Bluff: The Edge of Yesterday and Tomorrow
Community
Placed in the Utah canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau, Bluff is a sparse city enthralled in both history and nature. From the fully-resorted Bluff Fort to the eye-catching Hole-in-the-Rock trailhead, Bluff has been coined by the Navajo people as “hozho,” meaning peace and harmony.
Stuff to do: Fort Bluff, HóZhó Spa, Edge of the Cedars Museum
Place to stay: Mokee Motel, Bluff Dwellings Resort, La Posada Pintada
Good eats: Cow Canyon Coffee, Comb Ridge, Twin Rocks Cafe
Taking a step into Bluff, you’ll find that you’re truly at the edge of everything in Utah — the edge of history, culture, natural beauty and even the edge of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. With the warm winds embracing the stillness and solitude of the desert landscape, you truly feel as if you’re stepping into another time in history. However, taking a trip further north to scrape the surface of Blanding, you’ll see a museum that is everything but ordinary. The Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum: a site of archaeological discovery and refurbishing that can only be seen in person.
Open to the public since 1978, the history of the museum itself ties back to the formation and settlement of the city itself, when American pioneer and writer Albert Lyman was one of the first settlers in the area. Lyman would donate the area to the state, which grew to become one of three thriving and easy-to-access sites of Ancestral Puebloan archaeology in the Four Corners area.
The Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum has one of the largest Ancestral Puebloan pottery on display. For the pottery from the museum’s “visible storage and Interactive Pottery Exhibit,” visitors can delinquently interact with researched pottery pieces and use the nearby computers provided by the museum to learn about the origins and time period. The Museum’s Director and Park Manager of the area Chris Hanson says the pottery is a permanent exhibit that visitors can check out year round whenever they’re in town. For all updates regarding new exhibits, Hanson suggested that anyone interested should check out the museum’s Facebook page for all things immersive.
As for current exhibits, Hanson says the San Juan School District is putting on something truly exciting all summer long. The annual “Art Stampede” is a juried art exhibit that has collected several works from the students across the entire county, with the goal to highlight some local talent. The exhibit showcases several pieces of many different mediums such as painting, sculpture and all manners of mixed media.
There’s also something exciting coming down to the southwest part of Utah! Do you want to experience it for yourself? The Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum is open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (times may vary during the winter). Tickets for entry are $5 for adults and $3 for children. For upcoming exhibitions or any other inquiries, visit the museum’s website at statepark.utah.gov/parks/edge-of-the-cedars
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