As fun as it is sitting in an office typing up words to thrill and entertain others, there comes a time to go outside. That time is Spring. A person has a limited threshold for sitting and meditating on word structure, sentence composition, and grammar usage for the grammar impaired. At times it benefits a person, like you and me, to get out and meditate on trail structure, degree of articulation, and lift height. I’m talking about Jeep Safari.
Easter Jeep Safari, in Moab Utah, is hosted by Red Rock 4-Wheelers, and it really is a huge event for those who enjoy a little off road adventure. Some people participate by renting a Jeep from one of the adventure companies in Moab, such as Barlow Adventures. Others who participate bring their own tricked-out vehicles. Though the majority of the people who play on the Moab rocks are driving Jeeps, it isn’t so exclusive that you can’t bring a Taco or a Raptor. It just has to be a street legal four wheel drive vehicle (they don’t allow UTVs or ATVs).
Machine against Earth, the Easter Jeep Safari has long been a challenge. It requires some technical driving skills and some knowledge of mechanical limits. The Jeep Safari has been going on for a long time, since 1967. And there’s one guy who’s been to all of them—with the same Jeep! Okay, I totally made up that last line. It could happen though.
Easter Jeep Safari isn’t the only game around. There’s another amazing event that has only been going for a few years (since 2016), but is fun to track. It’s an all female rally called Rebelle Rally. When I first heard about it, I thought, “Rebelle? Is that a French word?” Nope. Turns out the woman who started the event, Emily Miller, wanted the rally to have a cool name, so she mixed the words rebel and belle to make Rebelle. It works for me.
Even though this one doesn’t happen until October, it’s worth the wait.
The Rebelle Rally operates differently from other races like it. In the Rebelle, competitors are required to locate checkpoints without a GPS. The closer they get to the true checkpoint location, the more points their team scores. Competitors are challenged to meet each checkpoint at a certain time as well, so it really is more of a rally than a race. Sometimes they’re required to keep to an average speed instead of racing from point to point.
A rally like this requires a wide range of skills: strategy, navigation, driving, and even problem-solving. The inevitable mechanical problem is a hurdle. So are the dunes. During one of the previous competitions, one of the teams lightened their vehicle by throwing out hundreds of pounds of equipment. I would honestly be afraid to do that. I mean, how are you going to do if you’ve thrown away your spare tire? But then again, throwing out the weight is a strategy for getting over the sand in the California-Nevada desert.
Anyway, Spring is coming up for the Northern Hemisphere, and since that’s where I live, I’ve been thinking about all the fun things to do outside. The two events listed above are only a small portion.
Get out and explore.
Xenosthesia.com 