Dear Rovers North,
I own a ’92 Range Rover County with over 320,000 Rovers North miles on the clock. My wife is getting a complex about her entries to the Sightings contest. She won one without her address so it was not shipped. She has sent in several that were not “winners.” In the recent issue there is a name in the winner’s column that is very similar to hers, in the same town. Is she the winner of a mug? While we enjoy tormenting her that she cannot seem to win a mug, I think it would make life easier for all of us if she won one. Can you check on this please?
Allen Minner
Carnation, WA
[We hope that the mug arrived in time to assure marital bliss. –ed]

Dear Rovers North,
I bought my first Land Rover in about 1965. It was a 109” pickup truck that had been used in the building of the Oroville Dam in northern California. It was worn, but in good condition. (…)

[Bill Burke, is one of North America’s foremost off-road instructors through his Four-Wheeling America program. Here he shares his experience and knowledge on equipping yourself for trail breakdowns. –ed] Contact Bill Burke at 970-858-3468 or visit www.bb4wa.com

In my travels I have to beg and borrow shop floor space. Recently, as I lay on the floor of Columbia Rovers in Portland, OR, packing my front wheel bearings, the shop manager Brent offered me the use of a lift. Huh?? I’ve been a shade tree and big-truck mechanic for so long I wouldn’t know how to use a lift. Brent suggested I throw some dirt on the floor to make it feel like home. As I lay on the floor, listening to the dealership’s elevator music and humming Led Zeppelin, Brent and I began discussing how Rovers have progressed to the point that a lot of people are now carrying a laptop loaded with AutoLogic to help diagnose trailside fault codes. (…)

Story by: Jeffrey Aronson / Photos by: John Robison and Jeffrey Aronson

In the 19 years of the British Invasion, Vermont’s premier British car event, Land Rovers have generally played the role of the “country cousin” in the family. The 500 vehicles and thousands of people who attend the September event celebrate British marques and models no longer in production – MG, Triumph, Austin Healey, Sunbeam - or rarely seen - Lotus, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce. Look in the back rows, that’s where you find the green oval.

Land Rovers get relegated to the status of clowns (the Rover Polo games in the early ‘90s), barbaric brutes (carrying a cheating Mini-Moke into the woods during a tug-of-war), pack horses (Rovers North’s hilly trail rides), or mud wrestling entertainment (Rovers North trials course). Regardless, a cheery group of Land Rover enthusiasts drive up every year to entertain the Jaguar XK-E and MG T-series owners. (…)

By Jeffrey B. Aronson

Every fall in Peanuts Lucy Van Pelt entices Charlie Brown to kick the football she’s holding for him. For decades the end result has been the same – Charlie Brown kicks at the ball just as she yanks it away. I know the feeling.

You’d think that after last year’s humiliation I’d have learned a lesson. I still stare at the cover of the Rovers North News, the QE I with the headline, “They Chose Your Rover?” The faint taste of crow still lingers in my mouth as I remember the taunts of “nice photo of your windshield,” snark, snark.

No, I learned nothing. When L. L. Bean asked again if my Rover could be used in the 2010 Outdoor Gear Catalogue (they suggested “You could always entitle the article, ‘They Chose Your Rover, Again?”), I demonstrated my shameless quest for meaningless recognition and meekly asked, “When?”

It had been a year since the QE I’s last waxing; three months since its last wash. This was not going to be a quick job. (…)

Story & Photos by Jim Edson

Land Rover Bluff City, Memphis, TN, will be hosting a guided trail ride for all Land Rover owners. Whether you’ve never been off-road, or you are an experienced rock crawler, this is your chance to experience what your Land Rover is truly capable of – we have a trail for you. If you don’t want to take your Rover “off-road,” come ride with one of the trained staff from Bluff City, we will have room for you along in one of our vehicles.

