Offroadin’ with a Moab Cowboy

While in Moab, we were so excited to give our legs a little break from all of the hiking and try an adventure of a different kind.  Moab Cowboy Country Offroad Adventures invited us to join in on one of their off-road tours on one of their custom built UTV’s, and we were thrilled.  On their website they say “it will take your breath away,” and I completely agree.  It’s an adventure like none other, and one of the highlights of our entire trip.

There are plenty of different companies to choose from in Moab for a tour, but none with the same care and dedication to service as Moab Cowboy.  Above, is the Moab Cowboy, Kent, owner of the company, and in my opinion, local legend.  He was the local sheriff deputy, started the search and rescue in Moab, and speaks fluent Navajo!  He is a true cowboy.

We were lucky enough to go on the Hell’s Revenge sunset tour led by Kent’s son, Josh.  He was awesome – completely enthusiastic about his job, very sincere (always wanted to make sure that we were comfortable and having a great time), and told some really amazing stories to keep us entertained throughout our almost 3 hour tour.

 

Within no time we were prepped and on our way.  Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of the first climb, the devils backbone, because fear took over.  But let me say this, the name is very fitting.  Josh says that it breaks you in for the whole experience, and I agree, it definitely gets the job done.

The tour takes you throughout the slick rock area behind the town of Moab, up and down steep climbs (as steep as 75°) and through different types of terrain.  I was a little nervous about this since I am afraid of heights, but I truly never felt anything but safe the entire time.  Between Josh’s great driving and the amazing handling of the utv, there was nothing for me to worry about.

You make several stops throughout the tour so that your guide can better explain the land, or point out things that you might miss if just driving through, like dinosaur tracks!  Yes, real dinosaur tracks still in the rock!  This came as such a surprise to us both, and was so awesome.

After driving for what only felt like 20 minutes (times flies when you’re having fun), we were ready to stop and watch sunset.  Josh offered to let us all spend some quiet time alone if we wanted, but we all wanted to keep hearing the stories that he had to share – amazing stories about his family, his cowboy father, the family ranch, and the Old West.  Josh made the tour unforgettable, we are still talking about it.

After the last sips of sunlight, we got back on our utv’s and started heading back towards town.  Somehow even though we started on devil’s backbone, I was thinking we would take a different route back…wrong.  For those of you wondering, the devil’s backbone is equally terrifying in the dark.

After making it back down the slick rock, we made a stop so that Josh could point out different constellations.  The stars in Moab are breathtaking – they seem so close to you and so bright!  It was the perfect way to end our tour.

As we were leaving, we asked Josh for a recommendation to grab a beer, and he suggested the Moab Brewery just up the road.  We thanked him many more times, and then we were on our way.

We stopped in and grabbed a quick beer to toast to our expedition.  The brewery is very cute, has tons of character, and really fabulous beer for just a few bucks.

If you only have a short time in Moab, without a doubt, go on a tour with Moab Cowboy.  They are so much better than any other gig in town (most other places just play a recording for you to listen to while they drive).  We are still telling everyone all the fabulous stories we heard, and that they all have to go out to Utah to go on a tour.  This was definitely an experience that we will never forget.

~

Although the Moab Cowboy Country Offroad Adventure gifted us the tour, no financial compensation was received.  All opinions expressed and shared here are my own, and an honest account of our experience.