By Jon Crowley
One of the best ways to meet other off-roaders and get out and explore in your OHV is to find a club. After moving to Hurricane, Utah, I joined a the Tri-State ATV Club Hurricane Facebook Group. One day while scrolling through Facebook, I saw that they were holding a Poker Run in Warner Valley. I had nothing in particular to do that day, so I joined the club online. Then I hoped in my Can-Am Maverick R and made my way to checkpoint 1 that morning.
If you’ve never done an off-road Poker Run before, it is pretty simple. You can buy hand(s) at the start, then make your ways to five different stops where you pull a card. Best poker hand typically wins – in this case, a custom AR-15 or $1000. The route was a bit longer than I expected so I was glad I topped off on fuel with my thirsty Maverick R. I was not able to download the GPX route so I depended on the course marking laid out by club volunteers which turned out to be more than adequate.
Checkpoint #2
Checkpoint #3
Checkpoint #4
At checkpoint #4, I talked with the volunteers there and noted we were right next to the bottom of the Honey Moon Trail. The normal route had us traveling the rest of the way back on a graded road to the equestrian center. I decided to take the road-less-traveled and went up the Honeymoon Trail instead and back through Hurricane before going back to the equestrian center and the last checkpoint.
Back at the equestrian center, I had a pair of 7’s and was hoping I could pull in a three-of-a-kind or two pairs. Nope, no luck. Turns out it wouldn’t have mattered anyways because the winner had. Full House!!
Tri-State ATV Club Raffle and checkpoint #5
There were several food trucks and Maxxis Tires even had a booth setup at the equestrian center. Overall it was a fun day, even without winning anything. I got to explore a few new trails and go to meet some new friends. And I wasn’t on the couch watching TV. Win-Win!
Website: Tri-State ATV Club Hurricane
