Moab Off-Roadeo and the Full Long Weekend

Grumpy Munchkin

I just saw there is a great review on the Moab Off-Roadeo experience by @SquatchOrBust at https://thebronconation.com/forums/threads/moab-off-rodeo…just-wow.6321/ with some great pictures. I was also there on Sunday, so I'll give a quick summary of my thoughts to hopefully add a bit.

I'm from the Philly area and decided on Moab for a truly unique experience. I travelled with two of my boys (16 and 14). We were definitely not disappointed!

We travelled from Friday through Tuesday to give a bit of extra time to check out the area, so I'll run through the itinerary in case others are looking for ideas.

Friday

• We flew into Salt Lake City. Not as close as Grand Junction, but it was a direct flight for us and the drive from SLC to Moab is very scenic. We made a very quick stop in Helper, UT. If you're a fan of the movie Cars, it has a heavy Radiator Springs feel.
• We decided to stay at the Red Cliffs Lodge to make things a bit easier. The Off-Roadeo basecamp is at the Lodge and it was just a quick walk in the morning. The hotel was great and the surrounding scenery is breathtaking. It is surrounded be canyon cliffs and the Colorado River. The rooms are a bit dated, but very spacious and comfortable. There is a decent kitchen and a sofa bed as well. The is nothing besides campgrounds and scenery, so if you are looking for cheaper options or being close to shopping or restaurants, nothing should stop you from staying in Moab (20 minute drive).
• Note that many areas around Moab had no cell phone reception. Not a big deal, but you don't pre-plan your routes, you may not be able to access your GPS either.

Saturday

• We reserved mountain bikes from Bighorn Mountain Biking (https://www.bighornmountainbiking.com) and, in the morning, rode around the trails at Dead Horse Point State Park. We picked the bikes up from there facility at the park, so no hauling the bikes around. Tons of fun with GREAT views. There are trails for all levels of riders. We really noticed the altitude, but had no problems getting to where we wanted to go.
• We hit lunch in Moab and did a little window shopping. If you are into T-shirts and coffee mugs that say "Moab" on them, this is the place to be. Lots of very nice restaurants. The town was crowded, but we found a good spots with no trouble.
• After lunch, we drove the La Sal Mountain Loop (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mantilasal/recarea/?recid=73174) starting at Ken's Lake. A nice relaxing drive with ample photo ops.
• When we finished the drive, we had no GPS reception, so we decided for a right on Rte 128. Wrong choice, but...! The Red Cliffs Lodge was very close if we took a left; however, Rte 128 is a scenic byway through the canyon along the Colorado River. A long, but very pretty drive. We wound up in the Ghost Town of Cisco (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco,_Utah) then drove back to Moab on the highway for dinner.
• After dinner, we stopped by base camp to check out the Broncos and the Saturday group had just finished. One of the guides, Joe, came over and spoke to us for a bit. He was great and offered some insight and tips. I ordered a First Edition and he suggested we try for a Badlands for the most comparable experience.

Sunday - BRONCO DAY!!!

