Every once in a blue moon, John Lee from Expedition Exchange gets cabin fever and sends a roll call - if anyone's good for a weekend in the desert.
These trips are fantastic - a small group of friends who have known each other for years (and sometimes for decades). In the past, it was the most diverse group, vehicle -wise: you could see a Trooper, or a FJ80, or 100, a Tundra, a Defender 110, a Classic or two, a Disco or two, a G-wagen.
This year it turned into the least diverse group.
A NAS D110, a Tundra, and five Grenadiers.
One can wax lyrical about how immensely great a new Defender is, but what I saw was an immediate ~$450k loss of revenue for Land Rover, with a potential to triple this loss given the age of participants. And that's just one small group of friends.
I started off in Palmdale - with a desire to see Antelope Valley California poppy fields.
On my way to our meeting spot in Randsburg, I figured I should swing by the Burro Schmidt Tunnel - a guy had spent 38 years of his life digging under a mountain, to not much of a success.
Google says it's 7.5 miles from pavement, and 25 minutes. I was determined to beat that time - and failed.
We didn't stay long at the tunnel and I didn't take my time to crawl the entire half a mile underground. On the way back to pavement, downhill, I managed to squeeze the time down to 23 minutes - accompanied by the loud Taco Bell sounds from the steering damper.
In Randsburg I was still alone.
But not for very long:
Randsburg deserves at least one walk-through, even from people who've been there before.
We grabbed a quick bite in a cafe (not that one) in Randsburg, and went on to Trona Pinnacles.
These trips are fantastic - a small group of friends who have known each other for years (and sometimes for decades). In the past, it was the most diverse group, vehicle -wise: you could see a Trooper, or a FJ80, or 100, a Tundra, a Defender 110, a Classic or two, a Disco or two, a G-wagen.
This year it turned into the least diverse group.
A NAS D110, a Tundra, and five Grenadiers.
One can wax lyrical about how immensely great a new Defender is, but what I saw was an immediate ~$450k loss of revenue for Land Rover, with a potential to triple this loss given the age of participants. And that's just one small group of friends.
I started off in Palmdale - with a desire to see Antelope Valley California poppy fields.
On my way to our meeting spot in Randsburg, I figured I should swing by the Burro Schmidt Tunnel - a guy had spent 38 years of his life digging under a mountain, to not much of a success.
Google says it's 7.5 miles from pavement, and 25 minutes. I was determined to beat that time - and failed.
We didn't stay long at the tunnel and I didn't take my time to crawl the entire half a mile underground. On the way back to pavement, downhill, I managed to squeeze the time down to 23 minutes - accompanied by the loud Taco Bell sounds from the steering damper.
In Randsburg I was still alone.
But not for very long:
Randsburg deserves at least one walk-through, even from people who've been there before.
We grabbed a quick bite in a cafe (not that one) in Randsburg, and went on to Trona Pinnacles.