Had the chance to get out on the rental ATV’s and explore this weekend so I took it. The weather was questionable so we prepared for the worse… kind of. The plan was to avoid the ominous rain clouds that were scattered throughout the region which proved to be a bit more challenging than anticipated. Fortunately, on a previous adventure, my older brother had devised this awesome tarp roof and (in the spirit of preparedness) had brought it along. You can imagine our pride as we drove the hills in this sweet little set-up:

True, it’s not much to look at, but it worked great. Not only did it keep the rain out, but it seemed to have a sort of green-house effect that kept us quite warm, on an unusually cold day. The more we used it, the more we liked it. During the rainy seasons (If you can call it that) in Southern Utah the weather can fluctuate dramatically in minutes so this little tarp served as a protector against rain AND a canopy for shade.

I have a good friend that is constantly telling me to “Dare to be dumb” in reference to creativity… I think I’m starting to understand. Obviously no plans to mass market this little contraption, but we are defiantly going to add this to our preparedness list.

Recreational riding doesn’t have to be technical. There are plenty of places to ride ATV’s in Southern Utah that will get you out into the hills and back without any threat of getting lost. However, my last trip down into Arizona reminded of the importance of a good map. The Arizona Strip is still considered to be relatively undiscovered. Ranchers are responsible for most of the roads that exist out there today and having a good map is crucial to navigation. Growing up all our lives in Southern Utah, we still find ourselves checking the map to make sure we know where we are.