• After breakfast, we checked in at base camp. We all wore shorts which was no problem throughout the day. We also brought sunscreen, hats, water bottles and phone charging cables. They do provide (and routinely promote) sunscreen and have water in a cooler for refills throughout the day. As mentioned by others, the do give Yetis at check in. We received one for me and one to share with any guest registrants. If you have more than one guest, make sure you have an extra water bottle.
• After checking in, there was plenty of time to walk around the Off-Roadeo store.
• The session kicked off with a talk and presentation inside the basecamp and outside with a demo Bronco. Study up if you want a free stick or five by answering questions.
• After the presentation, we broke into to groups (a third group had a later start time). We were told to go pick out our Broncos for the day from our group's selection.
• It is a bit of a free-for-all at this point, so act quickly if you have a specific model in mind. Our first choice was taken, but we did get our #2... a Red Badlands but with no Sasquatch.
• Our guides were Chris and Kelly and both were outstanding. Chris rode in the lead vehicle and Kelly rode in the rear. The communicate throughout the day via walkie talkies in each vehicle. Chris is a constant flow of information... he gives a bunch of obvious info but there are MANY great nuggets that you can take out of his knowledge. There are people of varied skill levels, so better to give the info the assume people know! Kelly doesn't say too much, but when he speaks, you should listen. Very insightful and targeted info. Every time he spoke, my son said, "I love Kelly!"
• I won't go too much into the course as the other review did a great job. It was well directed and very easy to follow the guides' instructions. Awesome time!
• As for the vehicle:
  • Not having the Sasquatch didn't prevent me from doing anything, BUT...
    • The guides at the beginning did say they would put the non-squatches on easier routes over some of the obstacles
    • We did bottom out more than the Squatch riders did.
  • The guides give opportunity and direction on using most of the vehicle's off road features which there are many.
  • I am not much of an off roader, but the capability and features made many of the difficult looking obstacles very easy. Almost too easy and I can see overconfidences getting people in trouble.
  • Having the wheel cameras would have been very helpful but we made it through fine without them.
  • Important to me and as expected, the base stereo system is very poor.
• After the course, we flipped the soft tops back and cruised back to camp.
• Dinner was a nice buffet with live music. There is time to finish shopping for swag as well.
• Awesome day which was topped off by an email waiting when I got back that I am scheduled for production in October... Woot!

Monday

• Early start for us. We checked out of the Lodge and headed to the Moab Adventure Center for a tour of Arches.
• I went for a guided tour here, but it could easily be done on your own. I had been doing a ton of driving, so I figured I would sit back and enjoy.
• Amazing park, great tour guide and a really fun morning. The boys really enjoyed climbing the boulders and arches.
• We got back to Moab around lunchtime, bought a few souvenirs and headed back to Salt Lake City.

A great experience all around and a big thanks to the guides on a job very well done!

Grumpy Munchkin

I just saw there is a great review on the Moab Off-Roadeo experience by @SquatchOrBust at https://thebronconation.com/forums/threads/moab-off-rodeo…just-wow.6321/ with some great pictures. I was also there on Sunday, so I'll give a quick summary of my thoughts to hopefully add a bit.

I'm from the Philly area and decided on Moab for a truly unique experience. I travelled with two of my boys (16 and 14). We were definitely not disappointed!

We travelled from Friday through Tuesday to give a bit of extra time to check out the area, so I'll run through the itinerary in case others are looking for ideas.

Friday

• We flew into Salt Lake City. Not as close as Grand Junction, but it was a direct flight for us and the drive from SLC to Moab is very scenic. We made a very quick stop in Helper, UT. If you're a fan of the movie Cars, it has a heavy Radiator Springs feel.
• We decided to stay at the Red Cliffs Lodge to make things a bit easier. The Off-Roadeo basecamp is at the Lodge and it was just a quick walk in the morning. The hotel was great and the surrounding scenery is breathtaking. It is surrounded be canyon cliffs and the Colorado River. The rooms are a bit dated, but very spacious and comfortable. There is a decent kitchen and a sofa bed as well. The is nothing besides campgrounds and scenery, so if you are looking for cheaper options or being close to shopping or restaurants, nothing should stop you from staying in Moab (20 minute drive).
• Note that many areas around Moab had no cell phone reception. Not a big deal, but you don't pre-plan your routes, you may not be able to access your GPS either.

