Canyonlands 2001

Our first Canyonlands Adventure began bright and early on Friday, October 19 as thirty participants headed towards Moab, Utah for a fun-filled off-roading adventure. Adventureres arrived at the Big Horn Lodge by late afternoon.

After a get-together dinner at Eddie McStiff's, our Moab guide, Dan "Mickey Mouse" Mick gave us a review of what we could expect on the third class trail called "Poison Spider Mesa".

We met at the Moab Diner at 7:00am to sign the necessary release forms and have a hearty breakfast. "Wheels Up!" at 8:30. Dan gave us a brief history lesson on Moab and the Canyonlands. Our first stop on Potash Road was the view of the Petroglyphs.

On the road, Mickey Mouse was in the lead with Rocky & Bullwinkle second in command (Rocky Huges - GM of Land Rover Albuquerque and friend Dick Merenda). Master T (John Lemken, Master Technician) brought up the rear. A convoy of 15 various Rovers -- Range Rover, Discovery, Defender 90 -- and Dan's Jeep (he was wearing Land Rover gear).

After negotiating the switchbacks up to the Mesa we all enrolled in "Slickrock 101" as Dan called it. The lesson consited of crawling up the side of a huge limestone formation, going across the top and coming straight down the other side. Dan made it look easy but only a few brave participants passed this test. Rocky and Bullwinkle didn't waste any time taking the Range Rover over and across. Bullwinkle stayed on top to "spot" other vehicles as they positioned themselves for the trip down. Window Wagon, Sable, Rovin4, Roadside Rob, Wild Rice and Shadow all got an "A" and passed Slickrock 101.

The 17th Annual Fat Tire Festival was going on when we were there and we overheard one cyclist telling his friends "quick! hand me the camera, my wife wants one of these "Rovers" and she'll never believe me, I need to take a picture of this!".

As we approached the "Wedgy" we got a great view of the LaSal Mountains. The Wedgy is a V-shaped groove that can be traversed several different ways, the trick here is finding the right "line". Participants took the time to have a look at the Wedgy before attempting the crossing. Mickey Mouse went over some of the ideal wheel placements in order to get "on top" of the groove. Only a few tried the very technical Wedgy, especially after watching Rover attempting to get wheel placement and barely missing body damage twice! Rovin4 took the easy side-tilt route and Roadside Rob in his Defender 90 "caught air" at the end.

We went through the "Whoopti-dos", a series of rocky-rolly-rolly-rocky trails leading to "High Speed Mesa" where we made up some lost time on our way to lunch. What a view! We had a gorgeous view of Moab from the top of the mesa and many took advantage of the photo opportunity.

The Land Rover Centre is a four-wheel drive headquarters, with sport utility experts on staff and a wide array of four-wheel drive related accessories. Twenty one on staff including a team of five professional sales guides and six highly trained  Land Rover technicians.

Many of our employees are already 4WD enthusiasts themselves, which is a natural advantage when working in a 4WD dealership. Our expert sport utility technicians will be working alongside a factory-trained Land Rover specialist.

In addition, all employees in our Centre have been developed as a team. We participated in a week-long training and cross-training session that emphasized product knowledge, teamwork and customer service. Working together, the staff are focused on exceeding all customer expectations.

Sport utilities have capabilities that far exceed those of standard passenger vehicles, and the staff at a Land Rover Centre know and understand these capabilities. In essence, Land Rover Centre customers will be shopping at a specialty store and learning from experts what products will best fit their needs.   Land Rover Centres offer the full line-up of premium Land Rover vehicles, including the sporty Range Rover 4.6 HSE, the benchmark Range Rover 4.0 SE and the value-laden Land Rover Discovery LE and LSE.

Outdoor equipment decorates the Centre walls, encouraging customers to use their Land Rovers to take them hunting, fishing, skiing, biking or hiking. A Land Rover Centre is unlike any other dealership you've experienced.

A multi-media Adventure Centre in the showroom features videos and photo-CD’s of Land Rovers in action around the world. The Accessories Display showcases a selection of optional equipment designed to assist owners as they take their Land Rovers into the backwoods for recreational use. Roof racks, ski racks and bike racks are all available, as are auxiliary lights, brush bars and lamp guards. The Centres also offer a range of boots, clothing and other adventure wear as part of a Land Rover Gear line of merchandise.

People & Presentation | Demonstration Track | Vehicle Service