Images from our first day in Moab, Utah for the 58th annual Easter Jeep Safari.
by Matt Konkle
Managing Editor
MOAB, Utah — With plenty of new and popular products on our JTe custom truck and orange Gladiator JT, we spent our first full day in Moab, Utah gathering images for upcoming catalogs and website pages.
But first, we stopped by Outlaw Adventure Jeep Rentals to see its owner, and our good friend, Jeremy Rowan. We've been using Outlaw for years when we are in Moab and it is an excellent place to rent a Jeep if you are unable to bring yours to town.
We also got to see a beautiful Ford Script GPW that first came to life in April of 1942. Now owned by Ward Williams, this vehicle never found its way overseas during World War 2, and it spent most of its life in the Arizona/Colorado region so it acquired very little rust. In fact, it still carries its factory hood and grille, as well as authentic brass rivets on its nomenclature panels — not to mention that very cool Ford script on the rear tailgate panel.
From Outlaw, our first Moab excursion for the 58th annual Easter Jeep Safari led to Long Canyon Road, we we spent most of the day (and some of the night) using the amazing scenery as a backdrop for numerous product and lifestyle photography.
While we have plenty of spots on the East Coast to take images, as well as a studio, it is always nice to mix in some other backgrounds as well. Sure, Moab is great for off-road trail riding, and we'll do plenty of that as well, but we definitely wanted to take advantage of this photography opportunity as well.
So we brought along plenty of popular Res-Q recovery equipment, air compressors and tire deflators, and a few new Res-Q Teton series winches. On both vehicles, we installed new Carnivore and QRC bumpers, bolted on Stealth and Carnivore auxiliary lighting, and the Gladiator saw some Brute Strength Side Steps. Additionally, we placed our new Generation 2 Interior Stealth Light Bar inside the JTe to give everyone a peek at just how much better this version performs.
After several hours gathering shots, we took a few minutes and rolled over to nearby Dead Horse Point State Park where we heard the landscape is amazingly incredible.
And it did not disappoint.
The park is an immense area of canyons, desert woodlands and trails (walking and bike) that covers close to 5,400 acres of land about 30 minutes west of Moab.
It opened in 1959 and legend says it was once used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa. Cowboys would round up these horses, herd them across a narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30 yards wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs straight down on all sides, affording no escape for the horses.
Well, we didn't see any horses Saturday, but we did see plenty of stunningly beautiful views that were among the best we've ever seen in the Moab area.
Unfortunately, we couldn't give the entire place the time it deserved as daylight was faltering, so when you go, make sure to set aside most of the day to explore the whole park.
With the day now turning to dusk, we had a great chance to get some lighting imagery of those Carnivore and Stealth lights before exiting Long Canyon back where it intersects with Potash.
Sure, the day didn't include a whole trail-riding adventure, but those views in Long Canyon are definitely worth the trip whether you are taking product images, or just want to do some driving.
