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Show s . -'V 1 I - , , ,.. ,. k- i . '.s--j - :'i . i .-V;-. ,. y. , 1 .,J-' '-Lf " : v;;'-;S3 " -.-. . - ; . - .. . - - - ' : -v - Between Moab and the lower slopes of the La Sal Mountains lie thousands of acres of Navajo Sandstone "petrified dunes." The top Jof a high sandstone dune offers out-of-state visitors a spectacular pan- Southeastern Utah's "Petrified Dunes" Offer y )ff-Road Vehicle Enthusiasts New Challenge - 5y FRAN BARNES new sport is gaining llarity these days, but sport is one that can be pursued to any ex-in ex-in southeastern Utah a few adjacents areas irizona and Colorado. rll over the country, es-ally es-ally in the western es, a new breed of off--road vehicle . enthus-s, enthus-s, sometimess called ggitas,'' are perpetual-seeking perpetual-seeking new challenges their "sand buggies" "dune buggies." 'hese agile little cars generally made from down Volkswagen chas. with molded fiberglas ies, oversized tires and . bars added. They are a. used .for racing, eith-cross eith-cross - country or on sed circuit dirt tracks h built-in hazards. One the most famous cross-ntry cross-ntry courses runs the i length of rugged Baja ifornia. Hill Climbing Other buggy fans favjr hill-climbing, especially "hills" which are the soft, steep, downward slopes cf immense sand dunes. St ill others prefer the family fun of using their buggies to explore back - country trails that heretofore only-jeeps only-jeeps cr trail cycles dared travel. Buggy owners in southeastern south-eastern Utah soon discover discov-er still another challenge to their vehicles and driving driv-ing skills, that of buggyin.? on th e"petrified sand dunes" dun-es" that abound here. As the" word - spreads, every season sees more and more out - of - state buggy drvers showing up in southeastern Utah to try their hands at this exciting excit-ing sport. What are "petrified sand dunes"? They are just that. Much of southeastern Utah, and parts of the adjoining ad-joining states, are exposed sandstone of the immense Colorado Tlateuu. Some of this sandstone was once tremendous rolling sand dunes. These dunes were later covered by water-borne water-borne sediments, then submerged sub-merged under shallow seas, and after millions of years were "petrified," or turned turn-ed to stone: . Subsequent geological eras raised and exposed these "petrified dunes." One such layer of stone dunes is called Navajo Sandstone. Exposed layers of Navajo sandstone are abundant in southeastern Utah's canyonlands country, coun-try, and are characterized by their rolling, dune-like surfaces. Challenge These surfaces present a unique challenge to modern mod-ern dune buggies, one which they are well designed design-ed accept. Buggies are ail built with low profiles, which makes them diffi cult to turn over, and they generally spurt fat. oversized oversi-zed tires. Their VV suspensions sus-pensions allow tbcm to "walk" easily . over very rough terrain, and .the weight of their rear-mounted engines provide traction trac-tion for. Vheir rear wheels. All of these character is. tics, plus a fj.ecial type of driving .skill, are -needed when it conies to climbing petrified sand dunes. Buggy Bug-gy drvers who are used lo flying at high speeds over ordinary sand dunes, soon find they need a different approach for petrified dunes. du-nes. Petrified dune3 are rough, despite their rounded round-ed appearance. Traction is excellent on the eroded sandstone, but the surface is generally uneven, pot-holed pot-holed and full of small crevasses. These, together with the sheer dropoffs that are common, create hazards that only slow, ! - . ... :. x '"W - " - A '- v '," v -- '. Dune buqsy fans meet trail cyclists in a petrified dunes area hiqh above the Colorado River. Both cyclists and "bugsbtas" were attracted to the area by an article orama, with the I. a Sals to the east, Moab Valley to the south' and west, Arches National Monument to the north, -and more ' rolling dunes in all directions. mJ. ', '; '. on the dunes which appeared in " Dune Buggies and Hot VWs" magazine. careful driving can avoid. The soft-sand -driver who tries to race up and down petrified dunes will . soon find himself in serious trouble. Specially Engineered Visiting owners of standard stan-dard buggies also find that many local buggy' , fans have specially engineered their vehicles for the purpose pur-pose of climbing the rock that prevails in southeastern southeas-tern Utah. They .'use ' VW bus rear axels and wheels to gear down their buggies. bug-gies. This lowers' top speeds, but produces vehicles ve-hicles that will climb like scared mountain, goats.., Is buggying on petrified dimes worth i.ll the trouble? trou-ble? Well, all tha.t.can be said is that those who pursue pur-sue this sport are just as enthusiastic as fishermen over fishing, or golfers over ov-er golf. But this southeastern Utah sport is obviously unique. Where else on this continent could you drive for mile after mile over immense rolling waves of sulid rock, skirting deep potholes, edging- along sheer drops and clinging flylike to slopes so steep that even walking them would be difficult? Other types of off-the-road vehicles can also travel tra-vel petrified dunes, but dune buggies seem to be the best suited for the sport. Low geared trail cycles can romp the stone dunes, but the going is rougher. Buggies give an easy rido and can carry up to four. Jeeps of all kinds can go most places ' buggies go but their higher profiles cause easier tipping, and their stiff suspensions give neck - snappng rides. Bug. gies are low and wide and lightweight, and their in, dependent suspensions are ideal . for broken terrain. Ready to try your buggy or cycle or ojeep on a- set of petrified dunes? Well, there are plenty of them in southeastern Utah, but most are not near towns, campgrounds or even roads. There are some easy to reach from Moab, however. how-ever. Potash Road For a starter, drive southwest from Moab on Utah 279, locally known as the "Potash road." In about six miles, you- will come to an exhibit of dinosaur di-nosaur foot tracks. Take the jeep trail that begins there and soon you will find yourself in a huge maze of Navajo sarw:lstol)9 dunes. As a bonus, the area is quite scenic. Another good stretch of petrified dunes can be reached via the Sand Flats road out of Moab. Local inquiry will direct you t6 this graded dirt road which climbs the huge sloping tableland that lies between Moab and the high LaSal mountains. Within three or four miles of Moab, Navajo Nava-jo sandstone is abundant, and ' the Bureau of Land Management has opened a trail there especially for trail- cycles, not far from some of the best buggying dunes. This cycle trail climbs over miles of petrified petri-fied dunes and reaches several scenic viewpoints and natural arches and bridges. But whatever your choice of vehicle, have a go at climbing petrified sand dunes. It's a novel and challenging sport, and one that does not damage fragile fra-gile desert vegetation or create erosion - promoting tire tracks. |
