Our lifestyle ambassador (Offroad Dave) has just returned from Easter Jeep Safari 2012 in Moab, Utah and brought plenty of great photos back from the trip. We’ve posted a full gallery on facebook as well as a number of wallpaper-sized versions on flickr, be sure to check them out and let us know what you think!

The artist rendering pictures of new Jeep Concepts Vehicle for 2012 Easter Jeep Safari out in Moab were just made available…

March 22, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – Jeep® and Mopar have teamed up once again to produce a selection of concept Jeep vehicles for the 46th annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah. The Jeep Mighty FC concept, Jeep J-12 concept and the Jeep Wrangler Apache are three of six new vehicles that will be shown to enthusiasts in Moab, March 31 – April 8. Look for more on all of these new vehicles later this month.

Original Source: http://www.media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do?id=12139&mid=2

I can't make out much from the photo but looks to be another beefy JK with a Warn Powerplant.

Looks like a Jeep Wrangler (JK) with the Nukizer front-end; which was super sexy!

A NEW Jeep Forward Control, this some some real promise could we potentially see a new Jeep Pickup or Jeep Delivery Van...?

When we think of Easter Jeep Safari we all tend to think about how cool the Jeeps are going to be. I think it’s worth mentioning how cool a lot of the people who attend EJS are while we are at it.

Last year I met up Bill Burke again.  Bill has owned BB4WA.com for 25 years now. This is addition to being the founding father of the International 4WD Trainers Association. Bill was also one of the Camel Trophy competitors in Africa in 1991.

Moses Ludel was at last years Easter jeep Safari, too.  He wrote the Jeep Owner’s Bible and has penned over 3,000 articles. He has the ability to communicate very detailed technical topics in a clear and concise way. Moses currently has a web magazine called 4WD Mechanix Magazine.

Walker Evans was also in attendance. He is a well known and gifted off-road racer. After winning the Baja 1000 five times in other specially built vehicles. Evans became the first driver in off-road racing history to win that grueling event overall in a truck!

Rick Russell has been around since dirt was invented.  (OK, not quite) He has owned Sidekick Off Road since 1988.  Rick has written many trail guide books and videos, starred on TV, and generally been heavily involved in the 4-wheeling community.

Mark Allen, head of Jeep’s design team since 1994 was there too. Mark is a wheeler and he “gets it”. Unfortunately, the cool concept Jeeps in Moab probably won’t go into production.  But hey, what a toy box he has to play in!

Most of the off-road magazines will have journalists there, too.  Have a favorite magazine or editor?  Chances are you good you’ll find them our in Moab.

And hey, if you aren’t interested in any of the legends mentioned—Tracy and I will be there to save the day! That’s clearly a joke, but we look forward to meeting all of you anyways!  ~ Dave Logan

The best thing about Moab is that there are so many activities to do.  There is not much night life, but there is everything else.

Obviously we come out to the Easter Jeep Safari for the wheeling, but there is also some nice whitewater rafting on Westwater Canyon, horseback riding at the Red Cliffs Lodge, hiking and mountain biking everywhere, self-guided rock art auto tours, sightseeing at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, dinner cruises and jet boat rides on the Colorado River, and more.

Once you get to town, go to the Visitor’s Center.  It’s located at the intersection of Hwy. 191 (Main Street) and Center Street.  They have brochures and people who can answer your questions.

Maybe we’ll see you there?

Look for Tracy and me in our Drive Offroad T-shirts.

She’ll probably be Twittering. I’ll be the “old guy” with her.  ~ Dave Logan

I’m looking forward to another great Easter Jeep Safari in Moab.  This is the 45^th year for this event.

Honestly, I can run the Moab trails anytime throughout the year, but what makes the event so much fun is seeing friends from all over the country that I rarely get to see otherwise and checking out all of the cool vehicles.  You can always bet that the vendors bring are going to bring out their best stuff, too.  This year there is a lot of hype about the six new “Moparized” Jeep® vehicles that will be out strutting their stuff.  You can check them out in one of our previous blog posts here.

The weather is usually “interesting”.  There is often snow on the mountains while it may be sunny in town…or it may rain…or snow flurries may appear—all within a few hours.

Chrysler Communications confirmed to us that Jeep will be making their annual new product announcements at 12:15PM on Wednesday, April 20th. and BF Goodrich, Tread Lightly!, and the United 4WD Associations will be announcing their 2011 Outstanding Trails.

Will you be out there?  If not, you can hear all about it on our blog.  ~ Dave Logan

Our friends over at “We Be Jeepin’ Moab” went out on the Metal Masher Trail this weekend, which is located about 8 miles NE of Moab.The trail itself is not that difficult, but that being said there is a helluva obstacle called The Widow Maker which is where a lot of the fun happens. The Widow Maker is a 6-foot nearly vertical climb with a sandy bottom. Not too bad for long wheel-based vehicles, but rear tippy for the shorter wheelbases. By the looks of the pictures Melissa sent us, she and her group had an amazing time while conquering The Widow Maker. Keep in mind that several of these gals and guys will be your trail leaders on the 2011 Easter Jeep Safari. I plan on cross-posting some of their blog posts to ours in the next 2 weeks, so you can get to know these lovely folks. After all, many of us are trusting them to lead us on some pretty rocky roads (and that is putting it lightly).

So anyhow, read their story and check out more pics over on their blog, webejeepinmoab.com. Take a look around while you are there. They have tons of info that you trail riders going to Moab might be interested in. Thank me later

Courtesy of We Be Jeepin’: 

Difficulty Rating:  Two (2) Moderate
(based on my personal rating scale on the Trails Page)

Click here for a full sized printable map