RED ROCK AND SEVEN SLOTS

A FLEET OF COOL JEEP CONCEPT VEHICLES STARRED AT THE 2022 EASTER JEEP SAFARI 55TH ANNIVERSARY AT MOAB, SOUTHERN UTAH

- CHRIS COLLARD

AS THE sun peeked over the La Sal Mountains, washing Southern Utah with warm hues of ochre and crimson, we made our way down Main Street to the Moab Diner for breakfast. It was the opening day of the 2022 Easter Jeep Safari (EJS), and a steady stream of traffic flooded into town for one of North America's most popular off-road venues.

Today's event draws tens of thousands of participants from all corners of the planet, but we need to look back half a century, and further, to understand the significance of its origins. The year was 1967, and in an attempt to boost a lagging economy, the Moab Chamber of Commerce organized an event to draw attention and tourism to the area. It would be a simple affair and take place on Easter Sunday; a one-day trail ride in the backcountry with a few dozen participants. Registration was free, and a highlight of the day was a Cessna flyover replete with an airdrop of ice cream.

The original route is now known as the Behind the Rocks Trail, and the event's popularity required the addition of the Moab Rim Trail the following year. The Moab Rim Trail, which became part of EJS in 1968, ascends a diagonal ledge along the Colorado River.

Meanwhile, steady growth strained the Chamber's resources, and in 1982 management of the event was handed off to the club that had been volunteering as trail guides, the Red Rock 4-Wheelers.