I had not been off-roading since SCARR last April (South Central Area Rover Rally in Texas –ed). So, right away I gave up my spot at the annual Texas Rovers trip to the Texas State Fair scheduled the same October weekend. With my ’04 Discovery II G4 running well, new tires on the Casita camper and my new camera I felt ready for this adventure. I had not been to the Superlift Off-Road Vehicle Park in Hot Springs, AR, in several years; all I could remember were some very rocky, long steep hills. (…)

WE ARE FAMILY

Story by Matt Martin & Aaron Williams / Photos by Matt Martin

[Matt Martin, Rovers North’s Marketing Director, selected himself again to attend the Solihull Society’s National Rally. No, we’re not jealous! –ed]

Welcome to Leadville, Colorado. 10,430 breath-taking feet above sea level. 310 days of sunshine every year. It is America’s highest incorporated city, and host of the 2009 Land Rover National Rally.

Since it began in 1989, the event has navigated some of the most thrilling terrain in Utah and Colorado. Now in its 20thyear, the event continues to promote and encourage responsible off-roading while attracting an ever-expanding variety of participants. In Leadville this year, the array of Land Rovers that lined up each morning to traverse the trails reflected the diversity of the marque: old Series, new Range Rovers and LR3’s traveling together, learning from one another and lending a hand when necessary. (…)

Cupid, draw back your bow
And let your arrow go
Straight to my lover’s heart,
for me Nobody but me…

Story by Jeffrey Aronson / Photos by Brenda Salmon & Jeffery Aronson

Ah, love, as crooned by Sam Cooke decades ago. Where does one find amour today?
Why, in the woods of Maine on Valentine’s Day weekend.

February 14, 2009, positively oozed romance. From a crisp morning temperature of 14 degrees F, the warmth in Unity, ME, rose to a balmy 27 degrees. The sun shone brightly, the winds died to gentle zephyrs, and the hum of heater blowers bathed the men and women present in the glow of Valentine’s Day.

Bruce Fowler, Unity, ME, a long-time Land Rover owner/enthusiast, once again organized this three day event. Avid winter campers could “enjoy” the outdoors on land surrounding his house; other less intrepid adventurers succumbed to charms of the “official host hotel,” the Holiday Inn in nearby Waterville. (…)

Story & Photos by Joseph Arvay

[Joseph Arvay, Mendham, NJ, is an orthodontist, avid tennis player, and a collector of 19th century clocks, which he loves to repair. Two of his four Land Rovers reside on Nantucket. Here’s his latest addition. – ed]

It all began in 2003, with my notion that a Defender 90 should become the off-road beach car for vacation time on Nantucket. From our small cottage in the tiny hamlet of Siasconset, we realized we were not alone in our love of the Defender. During my online search for the Defender, I found myself constantly distracted by the sight of Series II-A 109” 5 doors. One in particular really captured my attention – indeed, love at first sight.

Kathy, my wife, had approved of the Defender, but how on earth could I sell her on the idea of an antique 1966 109” Fire Tender from Palfau, Austria? (…)

Adventures in Paradise
Story and Photos by: David Walworth

[David Walworth, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, came to see that his life in the Virgin Islands was incomplete without a Land Rover. Here’s how he experienced his epiphany. –ed]

Two decades ago my life with a ’63 MG Midget MK I, a ’69 Austin America and a ’51 Singer 9 4A seemed complete. Three events transformed my life. First, I saw the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy” and decided that, if I ever got a truck, it would be a Land Rover. Second, after a year-long program in boat design at The Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Kennebunkport, ME, I started building boats at Goetz Custom Boats in Bristol, RI.

A broken crankshaft in the MG necessitated the search for a new ride. Eventually I found a ‘67 109 diesel SW in my price range. It had everything desired except for RHD. After being shipped up from North Carolina, I discovered it would not start. Hmm, it’s awfully smoky, too. (…)

Story by Andrew and Karen Taylor / Photos by Jeff Aronson

[Andrew and Karen Taylor, London, England, shared the beginnings of their around the world tour in a recent issue of The Rovers North News. With their trusty ’08 Defender 130 they’ve traveled across the US and Canada. Here’s the latest installment of their travels. –ed]

Hello US of A. After months of preparation, we finally arrived to start the next step in our adventure.

We took our UK registered 2008 Land Rover 130” to the USA and Canada so we could experience the diversity of the scenery that is on offer over here. The Land Rover proved to be the natural choice for the trip due to the large number of unpaved, logging and trail roads that cross the countryside, all of which are generally accessible to the public. Given the Land Rover would be our only transport and accommodation, we chose to avoid extreme off-roading. (…)