Bluff Fort Provides Pause that Refreshes

            It doesn’t take flashing lights, carnivals, and donut shops to entice tourists and busses to stop.  Having a  spacious clean bathroom facility ranks right at the top of important “musts.”   Imagine how amazed the original Hole in the Rock pioneers would be to return to San Juan County and find a luxurious bathroom facility at Bluff Fort!  Changing tables, running water, and private stalls for both men and women are a far cry from bushes and cliffs where pioneers sought bathroom privacy a century ago.   Bus tours, youth groups, families and other tourists who visit Bluff Fort today now enjoy a convenience that was never even imagined 130 years ago.

 

            The restroom foundation and cement slab was built by Hurst Construction, and Redd Mechanical installed the plumbing. A group of volunteers under the expert guidance of Ron Snowden put up the walls and ceiling beams and covered them with plywood.  Construction continued through last winter, and then in March when the Bayles family came to built their cabin, part of the group put up the siding on the restroom.  Tile on the walls and floor finished off the pristine facility, a far cry from the two-seaters of earlier times.  Its completion can now qualify Bluff Fort as a designated stop for bus tours going through San Juan County.

 

          As the Fort becomes more and more a reunion center for families, this facility becomes even more valued as large crowds can now be easily accommodated. In recent months the Hobbs family, the McConkie/ Wolf/ Woods families, and Sons of the Utah Pioneers have all convened at the Fort for their reunions and meetings.  Craig Taylor, long time promoter of the Fort stated, “We hope Bluff Fort will become more and more, a family reunion destination as well as a stop for tourists.”

        

    To learn about future work projects and volunteer opportunities, contact LaMar Helquist at 801-225-9096 or lchelquist@gmail.com.