Hole-in-the-Rock photos from "B is for Blanding"

2010-01-22T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hole-in-the-Rock Sample Page

2010-01-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

Above are two pages from "B is for Blanding." Click on the photo to take a closer look!

The side column of the Hole-in-the-Rock page reads:

Above: View of the Hole-in-the-Rock, a steep crevice through which pioneers chiseled and blasted a path to the Colorado River below.

The formation of the San Juan Mission in 1879 was initiated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to secure peaceful relations with the Indians in the San Juan area and to encourage further colonization. The hundreds of miles of road built after descending the Hole-in-the-Rock crossed some of the most rugged terrain in North America. The journey took six months; the trail stands today as a testament of pioneer ingenuity and determination.

"The perception then and to this day is that this episode framed the character and grit of those early settlers, enshrined the importance of the San Juan Mission in their hearts, and proved their stalwart ability to see a task through to its end."

These settlers founded the town of Bluff, and later many of these same families would settle Blanding. Most of the Hole-in-the-Rock trail is visible today, accessible by land or by water, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places."

Below: Wagon tracks visible on the trail.