Renting ATVs in Moab, Utah

Jul 3, 2011 Sun0

Tucker wanted to go white water rafting in Santa Fe but decided to wait until we got to Moab, UT. However the rapids on the Colorado River looked a little tame to him so we opted not to raft. We had planned before the trip to rent a jeep and finish the trail to Chicken Corners that we failed to finish with Papaw in 2003. We did that and had a blast.

Pretty much anything can be rented in Moab and somehow the idea of renting ATVs came up. I wanted to rent a dirt bike for me but got out voted as Laurie said if she could not go she would go downtown shopping. So we rented 2 ATVs that each seated two people. I figured that was cheaper than turning Laurie loose downtown. We got the ATVs for 24 hours and they came with a trailer so we could take them where we wanted. The business recommended some places to ride.

We had a blast. The first place was Onion Creek with 22 stream crossings and scenery that was breath taking. The boys took turns driving theirs and Laurie let me pilot ours. We rode about 10 miles and then turned around because the trail was too rough, too remote and I was wondering what I would do if we had mechanical problems. Five minutes later the boys had fuel problems with their ATV and we thought we might get stranded. However I was able to get it half running and some local folks came along in a 4 wheel Toyota at the same time and gave Laurie a ride back to the truck so I could limp the ATV back to the trailer.

I took off down the canyon. The ATV would accelerate almost to full throttle and then cut out, slow down and almost stop. But it would catch and take off again. I wanted to get it up on the canyon top, down the side of the canyon and across the 22 stream crossings before it quit so I ran it wide open. A Can Am 500 ATV is amazingly stable sliding around a gravel curve sideways and crossing streams at 50 MPH.

It finally started running ok but we took it back to the rental place and they replaced it with a Can Am 650 that was wicked and added 4 hours to our 24 hour rental. If you are ever in Moab, UT and want to rent something, check out Moab Tour Company. They treated us very fairly. I also added a tow strap to our gear so we could tow one ATV with the other if we had more mechanical problems.

We returned to the camper for dinner and then took an evening ride to Gemini Bridges that lasted until dark and another ride the next day that also had breath taking scenery. We probably rode 100 miles in total. I have to admit it was a lot of fun especially the ride until after dark around the side of a butte. Both boys had a great time and are ready to try it again.

It was also interesting in that there was not a lot of paper work involved for the potential risk. After the credit card swipe we were on the road with a trailer and two ATVs in less than 10 minutes. We made one wrong turn on a trail and were riding up and down bald sandstone like you see on TV until we came to a very steep slope that we would have to go around sideways and then decided we should consult our maps. We stayed out of trouble and within our abilities but it would have been easy to get into trouble.

Anyway, Cousin Judy in Nevada has friends, Dave and Barbara who have two ATVs so the boys might be interested in visiting Cousin Judy again next year.

Jul 3, 2011 Sun 11:35:14 AM MDT Altitude: 5034 ft Camera: Canon PowerShot S95Display on Google Map
Laurie, Bradley Taylor, Questie
Jul 2, 2011 Sat 7:07:40 PM MDT Altitude: 4900 ft Camera: Canon PowerShot S95Display on Google Map
An evening ride to Gemini Bridges.
Tucker Riley, Bradley Taylor, Laurie
Cousin Judy and Friends in Smith Valley, Navada




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