THIS MONTH:

Roadtrip across the country from west to east back to New York…

COMING UP SOON:

Joining the Texas Rovers for their annual South Central Area Rover Rally (SCARR). SCARR is a four-day event geared towards Land Rover enthusiasts that attracts people from all over the globe. SCARR attendees get to experience the off-road capabilities of Land Rovers in the beautiful setting of the Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area. Texas Rovers has reserved the entire 1,850-acre BMRA off-road park located in Gilmer, Texas for activities that include guided trail runs, lectures and off-road training, the ladies-only Barbara Toy trail run and much more…


Heading to Michigan for the Ladies Offroad Convention, an action-packed, interactive 4-day weekend educating, motivating, and guiding for offroad ladies. The 4th Annual Convention will be held in Grand Blanc, Michigan from July 30th to August 2nd. Ladies will have many hands-on opportunities to gain all types of offroading skills, learn and engage with others as they share their stories with plenty of laughs along the way…

CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

Unlike many other national parks in far-flung corners of the wilderness, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park stretches between two urban hubs, Cleveland and Akron. Centered around the winding Cuyahoga river (the Native American name means “crooked river”) the 33,000-acre park gives way to deep forests, rolling hills, and open farmlands. The river once provided water for the 19th-century Ohio & Erie Canal. And today that history is recalled by some of the park’s key attractions. The Towpath Trail runs the length of the park and parallels remnants of the Ohio & Erie Canal and the twisting Cuyahoga River. The trail itself was a path used by the mules that towed boats through the narrow canal. Visitors walking there today, can see many historical structures and wayside exhibits highlighting the history of the area. Connecting the Ohio “frontier” with the rest of the settled United States, the canal played a crucial role in the 19th century. It was built in 1825, and workers faced particular challenges trying to construct such an intricate system of hydraulic locks, aqueducts, culverts, and slackwaters in a mostly wilderness state where malaria was common. However, once completed, the canal’s presence transformed the character of the region, bringing industrialization to Northeast Ohio. Over time the river suffered, as it was used to transport industrial waste and sewage from the booming cities of Akron and Cleveland. Pollution worsened until 22 June 1969, when a spark from a passing train’s broken wheel ignited floating oil and piled up debris, and the Cuyahoga became famous as “the river that burned.” That incident helped galvanize the environmental movement in the U.S.A., leading to the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970, the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and creation of state and federal Environmental Protection Agencies, as well as the first Earth Day. Inspired to action, local communities began working to revive the river, and in 2000 the area became a National Park. Today, the Cuyahoga’s first 25 miles are biologically rich and have been designated as a state scenic river. Within the park, nesting bald eagles have returned after a 70-year absence, a potent symbol of renewal and proof that with concentrated effort, people can work together to reverse environmental damage …

ABOUT THE GREAT PLAINS

The Great Plains encompasses the broad expanse of flat land largely covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland, located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains. The region is known for supporting extensive cattle ranching and dry farming. Much of the region was home to American bison herds until they were hunted to near extinction during the mid/late-19th century. In general, the Great Plains have a wide range of weather, with very cold and harsh winters and very hot and humid summers. Wind speeds are often very high, especially in winter. The southeastern portion of the Great Plains is the most tornado active area in the world and is sometimes referred to as Tornado Alley. Historically, the Great Plains were the range of the Blackfoot, Crow, Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, and other native tribes. The first known contact between Europeans and Indians in the Great Plains occurred in what is now Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska from 1540 to 1542 with the arrival of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, a Spanish conquistador. The fur trade brought thousands of colonial settlers into the Great Plains over the next 100 years. Fur trappers made their way across much of the region, making regular contacts with native tribes. The fur trading posts often became the basis for settlements, as permanent settlers migrated to the Great Plains as part of a vast westward expansion through the 19th century. After 1870, new railroads expanded across the Plains American farmers rushed to settle the land taking advantage of “homestead” laws, and hunters killed off almost all the bison for their hides. The settlers brought diseases against which the Indians had no resistance. Between a half and two-thirds of the Plains Indians are thought to have died of smallpox by the time of Louisiana Purchase. Much of the Great Plains became open range for ranching operations with massive spring and fall roundups to move the cattle to the east by rail …

Nesconset | Paris | Danville PA | Akron OH | Toledo OH | South Bend IN | Oglesby IL | Davenport IA | Des Moines IA | Omaha NE | North Platte NE | Denver CO | Grand Junction CO | Moab UT

MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
1-8 March – Moab
23-29 February – Vegas to Anza Borrego
15-22 February – Southwest Roadtrip
8-14 February – Southwest Roadtrip
1-7 February – Glamis to Vegas
27-31 January – Yuma to Glamis
15-26 January – Nevada to Arizona
1-14 January – Starting the New Year
24-31 December – Holidays on the Road
16-23 December – Cross-Country Drive
9-15 December – New York
1-8 December – Paris
16-30 November – Paris & Rennes
1-15 November – New York
14-31 October – Arizona
8-13 October – LON TOP TEN
1-7 October – Girl Gang Garage
16-30 September – Women’s Wheeling
1-15 September – Long Island
9-31 August – Serbia
1-8 August – #LONCON2019
16-31 July – Roadtrip to Atlanta
1-15 July – Cape Cod
15-30 June – Eastern Long Island
1-14 June – Bantam Jeep Festival
May – PA Trail cleanup
22-30 April – Minnesota
16-21 April – PA Trails
1-15 April – New Jeep
15-31 March – Paris
1-14 March – Arizona
Archive

REFLECTIONS

EGYPT: CAIRO REFLECTIONS

A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]

SPECIAL REPORT

ALGERIA SCOUTING

A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]