some Moab stuff for you

Some happenings in and around lovely Moab, ye lovely neighbor to the west. Easy to get there, and spring is the best time to visit. Well, fall's not bad either. Check it out:

(shamelessly lifted from The Official Moab, Utah, 2009 Calendar of Events)

March 9, 2009

Banff Mountain Film Festival
The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour features the year's best films on mountain adventure and culture. 7:00 p.m. in the Grand County High School Auditorium (608 South 400 East). Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Doors open at 6:15. Gear Raffle during Intermission. All proceeds benefit Utah Open Lands and stewardship at Castleton Tower. Ticket Outlets: Back of Beyond Books - Canyon Voyages - Pagan Mountaineering - Poison Spider Bikes. For more information email dderley@frontiernet.net or call 435-259-4859.

The tour heads to Durango on March 22.

[note: you can also enter a contest to win a trip to Nepal (heck yeah!) on the website: Banff Mountain Festival World Tour.]

March 14-16, 2009

Skinny Tire Festival
The three rides of the Skinny Tire Festival highlight Moab’s different road riding opportunities. The first day follows the mighty Colorado River corridor downstream passing by ancient puebloans petroglyphs. The next two days leave the valley and climb the beautiful canyon roads into red rock country to Dead Horse Point State Park and through Arches National Park. Channel the energy of riding through this grandeur of Moab’s canyon country by putting purpose behind your cycling. This event raises funds for cancer survivorship programs. For more information contact 435-259-2698 or visit www.SkinnyTireEvents.com.

March 28-29, 2009

For you runner nuts out there:

24 hours of Utah Team Relay and Solo Challenge – Experience the beautiful desert landscape of Moab, Utah while testing your own personal limits. This years race will be run on the beautiful Monitor and Merrimac trail 16 miles north of Moab. Racers will run 6 mile laps with approximately 430’ of climbing per loop. For more information visit our website at 24HourstheRun.com, or call 303-249-1112.

Coming up in early April is the much-loathed (okay, I'm editorializing here) Easter Jeep Tour. If you're really into running Jeeps with crazy monster huge tires all over the beautiful Moab area, well then, by all means, this is your thing. Or you could just go and throw eggs. Whatev. See here for info on how to further ruin the environment. Um, I mean, run a huge Jeep all over Moab and then drink beer. Not that I'm knocking beer. Beer: good. Big monster trucks in Moab: bad. Just my super humble thoughts, here.