Memorial Day

Uncle Graig

Uncle Grant

Memorial day was our final day in Bluff. We started the day with a Johnny Cake Breakfast. Family legend has it that when Grandpa Hobbs finally made it to Bluff after getting his bearings on top of Salvation Knoll, he ate 23 Johnny cakes. (He hadn't eaten in several days.) No one in our party could come close to Grandpa's record. After breakfast we took one last look around the fort with a tour from Uncle Graig and Uncle Grant. They are both on the board of directors for the Hole in the Rock Foundation and are very involved in the project to get the story of the Hole in the Rock pioneers told and remembered. It was so fun to listen to all of their stories. Each cabin on the fort has so much to tell about those early settlers.

This statue of President John Taylor stands in the fort. He was the 2nd President of the LDS Church. It was under his direction that the Hole in the Rock Pioneers began and completed their journey. He was one of the great colonizers of the west following after President Brigham Young.

Here is a look around the cabin we build as a Hobbs family two years ago. Connie pieced together the quilt. Grandpa Hobbs didn't ever live in Bluff but two of his sister lived in the area.

After our tour we were invited, to the children't delight, to raid the fridge for our return trip home. Aunt Nina had just finished cooking a batch of cookies she sent home with us as well much to our delight!

We stopped at the pioneer cemetery where Grandpa Hobb's two little neices are burried to pay our respects.

We decided that since we are not in Southern Utah very often that we should makes stops on our way home to see some Historic Landmarks. Our first stop was to Newspaper Rock.

Second Stop: "Looking Glass Rock" We were surprised to find that it was this beautiful arch. It turned out to be a nice place to stretch our legs a bit.

The view through the arch...

Our last stop... a rest stop outside of Price. I guess there wasn't anything better to climb, so Graig climbed on top of the restroom.

It was nice to get home.

Sunday in Bluff

Saturday night we stayed at the camp ground across the street from the fort in Bluff.

Meet our neighbours, Elvis and Elvira...

I don't know if it had to do with the wind or not but these to called to each other noisily all night long. Between them and the toads and the wind (mostly the wind) it wasn't a great night's sleep.

Melanie was the only one to catch a lizard this trip. (She had help getting him cornered but she did the catching.)

We had a church service in the school house followed by a delicious Mexican Dutch oven dinner.

It was VERY windy and therefore dusty all day so we decided to take a drive out to Salvation Knoll.

It was a steep climb both up and down.

From the Sign:

“…As the main body of pioneers labored to widen the treacherous descent through the “Hole” or cleft in the rock above the Colorado River Gorge, four advance scouts traveled through this area, searching for the most feasible route between the Colorado River and Montezuma Creek. By the time the scouts reached this area they were lost and out of food. On Christmas morning 1879, George Hobbs climbed to the top of this knoll searching for a recognizable landmark. Hobbs recorded: ‘This was surely salvation knoll. For looking to the northeast… I discovered the Blue Mountains about ten miles away. This was the landmark we had been looking for several days.’ Although hindered by severe winter storms, the scouts succeeded in plotting a wagon route through some of the most difficult terrain in North America.”

The four in our family who made the journey to the top: Mary, Warren, Graigry, and Jessica.

On the way back home we did a scenic drive and stopped at "The Goosenecks". The name for the canyons formed by the San Juan River as it winds through the area. They were breathtaking (so was the wind).

Sunday evening Aunt Joanna and Julie found themselves with extra space in the house they were renting for the weekend so they invited us in out of the wind to stay with them. Monday morning was beautiful and calm.

Bluff Part One - Four Wheeling

The Hole in the Rock Pioneers were called to blaze a trail from Cedar City through very rugged terrain to Bluff. In order to do so, they had to overcome seven major obstacles. The last one being, San Juan Hill.

This landmark is most easily reached on four wheelers. My Mom's first cousin, Drew Major, brought 7 four wheelers to Bluff and let the family take turns driving out to San Juan Hill. He even had two teen-sized four wheelers he let Tyler and Melanie drive. Warren, Jessica, and Graig also got a four wheeler. I would have jumped on the back but he was out of helmets and I got to make the ride twice on my last trip. Having to ride behind Tyler and Melanie, kept Warren from having too much fun on his four wheeler.

Once you arrive at San Juan Hill you walk to the top. It is steep and very rugged. It is very hard to imagine driving a wagon up the hill.

Warren and Jessica on top of San Juan Hill with the San Juan River in the background.

After hiking down San Juan Hill it is fun to ride just a little father to the Anasazi river house a cliff dwelling along the San Juan River.

Tyler peaking out one of the windows.

Jessica

Monticello

Memorial Day weekend the stars aligned just right and we were able to go on a family vacation. We even stole Jessica away from BYU on our way out of town. Our adventure began with a 5 hour drive to Monticello Utah. It was a little cozy in the van with all our camping gear and other "necessities". Our first stop was in Moab where we got a little refreshment at a local McDonalds. Then the kids really knew we were on vacation.

As we drove into Monticello we decided to drive past the temple. The reason we stopped in Monticello on our way to Bluff is so the kids could do baptisms for the dead in the Monticello temple on Saturday morning. It is fun to visit different temples in Utah.

Our accommodations for the night were in the Grist Mill Bed and Breakfast. It was very comfortable and we highly recommend staying there, especially if you are travelling with a family. We especially liked the common areas of the Bed and Breakfast.

This was a common area on the top floor of the Bed and Breakfast. It is a reading room.

This is the lobby of the Grist Mill Bed and Breakfast.

We were served a delicious breakfast Saturday morning. Biscuits and Gravy, scrambled eggs, and cinnamon apple sauce. There was also cold cereal.

It was nice to send the boys out to the "living room" to watch cartoons in the morning when they woke up at the crack of dawn.
Graig and Melanie checking out Dish Network as soon as we got into the room.
I was surprised how spacious our room was.
This is where Melanie and the boy's slept.

Graig's Junior Year of UCAS

I think I was a little more prepared for Jessica to be a Senior than I am for Graig to be one. The grades on the report card above are the ones he will apply to BYU with.

Legacy Center Gymnastics Showcase

Once a year the Legacy Center Gymnastics has a program so the kids can show their parents what they have learned. Melanie did well this year in gymnastics. She went from being a level I to being a level III. Her favorite event is still bars.

The theme for the evening was western so they had the girls march out with cowboy hats on to start off the night. They then divided into four groups and rotated between the four events.

First up for Melanie's group was vault.

Next was bars.

She finished with a floor routine.

All of the girls get a chance to stand on the winners podium.