May 2001 -- Year by year the Easter Jeep Safari continues to gain in acclaim and popularity, packing the hotels, RV parks and campgrounds in and around Moab Utah to capacity and beyond. The sheer beauty of the slickrock, combined with the challenge of some of the roughest trails in the American west, call to OHV enthusiasts like the siren of a hard, Red Sea. But over the years trouble has sailed in to this remote island of off-roading paradise - "green" trouble - and in 2001 things finally came to a head.

Avalanched Clifton Slay, owner of Avalanche Engineering, a took fall into the Hot Tub for his company's namesake.

Little Green Men From Moab

With the election of GW Bush and Dick Cheney, and the appointment of Gail Norton to the top offices of the land, the eco-movement lost its unlimited access to the power it has long exploited. As a result their public cries of eco-pocalypse have grown ever more shrill. Moab was no exception to the doomsaying of the green machine, and in fact, one of it's prime targets. Like Glamis such a short time ago, environmentalists set their sights on eradicating the "vermin" (I.E. "you and I") from one of the crown jewels of the off-roading world.Shortly before the EJS was to take place, the greens pulled out all the stops to get the various federal agencies to deny the permits needed to hold one of the largest events on the off-road calendar. This was one of the greens largest organized efforts in recent memory to stop a long-standing event. Never in their worst nightmares did they envision the backlash their actions would lead to.

In a single event, the enviro-movment utterly galvanized the rockcrawling community against them. Not only did the off-road world retain the Easter Jeep Safari, they stopped the greens dead in their tracks in one of their greatest attempts to deny OHV users access to public lands. The idea is catching on.

Bottom Feeders Dallas Stump and his buddy after Dallas' dad Craig dumped the tool box from the back of his Commanche and into the pit, which claimed many egos throughout the week.

Over the "big weekend", the greens were out in force at some of Moab's hot spots, distributing their propaganda and trying in vain to make off-roaders feel guilt and shame over their recreational activities. Needless to say it was a dismal failure on the part of the ecos, but provided no end of entertainment for the off-roaders. Some merely laughed as they passed by, others simply offered to give them directions to a considerably warmer place. All in all, the greens left Moab with no "converts", wasted time, and piles of unused literature printed on non-recycled paper.

Extreme Machines

Technology continues advancing throughout the rockcrawling world, and Moab provided no end of opportunities to see some of the most outstanding machines on the planet. While the Currie Jeeps, Avalanche Engineering "Snipers", and Skyjacker Cherokee all garnered all the attention you'd expect, there were an incredible number of X-trucks on the trails to gawk at all week long. Yet alongside the bucks-up crawlers were a growing number of dual purpose - "streetable" rigs - that were able to hold their own over anything Moab could throw at them. It used to be that the gap between the trailered rigs and those driven to the event was a wide one, but thanks to the advances in factory available hardware that gap has narrowed considerably.

Hard Core Spectators Niether rain, sleet, snow, harsh wind, empty bellies and a dry mouth can't keep these extreme spectators from hanging loose on the trail.

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Call it a result of supply and demand, call it the natural progression of the sport; call it what you will. At no time in the history of off-roading has the sport enjoyed such a following, or have so many participants had access to such a broad spectrum of high-tech, high performance and high quality hardware - regardless of their choice in vehicles.

Time for a name change? Nah…

Here at ORC we have to wonder why it's still called the Easter "Jeep" Safari. Now granted, the CJ/YJ/TJ/XJ crowd still pretty much holds the title for most rigs in attendance - a fact which relegates the Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota, etc. to a combined "#2". Perhaps some day we'll see the Easter Toyota Safari, or the Easter Ford Safari, but that day isn't today - nor are any of the other competing makes about to topple the famous "four letter word" from it's lofty heights any time soon.

Along with the "regulars" to Moab and a growing number of full-size rigs, we saw quite a few non-traditional rockcrawlers on the trails. Would you believe Ford Rangers and Bronco IIs? How's that for "non traditional?" Long the darlings of the Prerunner crowd, Ford's 2nd most popular truck is beginning to gain acceptance in the crawling community as a viable platform to build on. Equipped from the factory with an 8.8 rear axle, a full frame, and a 4.0L V6, there's some solid stuff to work with in the world of the blue oval.

The Astro Dome When Bradden "Ghetto Jeeper" Kemp rolled onto the rocks on the Upper Helldorado, there were mixed emotions. For one: "Why the hell would this guy bring a virtually stock YJ with a set of 33s onto the this trail?" Answer: "For the hell of it." Bradden made it look easy until he snapped a leaf spring and caused a major delay. Out came the welder for some trail-side fabbing.

Earlier Rangers equipped with the 7.5in. rear-axle may be less desirable but they are readily available and relatively cheap - the perfect combo for a build up! Add in the bulletproof parts and accessories from the desert / prerunner world, a solid axle swap a'la Toyota/Jeep or similar, a growing number of purpose-built crawler parts and we're on the verge of seeing a whole new breed of crawler on the horizon.

It's a great time to be an off-roader!

You gotta' love it. The eco-nuts are fighting from a position of defense rather than offense, more and more people and families are coming out to our public lands to enjoy themselves, their rigs, and the great outdoors we all love so much. Technology continues advancing at a truly scary rate. Even the attitudes of "Jeep vs. Ford vs. Chevy vs. Toyota vs. whatever have subsided over the last year and in their place has evolved a growing sense of camaraderie among the brothers and sisters of the four-wheeled fraternity.Now granted, we all have our differences and likely always will, but in the face of growing regulation, hypocrisy, and fear mongering by the greens, we've proven our ability to stand up, stand strong, and come together in order to fight for the events and places we all hold dear.

We can only imagine what the 2002 Moab Easter Jeep Safari will bring!