For settlers in Bluff, a challenging period came when they lived in and around their wagons until they were able to build a cabin, with the length and nature of these arrangements depending on each family's needs and resources. The wagon was the only common resource for creating a temporary semblance of a home, and some families removed the wagon box from its wheels and placed it on the ground to store their few possessions and provide shelter. Little is known about the details of the Holyoak wagon encampment, but Henry and Sarah Holyoak lived in their wagon for over four years at various locations along the San Juan River, and their wagon home included a stove. In October 1884, after enduring several floods and losing three water wheels they had built, they moved to Poverty Flats, now known as Moab, Utah, where they were instrumental in building up the community.