Ground Reconnaissance
John and Jen do all of our ground reconnaissance.
They enjoy it. Which is fortunate, since the rest
of us get carsick while traveling off-road. And they've
done about 17,000 miles of off-roading while scouting
out routes. They've found some lovely spots, they're
good at locating water, shade and pebble-free landing
sites, and they get along reasonably well with ranchers,
BLM agents and National Park officials. |
 |
Ranchers generally allowed us to cross their properties,
as long as we closed any gates we opened. The U.S. military
was not as co-operative. |
The problem is: we suspect they are keeping all the good stuff
to themselves. We've carefully pored over their casual snapshots,
and the common thread running through them is this: The really
outstanding landscapes in the pictures don't match up with
anything on any of the routes they tell us about. We're not
saying we don't trust them. But we're implying it.
Short vegetation allows for overland cruising speeds
of up to 50 miles per hour in relative comfort |
|
Take a look at this picture for example - an awesome playa
in the distance bordered by sparse prairie grass.
Yet when someone flew low over the playa that John
and Jen claimed was in the photograph, they noticed
that the playa was bordered by mesquite shrubbery
instead of prairie grass. And the playa seemed smaller,
less grand and not satisfying. |
It is possible that someone took the trouble to dig up 40
thousand acres of prairie grass and replace it with mesquite.
Or that a new, fast growing mesquite variety genetically mutated
and took over the entire area in a few months. But Neil, who
is a scientist, believes he has reason to doubt these speculations.
But we must take what life dishes out. The discards given
to us by John and Jen are what we have and we've learned to
live with them.
But here's their side
of the story...
