In 1994 Land Rover introduced the utilitarian Defender 90 soft-top to North America. The Defender I purchased was white with Rover's 3.9 V8, LT77 transmission, and a four speaker tape deck that played heat warped mix tapes of the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, and Bob Marley at a volume that was almost audible. Over time, I added an ARB bumper housing a 9000lb Warn Winch, ARB suspension, a Mantec snorkel, a DIY interior drawer system, and a roof rack that I had designed and welded with a friend.

In this Land Rover I gained confidence negotiating difficult terrain and self recovery while exploring my interest in overland travel. The deserts that surrounded my University hometown of San Diego, California were a landscape of fantastic topographical formations. For a Canadian farm kid the language of its’ features – Arroyos and Mesas – were further fuel for my imagination and curiosity. While ranging as far east as New Mexico, north to Colorado, and south to Mexico's Copper Canyon, I collected books on desert flora, regional history, and Native culture. Travelling with a tent, a developing taste for meat in jerky form, canned Tuna, High-C, and, on occasion, a bottle of Tanqueray gin left from my fathers visits (terrible stuff) I began to explore the notion of travel that I had experienced in Africa.