by Matt Konkle
Managing Editor
Moab, Utah—It is a little slice of heaven tucked into the southeastern part of Utah.
Moab, Utah.
And for over 2,000 miles, as well as through eight states, we’ve been thinking about that particular slice of heaven as we sat inside our GMC truck, hauling two of our company Jeeps on a 53-foot trailer.
There are fuel and food stops, plenty of stories and memories, and many laughs, but at some point, the journey has to end.
And like any good thing, the travel time quickly evaporates, and we suddenly find ourselves cruising south on I-191 in 85-degree heat with Moab just on the horizon.
Between all three of us, we’ve got nearly a quarter century covering the Easter Jeep Safari. However, none of us remember it being so hot this time of year. Like short sleeve shirt and shorts hot.
So we arrived late Friday afternoon in Moab for the 59th annual Easter Jeep Safari, but we quickly decided to consider Saturday as our first actual day in Moab.
And we planned for it to be pretty busy.
You know what we mean. You’ve been on vacation before, right? The first day is always the busiest.
That’s because the annual EJS isn’t a vacation for us. So, this year, we have our Video Production Manager and YouTube host, Rob Jarrell, along for the ride, our Photo Studio Manager and Lead Photographer, Doug Lockard, and myself, the guy who writes things.
EJS to us is 15-hour days on the trail with our customers, friends and industry professionals. Sometimes, we deal with a Jeep that breaks down. Sometimes, we tow people off the trail because, as fellow Jeepers, we never leave anyone behind.
We also bring along plenty of products to photograph for future catalogs and website landing pages because lifestyle images are way better than just laying something out on a table.
Additionally, the time during EJS in and around Moab allows us to test out all kinds of new stuff and provide real-world product feedback to designers and engineers.
Saturday morning into the early afternoon, we spent, like many other people just getting to Moab, plenty of time unpacking and organizing stuff, laying out parts, video equipment, and other electronics, doing a bit of grocery shopping, and then installing everything we need on both our vehicles.
For the 2025 EJS, we brought our 2024 Wrangler JL Unlimited Rubicon 4xe loaded with Quadratec, Lynx, Carnivore, Stealth, Lost Canyon and Mastertop products. We also installed our new 2.5-inch Quadratec ST2 Suspension Lift by Teraflex on the vehicle. Our other vehicle, a Gladiator is Jarrell's, and loaded with stuff from Rock Slide Engineering, ARB, EGR, TYRI Lighting, Warn, AWE, Bestop and Dirty Life.
Finally, with the product installation complete, we turned our attention to the hood and side decals we received from our friends at 5 O’Clock Garage. These perfectly mimicked the original Wrangler 4xe badging as well as factory Gladiator versions.
As the day drew to a close, we headed out for a late afternoon photo shoot on the iconic Fins and Things trail. Known for its slickrock and stunning views, we felt it provided the perfect backdrop to start shooting some photos and video while also testing out that Quadratec lift kit.
While not the toughest trail, Fins gave us a feel for the Quadratec lift kit, and the 4xe and Gladiator navigated the terrain with ease.
So we are definitely looking forward to tomorrow's Quadratec-sponsored customer appreciation ride on Metal Masher.
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