APRIL TOM: In April, twenty one vehicles turned out for a unique tour of the Behind the Rocks area which included views into Kane Springs Canyon with stops at Picture Frame arch and Balcony arch. Thanks to Russ Walker for planning the route and leading the trail, and to Gene Day and John Larish for help with officiating.

MAY TOM: Twenty vehicles turned out for a run up to Dome Plateau to enjoy the dinosaur tracks, cowboy caves, La Boca Arch, and the viewpoint overlooking Professor Valley.  The single greatest obstacle of the trail was squeezing everyone into the tiny viewpoint parking area with people camping quite literally in the center of the parking lot.  Special thanks to trail leaders Paul and Rebecca Darezzo for their preparation and insights into history, geology, and paleontology which made the trip so enjoyable.

JUNE TOM – (John Larish )

Brett Davis led the June adventure on the Eva Conover Trail to Coal Wash and back out via The Devil’s Racetrack. The trails are in the Green River area. Our leader, Brett Davis, ended up doing a bit more than leading this day, but that’s another story. The day started out under blue skies and nice temps at elevation for this time of year here in Utah. The scenery as usual was spectacular.

    As we dropped into the Coal Wash one of our participants felt the need to test the Off-Road + abilities of his shiny Gladiator. Needless to say, this is when Brett and other participants were able to field test their recovery gear and most of all their own recovery skills. Two winches, a bit of spotting and the Gladiator was freed from a mid-20 degree lean so he had plenty of room to spare.

       After lunch we continued to the North Fork Coal Wash as we made our way up to the Devil’s Racetrack. Then on to the obstacles everyone couldn’t wait to get to. The first was a set of steps. A few vehicles were able to test out their skid plates and armour. Then on to the razorback section. Most of our vehicles handled this section with ease and aplomb.

     But did I tell you we had a Tonka Truck along? We didn’t have a ruler amongst us; thus, we determined this rock outcrop is about 2 inches taller than the clearance of a Tonka Truck with 40s at full droop. Adam was pulled off the outcrop and the Tonka Truck soldiered on. We enjoyed more grand vistas as we exited the Devil’s Racetrack.

    We ended up just north of I-70 and were able to cruise along incredible rock formations.

    We ended up at a rock art panel and the home of the largest Claret Cup Cactus your reporter has seen.

JULY TOM - (John Larish)

Saturday July 20^th was this months’ Red Rock 4-Wheelers Trail of the Month. The trail of the Month for July is an annual affair for the club. It is our shortest run of the year, The Moonlight Run, to watch the full moon rise over the La Sal Mountains from the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes. Because of its short and late nature we tend to have a smaller group of nearby members and friends along on this trip. This year was no different with 10 Jeeps and just over 20 members and a couple furry friends along.

Generally a September or October event, the celestial calendar for this year brought our run into July. We left downtown Moab at 6:00pm in nearly 100 degrees. We took the easy route up to the buttes around the north side of the mesa where we were greeted with our first arch of the day. Then on through Bartlett Wash and past Determination Towers.

Determination Towers are said to get their name from a family letter about their trip trying to get to the towers in their old Jeep. They noted they were determined to get to the towers and named them Determination Towers after reaching them.

After a short stop we headed up the last mile or so over to the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes, our viewing destination. If you have never been to the buttes, they are spectacular. Even more so at golden hour when the buttes are perfectly lit and the view looks like this.

With everyone pulled over to the proper viewing location by our fearless leader and celestial navigator Mark, we waited for the big show. Members brought along their dinners and some even brought things to share, fresh watermelon slices, Special K Bars drenched in chocolate and ice cream bars and sandwiches to top it all off.

Finally after an hour or so of fellowship and nourishment, the big event arrived. Clouds obscured the rise immediately over the mountains but once above the clouds the moon continued on its inexorable march across the night sky.

Another Moonlight Run goes into the record book and we were able to verify our offroad lighting systems were in working order as we made our way back to Moab.

Stay tuned for a recap of next months’ Red Rock 4-Wheelers Trail of the Month, Tommy Knocker.