"It would be my position that in order to prove it's a public road would be whether it had continuous public use. The only people who use the road is the Red Rock 4-Wheelers," Russell said. "That does not constitute a continuous public use. . . . The Red Rock 4-Wheelers are not free to use it. They have permission on a limited basis (during the Jeep Safari)."

An avid rock climber, Miller moved from California to Moab six years ago to enjoy the rugged cliffs. She and Rzeczycki fell in love with the area but couldn't afford the inflated land prices of Moab. They were excited to find a 160-acre parcel just 13 miles south of Moab for sale. It was part of an auction by the state School and Institutional Trust Land Administration (SITLA). They won the bid at a bargain price of $42,000.

"We bought this big piece of rugged land with the intention of building a house on it," she said.

Located on the property are two trails used by off-road enthusiasts, Lower Helldorado and Strike Ravine. The Lower Helldorado — which many people agree is merely a wash — is not part of the Easter Jeep Safari, organizers say. But the Strike Ravine has been part of the blow-out weekend since 1992.

In the transaction, SITLA didn't indicate there were county-claimed roads on the property purchased by Miller and Rzeczycki because there were no legal recordings of the claims, nor did San Juan County make its intentions known.

"It's a shame," conceded Rick Wilcox, a resource specialist with SITLA. "We've learned a lesson from this case that we make it part of the advertisement from now on."

Miller and Rzeczycki now find themselves between a rock and hard spot in the road.

"It's pretty huge doing this. There's a lot of people in this community who are going to hate me," Miller said. "It just seems like it's so inappropriate to have this total blatant use of OHVs (when) we're just trying to protect the area. This is a special place that we don't want to see it destroyed."

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E-mail: donna@desnews.com