river and others didn't, some wanted to modernize and others didn't, so the town was doing nothing with its infrastructure and most big decisions. Fortunately, some people in Bluff have modernized and built new hotel space that is quite nice.
After breakfast of yogurt and local peach compote with Navajo Fry Bread, we left Bluff and stopped at Sand Island Petroglyph Panel, with over 100 yards of ancient Anasazi drawings, dating back 800-2500 years. The rock was etched with geometric patterns and shapes, human figures, several types of animals and numerous Kokopellis.
We drove along a 17 mile dirt road through Valley of the Gods, with its buttes and towers of rocks, passing only a couple of cars along the way. We stopped every 1/4 mile or less to take photos. It was beautiful!
Just a few miles further, we stopped at Goosenecks State Park, where the San Juan River has carved a canyon of several tight turns. We saw people floating on the river on rafts, 1000' below. It looked a lazy way to spend the day.
We drove through Mexican Hat and then on to Monument Valley, one of the most iconic and most photographed places on earth, for good reason! Stunningly beautiful!
