While we have only been roaming in STEV, our EarthRoamer, for a little more than 4 1/2 years, EarthRoamer as a company has been around for 20 years and hosted a 20th Anniversary Rally at Area BFE just outside Moab, Utah in September. This is the second annual EarthRoamer Rally we have attended and is a fun few days of classes, drives, entertainment and camaraderie with fellow EarthRoamer owners. In 20 years, there have only been about 200 EarthRoamers built (STEV is #24) and there were about 40 Roamers that joined this year's rally.
 |
| Shonah and Todd chatting with other owners while Chip relaxes in one of our chairs. |
 |
| Todd (seated) and Shonah chatting with EarthRoamer President Tyler Tatro (in red). |
 |
| Shonah, Chip and Todd enjoying stories around the campfire. |
 |
| The group assembled around the campfire at sunset. |
 |
| A view of the Colorado River from Dead Horse Point State Park, near Moab, Utah. |
One of the highlights of the Rally was the option to participate in a group drive of the Shafer Trail in nearby Canyonlands National Park. The road was originally a cattle trail built by John Sog Shafer in 1917. Later in the 1940s and 1950s, it was constructed into a useable road for trucks hauling uranium ore from the benches below.
 |
| Shafer
Trail winds its way up (or down) a 1500 foot sheer-walled mesa cliff using a
path with multiple switchbacks and hairpin turns. |
 |
The 18
mile route is not recommended for sissies. Described as extremely challenging,
ego crushing and heart stopping, this is the route where Thelma and Louise
drove their car off the cliff edge. |
 |
| A photo of STEV navigating the Shafer Trail taken by one of the other EarthRoamer owners on the group drive with us. |
 |
| We stopped for lunch at one of the few spots along the route that was wide enough for parking... and long enough for a group of EarthRoamers. |
 |
| Chip and Shonah enjoying the view of the Colorado River from our lunch spot on the Shafer Trail |
 |
| STEV navigating the dirt and slick rock near the end of the Shafer Trail. |
 |
| Todd, Chip and Shonah posing on the canyon edge. |
