It’s time again for Rick Bell’s annual year in review, a photographer’s look at life in and around Bluff. Some folks say Bluff is the middle of nowhere, at Twin Rocks Trading Post we think it is the center of the universe.
We are in the bull’s eye of an amazing array of fascinating places. All...
It is Thanksgiving, and Grange and his friend Abbey will be visiting over the holiday. Consequently, I was reminded of a time several years back.
It was long, long ago that I took Grange to Bluff Elementary School to conclude his Student Education Plan. Every year, parents convened with their child...
For me, the catastrophe started innocently enough, but the Native American woman involved in the incident didn’t see it that way.
She viewed it as a deliberate act of racism, one that was all too familiar to her and one that was fully expected from a trading post operator.
It began around mid-...
Earlier this week it was time for a haircut. As anyone who knows Bluff knows, you can’t get that done here; getting a trim means taking a trip.
Some go to Moab, some go to Cortez and I, for many years, have gone to Blanding.
Stephanie is my go-to when I grow shaggy, and that means driving 25 miles...
The woman in colorful clothing walked in through the Kokopelli doors, stopped in the center of the trading post, carefully surveyed the situation, and said, “What is your guiding principle?”
“Hum,” I said, trying to buy a little time. “Mine or the shop’s?”
“Probably the same,” she correctly...
It was a Sunday afternoon, and the summer heat had already arrived. Outside on the porch, Pearl and Opal, aka the Gems, panted as they worked at perfecting their greeting skills.
I am a fan of keeping the Kokopelli doors open, so on this particular day I delayed turning on the cooler.
I like...
The other day I was cleaning the glass showcases in the trading post when I noticed a spider creeping behind one of the folk-art carvings.
Polishing the glass is a part of my regular routine, and at times I find it therapeutic. Some people drink coffee to start their day; I clean the glass.
I have...
Division is defined as “the act or process of dividing; the state of being divided,” which most of us associate with mathematics. On many levels this topic has perplexed me throughout childhood and into my adult life.
For example, when Kira and Grange were in grammar school, I had to cede...
When I think back to my early years in Bluff, I vividly recall Navajo women wearing beautiful velveteen clothes made in the Victorian style, even on hot summer days like today.
Because they had a tradition of wearing their wealth in the form of turquoise and silver jewelry, their blouses were often...
Innovation is highly prized at Twin Rocks Trading Post, so it is a real treat for us when local artists create new and exciting works.
There are, however, a number of craftspeople on and around the Navajo Reservation who pick up an idea and reproduce it until they have explored every possible...