Peter Vollers (@newmexicoover.land) began his overlanding life in 1995 driving a '72 Series III Land Rover and now sports a '66 VW split-window bus named Cecil, replete with wood burning stove, as his primary overlanding rig. Peter is somewhat well known in the overlanding community for promoting the Vermont Overland Rally & Workshop for Overland Journal/Overland International, later known as the Vermont Overland Rally and finally the iconic Vermont Overland Birdwatching Safari. He now lives in Placitas, New Mexico with his lovely wife Kim who is GM at the incredible Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm in Albuquerque along with his ever-present sidekick Jack Russell/mini Dachshund named Dash and cats George Michael (from Arrested Development not the singer) and Tony Stark. Peter spends most of his time working from 2000 miles away as a small town Vermont lawyer and the rest of it exploring the Southwest in Cecil or his '74 Jeep CJ5.

(photo by Richard Kimbrough)

I am lucky to have owned a 1967 FJ-40 Land Cruiser for over twenty years!  It truly brings joy just driving it.  I get in, I turn the key, and it goes anywhere I want and even places I shouldn’t!!!

I have been into off road and camping ever since I started taking my 1965 MGB roadster on off road trails!  About that time, I decided I needed to get a slightly more offroad capable vehicle.  So that MGB turned into a 1978 4x4 Subaru wagon, later I had an International Scout and eventually landed in the FJ-40.  Of course, who could stop …  I also picked up a 1985 FJ-60 Land Cruiser and finally a 2016 4x4 manual Tacoma. 

My earliest overland or expedition trip was in 1984 when I traveled overland from London to South Africa via the dirt roads of Africa.  I have been going back to Africa ever since with the latest trip through Uganda. 

I am Jerry L’Ecuyer.  Our family founded TemboTusk in 2010.  We manufacture overland camping and off-road accessories in Southern California.    

Growing up in the rural farm country of New England, you’re bound to see many Jeeps, trucks, and tractors. In fact, many people have them, not only for daily transportation but for working on and around their properties, and the Ladden family was no exception. Fascinated from a very early age while watching his dad with his Jeeps and Land Cruisers, it’s no wonder that Michael’s first word was not “mom” or “dad” but “Jeep.” And thus began his love of the outdoors and all things that “go.”

Throughout high school and college, Michael spent most of his free time camping, cycling, hiking, and exploring the United States. However, in the early 1990s, in a decision that would forever change his future, he and a coworker quit their well paid, comfortable office jobs and bought one-way tickets to Africa. They spent a year exploring north, east, and central Africa. Traveling by trains, buses, camels, hitchhiking, and a few other various means of transportation, it was here that Michael spotted and fell in love with his first Land Rover.

Upon returning home to the States, Michael searched until finally finding a 1965 Series IIA Land Rover to call his own. Until this point, the vehicle had only had one owner and had spent its life on a potato farm in Idaho. This Land Rover soon became the first of many overland trucks, particularly Land Rovers, that Michael would build, restore, and maintain over the years.

In 1996, Michael and longtime friend Paul Shumway co-founded Drive the Globe Overland Adventures. In the early years, they focused on organizing self-driven adventures for their customers but eventually began consulting for larger expeditions. Personally, Michael and Paul visited every province in Canada, completed several border-to-border expeditions in Northern Canada, and traveled to the Arctic Circle.

In early 2000, broadening their horizons, Michael and Paul created the “Vintage Rovers Across Africa” Expedition. This expedition would see eight men in four vintage Land Rovers travel more than Eight thousand miles across West Africa. Fraught with all of the challenges that come with driving 30+ year-old vehicles across the rugged and remote terrain of the Sahara, Timbuktu, and the Atlantic coastline, the group eventually visited ten countries on their way from Morocco to the Ivory Coast.

While planning his next big adventure, Michael wandered from the Land Rover marque and bought a Mercedes Unimog with the goal of completing the Pan American highway. Ultimately, that trip never came to fruition. Spending most of the 2000s returning to a more structured life in business, Michael co-founded and became CEO of the Keller Williams Real Estate franchise in Connecticut, where today he still remains a partner. This company has successfully grown to one of the largest real estate firms in New England and produces more than a billion dollars of sales each year.

Never one to sit still, during this time, Michael also founded McLadden Restaurant Group opening four Irish pubs in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Established in 2009, he later sold the restaurant group in 2019.

Despite this return to more conventional living, adventure was never far from Michael’s mind. After a dozen years of working long days in the corporate world, Michael sold his house and most of his possessions and moved into his 1979 Mercedes Unimog. He added an overland expedition trailer and set out on an around the world expedition, planning to travel to all seven continents. This roughly 220,000 mile adventure that Michael anticipated would take five years to complete was as perfect as a plan could be until the pandemic hit.

