When my son and daughter-in-law invited me along on their road trip out West last summer, I jumped at the chance. I like road trips, and visiting states like South Dakota, Utah, Idaho and Montana sounded fantastic. We planned to take my daughter-in-law Chelsea’s Jeep so that she could do some trails. It sounded fun! A chance to be immersed in the Jeep lifestyle — a whole subculture previously unknown to me.
Ducks
Sure, I had noticed ducks on the dashboards of Jeeps before, but didn’t give it much thought. I certainly did not know about “ducking” until Chelsea filled me in.
When you see another Jeep, you leave a duck on their driver’s side door handle. Most of them identify the Jeep they came from on the bottom in some way. She showed me the stash of rubber ducks she’d dressed in hats and marked with the Maniac signature of her Jeep on the bottom. Cute!
Then she shared the story behind where she acquired each of the ducks adorning her dashboard. All so different and fun. She gained three ducks on our trip and ducked about five other Jeeps. As you can see, I enjoyed including the ducks in my photos as we drove across the country.
The Jeep Lifestyle
Jeep enthusiasts really love their Jeeps. Before Chelsea would let me behind the wheel, she insisted I learn the signature wave Jeep owners do whenever they pass an approaching Jeep. I tried to remember, but I’m afraid I came off as the rube I am; my waves were last-minute and a little too eager. Imposter syndrome!
My daughter-in-law also attends Jeep meets. I’m not sure what they do at those; she hasn’t invited me along, haha. But what she did include me in was the elaborate dashboard screen of Jeep trail data with more details than I could wrap my mind around. There is so much more to Jeeps than I realized.
Trail Descriptions
As part of our trip, she planned to do some Jeep trails in Utah, Idaho and Montana to earn badges — real metal badges that she could adhere to her Jeep. I had no idea that such a thing existed. She described the different levels of trails and badges she could earn. Many of these trails sounded dangerous. A quick look on my phone was enough to scare the crap out of me. Our first stop was Moab and I saw a lot of scary words in this description:
I most definitely did NOT want to “push it to the limits” on the steep descents, slickrock and tight switchbacks. ‘The Limits’ seemed a little too close for comfort.
My First Jeep Trail
Those of you who follow my blog may consider me adventurous. I am that, yes. But I am NOT a daredevil, so my great Jeep adventure with my son and daughter-in-law was likely my first and last.
There we were, out in the desert canyons of Moab, Utah. It was absolutely beautiful, but we were about to experience a different Moab than many other trail riders would: it rained! Actually, it stormed. All day!
What were the odds that our two days in the Moab desert were starting to look like a washout? The desert soil and rock is not equipped to soak in the deluge of rain we encountered. Chelsea was disappointed to miss out on the trails, but we found a beautiful winding road through Canyonlands National Park that was good enough for me.
The scenery was breathtaking, and Chelsea is an excellent driver. She’s also clever. We apparently were driving on one of the trails; she just didn’t tell ME. I was nervous enough being on these cliffside roads and slickrock descents, as described on my phone.
Once it stopped raining, Chelsea found a place to park and we all got out of the jeep to stretch our legs and enjoy the vast solitude and serenity of the Canyonlands.
The sun came out and I was thrilled that Chelsea would have a chance to go do some trails — without me. I thanked her for the experience, but I did not need the adrenaline rush of bracing myself on dangerous terrain again. Once was enough for me.
We went into Moab and had lunch, then she and the guys went back out to explore the trails on 2-wheels and 4-wheels while I happily walked into town on my own two feet.
Are you a Jeep enthusiast or off-roader? Or are you more like me: content to explore on foot?
Browsing The Atlas 
we loved Moab too, but let a guide drive us through a sunset tour. Did you see the Devil’s Bowl? We were told people ship their Jeeps in from around the world to take that challenge. Can’t wait to hear about the rest of the trip. Sue
Moab was beautiful! They ship their jeeps in?? That’s incredible!
I love getting into remote areas but it has always been on foot. 😁 One place that I visited regularly in the Sierra Nevada Mountains however was the Rubicon River which was home to the Jeepers Jamboree, one of the most famous jeeper events. Rubicon Jeeps take their name from it. Friends of mine who grew up in Diamond Springs where I grew up, Mike Arnold, ran the event for many years. His wife Sheri was a classmate of mine. Mike was in my brother’s class. Chelsea will likely know all about the event.
Hi Curt – I’m sure she has! She has so many fun hobbies and get immersed in them. I feel very fortunate to get to share in my kids’ interests, and feel even more fortunate when they invite me to experience things with them. 🙂
Ugh, by foot please. Though I understand that I’d only ever see a tiny example of that vast wilderness. Your country has vast tracts of awesome wilderness but, as ever, I’m most content to see it through the eyes of others.
Yes, the varying landscapes in the U.S. are incredible! But I never want to be too close to the edge. 😉