We now move
to Southern Californian desert where it never
rains:
Well, almost never.
Chris Swanson showing that Land Rover owners the
world over love playing in water.
True.
Its not a Land Rover, but a Buick Skylark. In the sixties Rover
bought the an ailing aluminium V8 engine from Buick, played with it a bit, put
it in a series of cars, then in 1972/3 the Range Rover.
The rest is
history.
Early morning in the Anza-Berraga Desert, to the South of LA a group of
Land Rover owners prepare for a day in the desert by 'airing down'.
Shot from the passenger window of a Disco, a pair of
Range Rovers follow on a hard packed desert road.
Americans, especially Southern Californians LOVE their Land Rovers to be
well kitted out.
On the surface, a roll cage, bull bar and winch, along
with the AA yellow paint job this is a nice NAS D90. Under the skin,
there are lockers, modified suspension, and a nice sounding V8. This
machine eats J**ps for breakfast.
Even with that sort of kit, going down 'Heart Attack Hill' needs a bit of assistance - people have been killed getting this one wrong. This is one of those places where the shorter wheelbase of the 90 causes it to drop into an unstable attitude, so hanging two people on the back brings a degree of stability to the situation.
He tried to follow the yellow D90 up Heart Attack, and got it
wrong. A long session of winching got him to the top, a bit of 'applied
physiology' straightened the bent rod, and he was able to drive home, once we'd
got him down again!
And he was still smiling!
Put a camera in some peoples hands, and all sense of self preservation departs....
Buying Air....
Called 'The Squeeze'.....
That's me on the left, with some of my hosts on this trip into the
dessert.
My thanks to them all, especially Chris & Greg who drove me,
and Ginger Bear for letting me use her seat.