Tim Harty, The Business Times

People can now pick up or drop off a U-Haul truck at Adrenaline Driven Adventure Company, 750 1/4 Horizon Drive in Grand Junction. That service was made available through an arrangement with U-Haul earlier this year.

Similarly, this year Adrenaline Driven Adventure owners Kelli and Lewis Baker added snowmobiles for rental and radio-control cars that can be rented, especially for events like kids parties.

But to be clear, those new offerings are ultimately meant to draw attention to a business that remains centered on adventure tours and rentals (predominantly side-by-sides and dirt bikes for off-road; Slingshots and wine carts for on-road).

“The reason why we did U-Haul,” Lewis Baker said, “is because it’s easy to be able to draw in more people that already rent things, right? They already have that mindset that they rent things anyways. 

“So, we rent things that are fun. They’re not necessarily renting fun at the time (with a U-Haul truck), but we can at least get them in the door to be able to say, ‘Hey, we’re here.’ And it might not have been somebody that necessarily was looking for off-roading, and they’ve never even done off-roading before, and now they’re standing in an off-road shop. 

“So, I thought it was a really good window to have an opportunity to be able to say, ‘Hey, man, look how cool this is. Isn’t this awesome?’ If you have never done this before, maybe you don’t like off-roading, but you could get in a Slingshot and go over the monument or go over the mesa and see the area, right? That’s what we’re all about here, man.”

Baker added there’s no better place than Grand Junction to experience variety of terrain.

“We have the nation’s biggest open play area in America with 550,000 acres right from our front door,” he said. “We have five different terrains all within 45 minutes of here. So, you can do so many different things and so many different obstacles, you know, from sand to actual adobe dirt to red clay to redrock rock crawling to that black, super-up-into-the-mountains dirt where you’re up in the middle of the mountains in the middle of nowhere on top of the mesa or up on the Uncompahgre, where you’re getting away from everyone.

Baker said that variety is what separates it from another nearby, outdoor mecca, Moab, UT.

“Moab, you get one terrain. You get red rock and sand, that’s it,” he said. “When you come here, you can point your finger, spin a circle and ride anywhere you want to go. So, it really makes us different from everybody else.”

In addition to guiding tours and the rentals, Adrenaline Driven Adventures has a full-service shop.

“So, you can get your UTV, dirt bike or your Slingshot, all serviced here,” Baker said. “We specialize in tires, accessories, bolt-on parts, light bars, S&B particle separators, oil changes, air filters. Like I said, full service.”

PART OF THE ADVENTURE IS FINDING THEM

Adrenaline Driven Adventure Company is located at 750 1/4 Horizon Drive, which sounds easy enough to find, but it’s a little tricky.

It helps to know the store sits deeper on its lot, so it’s not right by the road. If you’re going toward Grand Junction Regional Airport, it’s the first business on the right when you pass the Interstate 70 overpass. If you reach the Wendy’s restaurant, 750 1/2 Horizon Drive, you just missed them.

To find out more about Adrenaline Driven Adventures, including its rates for tours and rentals, visit its website, www.adacgj.com.

YOU’LL PUT THIS ON THE CHRISTMAS CARD

What’s the most common thing people come to Adrenaline Driven Adventures for?

Without hesitation co-owner Lewis Baker said, “UTV tours, for sure. Our four-hour tour is our number one seller. 

“It’s people who want to go out and see the desert, or they’re just stopping here, and they saw the UTVs, and they’ve never even been to our desert before. So, we can literally take them out there for a four-hour trip and just blow their mind, man. … Like, when you’re going out and trying to get that awesome family photo, we literally make Christmas cards daily here.”

Baker said people are blown away when Adrenaline Driven Adventure Company takes them to the top of the Bookcliffs to overlook the city on a six-hour tour.

“It’s just amazing, dude. You can’t beat it,” he said. “So, it’s that different thing from everyone else. … We call it a rollercoaster without the rails.

“That’s why we named this company Adrenaline Driven Adventures, because of that aspect of the desert is literally a rollercoaster without the rails. I’ve linked together mountains where they flow so nicely, and you can just go out and stay the trail and be able to have an amazing day out there.”

PROVEN THEMSELVES TO POLARIS

Polaris Inc., the maker of off-road vehicles, also made a company called Polaris Adventures, and Adrenaline Driven Adventures, now in it’s seventh year, has steadily climbed in stature with the off-road giant.

“We started as regular Polaris Adventures, and we went to Polaris Adventures Gold, and then we were Polaris Adventures Premium, and now we’re Polaris Adventures Elite, because we’ve been with the company since they started,” Baker said.

And for customers that means?

“We actually get some better pricing and things like that,” he said.