Tied to the Post

A beautiful woven basket by Lorraine Black documents the impact of the COVID pandemic. Courtesy photo

The pandemic recorded in sumac

It had been a while since Lorraine Black visited Twin Rocks. A few years ago she moved to western Utah, far from Bluff, and our relationship ebbed. In the past Lorraine would stop by the trading post on a regular basis, bringing her baskets through the Kokopelli doors, laughing, and joking and...

Twin Rocks and Sunbonnet Rock before the construction of Twin Rocks Trading Post. Courtesy photo

The Trading Post Kids

A while ago, I ran into a quote attributed to Joan Didion that goes something like, “I have already lost touch with a couple people I used to be.” The quote started me thinking about the way it used to be at Twin Rocks Trading Post and how much the last 20 years have changed all of us. ...

A welcome reprieve for Bluff

Winters in Bluff give us a much-needed reprieve from the red winds of spring, and the heat of summer. Here in the high desert, we are sand-blasted by the intermittent winds in March and April, which are followed not long after by the high temperatures of July and August. All that gives us a healthy...

Cottonwood art work at the Twin Rocks Trading Post in Bluff. Courtesy photo

The Miscreant

The young man stood close to the sales counter, his eyes slightly downcast. With his freshly scrubbed face and in his carefully pressed trousers and shirt, he was the picture of a well-bred, well-mannered boy. Digging the toe of his leather shoes into the carpet, he answered his mother’s inquiry...

Art is not concrete

Art is not concrete A while ago, Pearl, Opal and I sat on the porch waiting for Jana to return home from her teaching job at Whitehorse High School. When she arrived, we lingered a while longer, watching the blood-red sun dip behind the sandstone cliffs, marveling at the beauty. As is often the...

Otherworldly images

The other morning, I strode buoyantly homeward after a predawn workout. I was feeling refreshed and invigorated by the physical activity and the clean crispness of the air. As far back as high school, I have had a love-hate relationship with early morning exercise. I hate to drag myself out of a...

Dead In Dog Years

A while back I was walking through Twin Rocks Cafe on my daily quest for coffee when I noticed a man wearing a T-shirt with a skeletal dog image printed on the back. Above the canine cartoon was the caption, “In dog years I am . . . dead.” This experience started me thinking about the Grateful Dead...

Duke done it thataway. The old-time trader William Woodrow “Duke” Simpson. Courtesy photo

“Don’t think Duke woulda’ done it thataway”

The other day I was in the trading post working on the latest edition of Tied to the Post when one of our long-term customers came strolling into the shop. It was a blistering August afternoon, and the refrigeration units were blowing like a hurricane. Despite the cyclone of cold air, the...

Priscilla at the Twin Rocks Trading Post. Courtesy photo

A pair of three

As Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.” Lately we have been observing what is happening around Twin Rocks Trading Post and have grown suspicious. Priscilla, our old friend, trusted advisor and best buddy appears to be stealing our thunder. One longtime reader e-mailed to...

The Anasazi Bean Affair

“But I am 85 years old!” she exclaimed. “Oh my… that’s …that’s not at all what I had in mind,” I stammered. Like many things at Twin Rocks Trading Post, The Anasazi Bean Affair began innocently, but somehow went very wrong. It all began about a month ago when Mary Cokenour, food writer for the...