The Moab Valley has come to life once again as incredible weather has graced the valley here on the first day of the 40th Annual Easter Jeep Safari. Our run down Main Street early this morning revealed many of the nation’s Jeep enthusiasts have arrived to Moab in search of adventure on the red slick rock of the American southwest.
The Moab recreation area is spread out over 75 square miles and features 32 distinguished off road trails shared by off road vehicles and mountain bikes alike. Our perusal down Moab’s main drag this morning saw the nation’s top off road manufacturers tractor-trailer rigs lined up at the curb in front of the many hotels here in Moab.
Headquarters for the 40th Annual Easter Jeep Safari is the Spanish Trails Arena and last night the parking lot was filling up with a variety of manufacturers vinyl wrapped trailers depicting every off road part from seats to shocks.
The DirtNewz crew arrived late last night after a trek from the WE Rock National Series rock crawling event in Globe, Arizona where the 2005 UROC Pro National Champion captured his first victory of the season on the rocks of Arizona.
The Moab Valley will fill up today as the nation’s top professional rock crawlers will join thousands of Jeep and off road enthusiasts on the trails of Moab.
Yesterday’s late action included MasterCraft CEO – Robbie Pierce joining FOX Racing Shox Kingpin John Marking and Howe Performance Steering CEO – Jeff Howe for a trounce through the slick rock of Moab. These converted off road desert racers are all in town for the festivities and unlike the rock crawling crowd who take these obstacles slow and easy rumor has the desert crews utilize the skinny pedal.
It’s early here in Moab on this Monday morning and we’ll be bringing you the action later in the day with a full wrap up on today’s activity by early evening as the DirtNewz crew snakes their way through Moab’s rocks.
Webcast from Potato Salad Hill:
Interview with Tony Eyman of the Red Rock 4-Wheelers :
The DirtNewz crew arrived to Moab’s Potato Salad Hill in the late afternoon to see a huge crowd of spectators watching the action on the rocks just outside of downtown Moab. Sitting on the hill watching the action was Skyjacker’s Curt LeDuc and the entire Skyjacker Crew who arrived to Moab from West Monroe, Louisana on Sunday afternoon.
The action on the local hill was interesting to say the least as locals school the out-of-towners on how to tackle this famed hill. DirtNewz caught up with Poison Spyder Customs – CEO Clifton Slay who took the pride of his fleet, Suicide Sally, up the front of Potato Salad Hill without any challenge at all. Suicide Sally is a Poison Spyder Custom rig that features MasterCraft Seats and belts in complete custom colors, purple and orange. Slay told DirtNewz that he was a bit disappointed with the challenge of Potato Salad Hill and in all the years he’s been coming here in Moab, he’s never had the chance to tackle the famed obstacle. Slay smiled ear-to-ear and drove Suicide Sally straight down the obstacle without blinking an eye.
We caught up with MasterCraft CEO – Robbie Pierce who reported his adventure of the day was hanging out with John Marking and Jeff Howe on a nine-hour adventure in the backcountry of Moab’s most remote territory. Seems the boyz of Southern California were having too much fun on the slickrock of Moab.
As the sun set over the Moab Valley we found the 2003 UROC Supercrawl Champion and CEO of All Pro Off Road, Jon Bundrant, in Moab after he and his crew came off of the Rusty Nail and Golden Spike trails. Bundrant, driving the All Pro Off Road Toyota Tacoma featuring all the latest, was quick to give a big thumbs up to the performance of his Tacoma on the trails of Moab.
With the sun well set behind the steep cliffs and darkness taking over Moab Valley, the first day of the 40th Annual Easter Jeep Safari is almost in the record books. DirtNewz has been invited to a slew of after trail parties that are being held throughout the Moab Valley, but after a day on the trails and a full afternoon at Potato Salad Hill it's time to call it quits in preparation of a full day on Tuesday.
