Patrick,
Your local shop carries great brands, so you should not have any trouble finding an awesome bike. My only recommendations are:
- Get the bike you like best on your local trails. The current group of 29″ trail bikes are so good that you shouldn’t have any trouble on trips to Moab and Crested Butte.
- Don’t overlook the shorter travel 29″ trail bikes, they are really good.
- I live on the Front Range of Colorado and ride a wide variety of intermediate and advanced trails. I have also been fortunate to ride throughout the state and around the country on quite a few different bikes. If I was looking for a new bike from the brands your local shop carries, I would start with a Pivot Trail 429.