Spanish Trail Arena - Moab, Utah - Throughout the week of Easter Jeep Safari here in Moab, Utah, Mother Nature has dictated much of what the crowds of Jeep enthusiasts have participated in. Of course, trail rides continue on the slick rock of the Moab Valley regardless of rain, sleet or snow. The Red Rock 4 Wheelers provide professional guidance in their trail ride activities, but here we are on Friday afternoon at the Spanish Trail Arean and the crowds are thick!

The early morning dumping of snow reached down to only a few hundred feet above the Spanish Trail Arena's elevation. The combination of rain and sleet turned the outside display area into a muddy mess, but that didn't keep the crowds from trekking to see what the off-road industry has to offer.

ORC staffers caught up with the very busy Mastercraft CEO - Robbie Pierce at the always crowded Mastercraft Seat booth inside the arena. Pierce said, " The Easter Jeep Safari is by far my favorite event throughout the entire year of shows. Jeep families come from all across the nation together to enjoy this weeklong event and to see all the families on the trail and here at the arena is incredible. I take this opportunity each year to get out on the trail and meet the people that use our Mastercraft Products. They provide tremendous feedback and we build our relationships with customers. There is nothing better than meeting a customer from 1999 using our seat and having them provide us with a six-year review while enjoying the beauty of the nation's most beautiful slick rock trails. The crowds have been huge and the Red Rock 4 Wheelers do a fantastic job at coordinating this event. Many thanks to Red Rock 4 Wheelers, Tony and Rhonda Eyman, for all their hard work to make this event happen."

We turned the corner and ran into our friends at Skyjacker Suspension. Skyjacker's Marketing Director - Lee McGuire commented, "It's been great braving the elements as it's all part of the adventure. The crowds have been good and its been really busy here at the show." McGuire gave us a big smile and a thumbs up as the entire Skyjacker crew was busy in the booth.

Across the arena, Powertank CEO - Steve Sasaki was in the middle of demonstrating the installation of their new product, Powertank quick deflator system, on the King of Off-Road - Walker Evan's just debuted Jeep. With the crowds standing close, Sasaki showed the installation process is only about 10 minutes on each wheel.

Powertank CEO - Steve Sasaki later told us, "This is a great event for the vendors. With the large crowds you can see that this event is healthy, which is a definite reflection for the growing off-road industry. The crowd is full of families and the atmosphere is exciting as it looks as everyone is having fun."

We ran into Desert Rat Truck Centers - Co Owner/Tim Furrier who was in town for the show. Furrier and his brother own six Desert Rat Truck Centers in the West that cater to the entire off-road industry. Furrier said, " Wow, this event is big and it's alot of fun. The crowds are awesome and everyone involved in the off-road industry is here in Moab. Desert Rat Truck Centers is growing within the industry as well and we look forward to being part of the Easter Jeep Safari in the future. This is a great show!"

Standing near to the Mastercraft Seats booth we found FOX Racing Shox Vice President - John Marking talking with industry insiders. Marking was in town for the event and joined the Mastercraft Trail Ride before making his way over to the show. We had a chance to go one-on-one with Marking. We asked him what was in new development in the off-road division of FOX Racing Shox. He commented, "Fox has some proven technology that has been used in other facets of FOX off-road. We will debuting these products soon to the off-road Jeep world. Currently, our proto-types are working well and we are excited to provide the Jeep Nation with advanced technology."

Marking has long been associated with winning traditions and for those that don't know, he is the defending 2004 SCORE International Class 1 Unlimited Buggy Champion winning this title with a decisive third place finish at the Baja 1000. Marking finished the race in 17 hours, 25 minutes, 47 seconds averaging 58.1 miles an hour over the entire 1017 mile race course down the Baja Peninsula.

We asked Marking, "How is it that you can come to the slick rock of Moab and go slow in a Jeep when you are used to racing at 130 miles an hour?"

Marking said, "Who said I go slow, I passed you right?" He laughed and said, "See you at the Baja 500."

The Easter Jeep Safari vendor show is wrapping up this afternoon as the storm continues to get closer and closer with threats of big deep snow in the mountain passes...Stay tuned for a complete wrap up of the 2005 Moab Easter Jeep Safari in the next few days!!