We needed a trip like this. After a rough stretch this year, my wife and I loaded up for a long weekend chasing red rock and Rocky Mountain views, and it turned into one of the better trips we’ve taken in a while.
The reason for the trip was her new Bronco Sport in Robin’s Egg Blue, sharp color, and buying it got her an invite to the Bronco Off-Roadeo Adventure Experience out of Moab. We brought my truck along for the drive to save the miles on her Sport, since the Off-Roadeo provides the vehicles for the actual off-roading anyway.
The Drive Out
We made the long haul out west over a couple of days, stopping in Frisco, Colorado for the night. Once we checked in, we headed into Breckenridge for pizza at Downstairs at Erics, then swung by a Outer Range Brewing to stock up some IPAs before heading back to the hotel. Small-town Colorado stops like these have become part of the ritual on any western trip.
Canyonlands in the Fog
We pushed toward Moab the next morning with a detour into Canyonlands National Park. It was a rainy, foggy day, so the views weren’t the postcard version, but the fog rolling over the canyons gave the whole place an almost otherworldly feel. We met a few other travelers doing the same detour and hit the highlights despite the clouds sitting right on top of us.
Dinner that night was in Moab, and we checked into Red Cliffs Lodge, right on the Colorado River and also the home base for the Off-Roadeo itself.
Is the Bronco Off-Roadeo Worth It?
Short answer: yes. I’ve done a fair amount of off-roading over the years, mostly fire trails and getting into remote camping spots, but it had been a while since I’d gotten out and actually used those skills. Watching my wife pick them up for the first time was half the fun.
Because of some unusual rainfall that week, we got genuine muddy trail conditions instead of the dry, dusty version. Our instructor took us out to a hidden arch and a viewpoint looking out over Arches National Park from several miles away, better views than we expected from a half-day course.
If you own a Bronco and get the invite, take it. And even if you don’t own one, the non-owner version of the experience is worth signing up for on its own.
The Drive Back
We left before dawn to get ahead of the weather, taking the scenic stretch out of Red Cliffs Lodge before connecting back to the interstate. It’s a beautiful, mostly empty road, right up until the weather turned on us again, we hit real blizzard conditions coming over the pass, and made it through slow and steady. Long as the drive was, reliving the Off-Roadeo and the fog over Canyonlands made the miles go by faster than expected.
Gear Notes
Photos this trip came from a mix of phone cameras and a Ricoh GR IIIx. Internet on the road came from a Starlink Mini, still one of the best pieces of gear I’ve added to any trip like this. Brought a GoPro and a drone along too but never found the window to use either, next time.
Final Thought
I’ve always considered myself part of the overlanding crowd more than the off-roading crowd, but this trip blurred that line a little, and in a good way. Sometimes getting outside means a trailhead, sometimes it means letting someone else’s course push your rusty skills back into shape. Either way, we came home with that “everything’s going to be fine” feeling we’d been chasing for a while.