Saturday

• We reserved mountain bikes from Bighorn Mountain Biking (https://www.bighornmountainbiking.com) and, in the morning, rode around the trails at Dead Horse Point State Park. We picked the bikes up from there facility at the park, so no hauling the bikes around. Tons of fun with GREAT views. There are trails for all levels of riders. We really noticed the altitude, but had no problems getting to where we wanted to go.
• We hit lunch in Moab and did a little window shopping. If you are into T-shirts and coffee mugs that say "Moab" on them, this is the place to be. Lots of very nice restaurants. The town was crowded, but we found a good spots with no trouble.
• After lunch, we drove the La Sal Mountain Loop (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mantilasal/recarea/?recid=73174) starting at Ken's Lake. A nice relaxing drive with ample photo ops.
• When we finished the drive, we had no GPS reception, so we decided for a right on Rte 128. Wrong choice, but...! The Red Cliffs Lodge was very close if we took a left; however, Rte 128 is a scenic byway through the canyon along the Colorado River. A long, but very pretty drive. We wound up in the Ghost Town of Cisco (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco,_Utah) then drove back to Moab on the highway for dinner.
• After dinner, we stopped by base camp to check out the Broncos and the Saturday group had just finished. One of the guides, Joe, came over and spoke to us for a bit. He was great and offered some insight and tips. I ordered a First Edition and he suggested we try for a Badlands for the most comparable experience.

Sunday - BRONCO DAY!!!

• After breakfast, we checked in at base camp. We all wore shorts which was no problem throughout the day. We also brought sunscreen, hats, water bottles and phone charging cables. They do provide (and routinely promote) sunscreen and have water in a cooler for refills throughout the day. As mentioned by others, the do give Yetis at check in. We received one for me and one to share with any guest registrants. If you have more than one guest, make sure you have an extra water bottle.
• After checking in, there was plenty of time to walk around the Off-Roadeo store.
• The session kicked off with a talk and presentation inside the basecamp and outside with a demo Bronco. Study up if you want a free stick or five by answering questions.
• After the presentation, we broke into to groups (a third group had a later start time). We were told to go pick out our Broncos for the day from our group's selection.
• It is a bit of a free-for-all at this point, so act quickly if you have a specific model in mind. Our first choice was taken, but we did get our #2... a Red Badlands but with no Sasquatch.
• Our guides were Chris and Kelly and both were outstanding. Chris rode in the lead vehicle and Kelly rode in the rear. The communicate throughout the day via walkie talkies in each vehicle. Chris is a constant flow of information... he gives a bunch of obvious info but there are MANY great nuggets that you can take out of his knowledge. There are people of varied skill levels, so better to give the info the assume people know! Kelly doesn't say too much, but when he speaks, you should listen. Very insightful and targeted info. Every time he spoke, my son said, "I love Kelly!"
• I won't go too much into the course as the other review did a great job. It was well directed and very easy to follow the guides' instructions. Awesome time!
• As for the vehicle:
  • Not having the Sasquatch didn't prevent me from doing anything, BUT...
    • The guides at the beginning did say they would put the non-squatches on easier routes over some of the obstacles
    • We did bottom out more than the Squatch riders did.
  • The guides give opportunity and direction on using most of the vehicle's off road features which there are many.
  • I am not much of an off roader, but the capability and features made many of the difficult looking obstacles very easy. Almost too easy and I can see overconfidences getting people in trouble.
  • Having the wheel cameras would have been very helpful but we made it through fine without them.
  • Important to me and as expected, the base stereo system is very poor.
• After the course, we flipped the soft tops back and cruised back to camp.
• Dinner was a nice buffet with live music. There is time to finish shopping for swag as well.
• Awesome day which was topped off by an email waiting when I got back that I am scheduled for production in October... Woot!

Monday

• Early start for us. We checked out of the Lodge and headed to the Moab Adventure Center for a tour of Arches.
• I went for a guided tour here, but it could easily be done on your own. I had been doing a ton of driving, so I figured I would sit back and enjoy.
• Amazing park, great tour guide and a really fun morning. The boys really enjoyed climbing the boulders and arches.
• We got back to Moab around lunchtime, bought a few souvenirs and headed back to Salt Lake City.

A great experience all around and a big thanks to the guides on a job very well done!

CaliKAP

How awesome! We are registered for the 15th of October. We are so excited to hit Moab!

HerBronco

Once you get there if you can get Scott as your instructor please ask for him. Absolutely the BEST !