My love affair with
the Land Rover started when I was just a kid, about 5 years old or so I suppose. My father had a 1947 cj “2 A” Willies Jeep,
and his friend from Santa Barbara,
California Bill McCurdy had a 1962 Series
11A, 88 Short wheel base Land
Rover. When Mr. McCurdy sold his Land
Rover, and bought another, my father bought it and that started our family Land
Rover obsession.
. My father made good
use of the Land Rover when I was growing up, he used to take our family up to a heavenly place called Monache Meadows, every fall and spring. Smells of high mountain sage, pine and river
plants, the bright glowing high altitude sun and passing clouds filled our senses.
And the ever present distinctive smells and sounds of the Series Land Rover.
Six miles long, five miles wide and more than 8,000 feet
high, Monache Meadows is often cited as the largest mountain meadow in the
Sierra.
1964 MONACHE LAND ROVER TRIP
I began my adventures into Monache in the 1960s. My father was an
enjoyed the off road challenges and deer hunting that Monache had to offer.
Back then, there was not paved roads, as there is now, and it was a very rough
trip. Today the trails are considered 4x4 beginner's trails but not back in the
1960s and early 1970s. There was almost no roads back then, just two muddy
ruts. There was an infamous hill climb
called “the slide” that had many a muffler lying on the side. We would get out
and watch dad spin dirt and spark boulders all the way up the slide, it was
truly heaven for a nine year old. If I close my eyes, I can still see the Rover
in a cloud of Sierra dust fighting its’ way over the slide. Once we came off
the mountain into the meadow itself, we were allowed to ride on the hood and,
if lucky, in the spare tire of the Land Rovers hood.
1964 MONACHE LAND ROVER TRIP
I began my adventures into Monache in the 1960s. My father was an
enjoyed the off road challenges and deer hunting that Monache had to offer.
Back then, there was not paved roads, as there is now, and it was a very rough
trip. Today the trails are considered 4x4 beginner's trails but not back in the
1960s and early 1970s. There was almost no roads back then, just two muddy
ruts. There was an infamous hill climb
called “the slide” that had many a muffler lying on the side. We would get out
and watch dad spin dirt and spark boulders all the way up the slide, it was
truly heaven for a nine year old. If I close my eyes, I can still see the Rover
in a cloud of Sierra dust fighting its’ way over the slide. Once we came off
the mountain into the meadow itself, we were allowed to ride on the hood and,
if lucky, in the spare tire of the Land Rovers hood.
Monache is named for
the Native American Indian tribe that once occupied the meadow and we delighted
in in inspecting the acorn grinding holes in the granite outcrops and examining
the beautifully flaked black obsidian arrowheads that were commonplace there in
the 1960s, you could see them shining in the sand as you drove across the sand
spits in the Rover. Still another high point was the many Kern river crossings as it snaked through the meadow.
Monache 4x4 road
(34E38) now starts 1/2 mile past (21S36) the North end of Powell Meadow and
ends at the South Sierra Wilderness on the West and Bake-oven Meadow on the
East. Official end is at Snake Creek. pristine setting of the South Fork of the
wild Kern River. The dirt road seems a bit longer but to the end the "Jeep
trail" is 2.4 miles. Staging area is 4 miles North of the Black Rock
Information Station (760) 376-3781 ex 276. Black Rock Station has maps, permits
and general information; it also has the last potable water you will see of the
Monache trip.
Right now I have a 1972 Series IIA Land Rover. I bought my Land Rover off my nephew Greg
Harwood of Martinez California, whom has refurbished many a rover. I take my
Rover everywhere I go, like the family dog. It is actually my only vehicle, so
I keep him in running order. I named my Series
IIA; “Marauder” and it seems to fit. But the actual theme of the Marauder is a little more meaningful than just a sort of cool name. My father was a B26 Marauder pilot in W.W.II and flew 46 deadly and heroic missions for the 456th Bombardment Squadron, 323rd Bombardment Group, 9th US Army Air Corps in the European theater. Although my father never spoke of his experiences, it was a huge part of who he was. So the color scheme and the Marauder lettering, is a tribute to the brave Marauder men of World War two. I take an adventure with my dog, Riley D. Fudgesicle, nearly every week end, into the Mojave Desert, California coast or Sierra Nevada Mountains or just weekly chores around the farms of Bakersfield, every time I climb in, my dad’s memory and spirit is right there next to me. The same smells, sights and sounds of our old trips make my memories come alive.
IIA; “Marauder” and it seems to fit. But the actual theme of the Marauder is a little more meaningful than just a sort of cool name. My father was a B26 Marauder pilot in W.W.II and flew 46 deadly and heroic missions for the 456th Bombardment Squadron, 323rd Bombardment Group, 9th US Army Air Corps in the European theater. Although my father never spoke of his experiences, it was a huge part of who he was. So the color scheme and the Marauder lettering, is a tribute to the brave Marauder men of World War two. I take an adventure with my dog, Riley D. Fudgesicle, nearly every week end, into the Mojave Desert, California coast or Sierra Nevada Mountains or just weekly chores around the farms of Bakersfield, every time I climb in, my dad’s memory and spirit is right there next to me. The same smells, sights and sounds of our old trips make my memories come alive.
I take Mr. Rover everywhere, and California has an extremely
diverse number of wilderness types, from
the Lowest and hottest place in America,
Death Valley, to the highest peak, Mount Whitney, funny you can see one from the
other and visa versa.
We would take long
trips into the Sierra Nevada
Mountains, Monache Meadows. We would also take trips to Pismo Beach and
meander through the sand dunes . Later (
year) my dad bought the Rover off Bill
McCurdy and took trips in it quite
often. My father was an avid hunter and outdoorsman and made good use of the
Rover. My father was a persistant huinter,
fisherman and back woodsman. Before their were many environmentalists and or road there was my dad
and his Land Rover. Old Land Rovers have a very distinctive smell and sound.
The smell I suppose is a culmination of things, decomposing leather, old
fuel, grease ? I don’t really know, but
when I smell it , it puts right back in there
with my dad in some sort of cerebral ghost trip with my dad.
The Land Rover I have
was my mid life crisis, it’s not just a car it is freedom, the the Black Pearl
was to Jack Spero in Pirates of the Caribean movies.
MY LAND ROVER NOW
1970s Monache Trip
