Show A trip trio to bluff to meet new friends M al 0 not since the fall of 1934 1 i I 1 ve had occasion to make another 1 to buff although ws we have i offen thought of doing so in order 0 0 mi in m cl i our neighbors neigh bois at that pin some of whom hava been readers of the san juan record for many years even long beffie we became tle tl e owner and pub lisher of this county newspaper j last friday morning we set out on the 45 mile drive with our daughter roberta stopping for a I 1 little while in blanding which is about half way and reaching i bluff about ten dule due 10 0 j heavy rains during the night and an uncertain sky which promised more rain it was impossible to cover all of the ground we hoped to do since the roads in that moat southern part of the state are mostly clay and very un unsaid in certain places after continued rain in fact we ran into a storm on the way home and found it had also rained hard in blanding and in monticello during the day we had the extreme pleasure of meeting some jf f the fine older people of bluff who settled there many years ago and whose forefathers were among the sturdy band of mormon folk who established the first settlement nearly a century ago we might name mr and mrs kumen jones mr and mrs john oliver mrs jennie barton although not a mormon mrs barton married into the faith and became the stepni of some of the fine members of the barton family who live in monticello now we also visited with mr and mrs F A nielson parents of jack nielson of monticello with F H kornell a resident for nearly 40 years and with our correspondent spon dent florence godridge Goj dridge and her husband and while in bluff we met the norman party parly as mentioned in another column the time passed all to too 0 quickly although we are planning another visit before many weeks go by in order to renew these friendships and to make the acquaintance of others who are inhabitants of this most southerly point for the benefit of our distant readers may wei ve describe this remote but interesting center and the trip in more detail although to local folk our story may seem unnecessary since to travel to bluff is to them like going to new york city from our home town in new jersey in one sense of speaking because they go so often after leaving blanding the road leads toward the south through width fidei open country as dry and barren as any desert can be it is necessary to pass through two narrow one way canyons with considerable drop into the lower altitude and somewhat warmer climate therefore bluff enjoys an almost semitropical semi tropical climate the year around and seldom do they have any snow in that most southern part of the state sines since it is very close to the arizona line after descending through the second calyon one comes imme fately upon the town of bluff continued on page 13 A TRIP TO BLUFF continued from page 1 and the scene changes although the sandy soil and unpaved streets and the quaint looking adobe houses around which are a few sc scattered trees add to the picture all combining to make one feel as if transported into another country A gedat peace adds to the charm of this little settlement which is reflected in the conversation with the natives who are so definite a of the life and habitation there needless to say wei we are looking forward to a return trip and to a longer visit with these new found friends one of the finest things we learned is that our san juan record is filling a mission in this rural community and we sincerely appreciate the cordial reception we received and the kindly things that were said about our effort to publish the record and to serve now as its editor without the help of the more experienced workers coworkers co of past association it is encouraging to know what these iese neighbors think of us and we shall ever remember the trip of last week |