The Original ATV

Many years ago, while I was still in the Air Force, I was working at Building 1, Air Force Space Command Headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. One afternoon I wandered into a friend's office and found a large topographic map spread across his desk. He and another coworker were tracing routes through the mountains, planning a weekend ride on their ATVs.

I joined the conversation and we started talking about trails, old mining roads, and favorite places to explore. Since I didn't know the other gentleman very well, I mentioned that I didn't own an ATV.

"I have equines," I said.

That simple comment opened a can of worms.

He was frustrated that so many areas of our public lands, especially designated wilderness—were closed to motorized vehicles. He believed he should be able to drive his Polaris anywhere on federal land.

I respectfully disagreed.

I explained that I thought it was important for some places to remain wild—places where the only sounds are the wind, birds, and the steady rhythm of hoofbeats. I hoped that one day my children, and eventually my grandchildren, would still have opportunities to experience those untouched places.

He wasn't convinced.

In fact, he called me an elitist. His argument was that not everyone owns horses, mules, or donkeys, so it wasn't fair that equine users could reach places that motorized vehicles could not.

I smiled and replied, "I do have an ATV."

He looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"I have the Original ATV."

I pointed out that my horses, mules, and donkeys could travel quietly into country his Polaris would never be allowed to enter.

The conversation eventually ended, but the phrase Original ATV stayed with me.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it meant much more than a clever comeback.

For thousands of years, long before engines, tires, or fuel, equines were humanity's all-terrain vehicles. They carried explorers over mountain passes, transported supplies across deserts, hauled miners into remote camps, packed hunters deep into the wilderness, and helped settle the American West. Long before the first four-wheeler rolled off an assembly line, horses, mules, and donkeys were carrying people wherever they needed to go.

But there is another reason I like the phrase.

Equines don't simply take us into the backcountry, they connect us to it.

Traveling with an animal slows your pace. You notice the smell of the pines after a rainstorm, the bugling of an elk echoing across a basin, or the splash of a trout in an alpine lake. The journey becomes every bit as meaningful as the destination.

Eventually I decided the phrase deserved a logo.

I used a photograph I had taken of my son leading one of our BLM burros, Sabina. That simple silhouette has appeared on hats, shirts, and other Mountain Ridge Gear products, and it has made people smile all across the country.

At trade shows, I sell dozens of "Original ATV" hats every year. Most people have never heard the story behind the logo, but they immediately understand it. Whether they own horses, mules, or donkeys, they grin, point at the little burro, and say, "That's perfect."

I'd have to agree.

After all, a little burro just might be the Original ATV.

By the way, the attached picture is where the logo came from.  That's my son, Levi leading Sabina the formally wild BLM burro.