THE ANAZASI WARRIORS

4/22/08 .. 8:15 a.m.

Our instructors are two former military topography specialists, and the director of this entire adventure program, Robert Burns. Sandy salt-and-pepper hair, Burns could be a distant relative of Chuck Norris. Or maybe a cross between MacGyver, Eric Clapton and Phil Lesh. A man who, as I’ll find out has a profound passion for the natural world, and an almost unfathomable knowledge of Land Rovers.

Each of us—whether familiar with off-road driving or not—is here for the same reason. We share a need for rare experiences, and have a rather large affinity for the landscapes that surround us. We love Land Rovers, too. All of us.

Burns goes over the basics. Hand signals—the gestures that each of the instructors will be giving us as they guide us through the difficult parts of the terrain—are covered. As is our destination. We’re off to the Poison Spider Mesa Trail today. It’s a twelve-mile winding path of petrified sandstone called “slick-rock,” a tightly grained sandstone that our vehicles grip with ease.

We all mount up. Burns takes the lead in an LR3, leading the pack of Land Rovers out the front gates of the resort. After twenty minutes of sweetly winding roads curving alongside the Colorado, we’re suddenly looking up at canyons of red rock. Straight, beautiful canyons on either side of the road. This is “Wall Street”—90 degrees of sheer rock sandstone, rising straight up from the ground.

But these aren’t normal sandstone walls. A closer look (we all pull over and walk up to the rocks) reveals ancient Anasazi petroglyphs—timeworn drawings from A.D. 600–1300, carved into the sides of the antediluvian sandstone. Warriors standing with shields. Families with arms interlocked, standing against the ticking of time.

MOAB RISING

4/21/08 … 2:14 p.m.

I know I’m no longer in Southern California when, flying in to Grand Junction, instead of the usual freeways, I see mesas and rock bluffs pushing out to the distance like massive wooden tabletops. A ridge of rock bluffs rises up to the plane as we land. The bluffs are tall, standing up against the dry desert atmosphere like sentries. The plane touches down. Beyond the tarmac, I can see the desert. It has a glassy sheen to it in the afternoon light.

I’m here for a Land Rover Adventure, a two-day excursion into the canyonlands of Utah, Off-roading in Land Rovers.  It’s a rare chance to experience a part of the country that I’ve never seen before, on the backs of the world’s most competent vehicles.  I’m hoping for a memorable trip.