Like many overlanders whose journeys were “in progress” when COVID came about, Michael’s plan has been altered, but his journey did not come to a halt. In the spring of 2021, Michael sold his Unimog and travel trailer, and bought, built, and moved into a 1994 Stewart & Stevenson M1079 (former) army truck. Another year on the road, and another truck build. He expanded to a six wheel drive 2002 Stewart & Stevenson with its own custom garage for his KTM motorbike. Delayed by border closures and shipping difficulties, he is currently exploring North & Central America.

Most recently, Michael has added a KTM adventure motorcycle to the rear of his expedition truck and spent the winter exploring the back roads and tracks of Baja California Sur, Mexico, on two wheels as well as four.

In addition to his four- and two-wheel drive overland adventures, Michael is a private pilot and an avid cyclist, with the goal of pedaling more miles each year than he drives. He is currently writing a book about his African adventures.

Hailing from Hanson, Massachusetts – a town perhaps most famous for being the birthplace of Ocean Spray Cranberries – Eric Archer grew up with a deep-rooted connection to the outdoors. Life on a 200-year-old farmhouse provided ample opportunity for exploration, from navigating its creaky floors and multiple fireplaces to venturing out into the surrounding land. These early years fostered a love for the natural world, a penchant for mischief (like "accidentally" removing a few saplings with his early attempts at driving a brake-less "woods car"), and a burgeoning interest in all things mechanical.

As a Boy Scout, Eric honed his outdoor skills, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout while embracing camping, hiking, canoeing, and survival techniques. This adventurous spirit extended to his college years at Plymouth State University, where he juggled academics with a passion for vehicle restoration. This often involved acquiring a project car, restoring it to running condition, and eventually selling it to fund the next acquisition AND tuition – a cycle that continued throughout his college years.

True to his adventurous spirit, Eric eschewed the traditional post-graduate path, opting instead for a cross-country cycling expedition with two friends. Braving the elements and conquering the miles from Rockport, Massachusetts, to Washington State and then down the Pacific Coast proved a more enriching experience than any academic degree.

A seasoned traveler and explorer, Eric's adventures have taken him far and wide. He's scuba dived in the Caribbean and New England, bungee jumped over Victoria Falls, hiked the peaks of Machu Picchu and Patagonia, gravel cycled around Iceland's Hekla Volcano and the Baja Divide with Michael Ladden, and experienced the thrill of a South African safari, encountering the "Big 5" in Kruger National Park.

However, Eric's true passion lies in Land Rover exploration. A proud owner of five vintage Land Rovers, he actively participates in Land Rover events and continues to explore the world both on and off-road.

Now retired from a career in national staffing and recruiting, Eric dedicates his time to his passions: cycling – clocking an impressive 10,000 miles annually across road, gravel, and mountain terrain – and indulging his love for Land Rover restoration and adventure. While speed, elevation gain, and other metrics may be tracked, Eric emphasizes the true essence of exploration: the journey itself, the captivating sights, the encounters with diverse people, and the enriching experiences that unfold along the way.

1959 Series II Station Wagon 109 (LWB)

The Series II, produced from 1958 to 1961, succeeded the highly successful Series I. This particular model, the LWB 109, boasts a wheelbase of 109 inches (2.77 meters) and can seat 12 passengers.

A significant milestone, the Series II introduced the renowned 2.25-liter petrol engine, capable of pushing the vehicle to a top speed of 65 mph. This engine, delivering 72 horsepower, marked a notable improvement in performance.

Beyond the mechanical upgrades, the Series II featured refined styling and a host of enhancements to enhance driver comfort and usability. In 1959, 10,806 Series II 109s were produced, with only a small fraction designated for the North American Dollar Area (NADA) market. This example is a rare find, remaining largely original and showcasing its NADA heritage.

Cache Valley Utah

My IG: Outdoormtnman.

Always up for an adventure. I am adventure Photographer on the side and have been in love woth old rigs like Scouts and Rovers for years. I've spent more time offroading in a rover the last 10yrs than I ever imagined.

I am also the content guy that keeps the wheels turning for OriginalironOffroad on IG too. Baja1000 and KOH are some of my favorite places to watch and capture racing!

When I'm not taking pics I'm working on timber exteriors of cabins..you will also find me riding my Triumph Scrambler 1200xe on the backroads to Jackson Hole.

MY 78 SCOUT 2 I BOUGHT IN 2022. It's 4speed manual with a 345 v8. Patina green is original from over the years. ITS BEEN A WORK IN PROGRESS AND BEEN GETTING IT READY THE LAST 6MONTHS JUST TO BE MY NEW OVERLANDING RIG. REAR DRAWERS AND FRIDGE WILL BE INSTALLED. ITS PRETTY STOCK STILL BESIDES THE 4" LIFT KIT.

As a very young child Kevin’s parents had a Willow Green 1971 VW Karmann Ghia. Much to his brother’s delight, he found that there was a compartment behind that back seat that he could lock Kevin into. Somehow despite this, that Karmann Ghia and later a 412 created a lifelong love of VWs for Kevin.

After growing up in a small Connecticut farming community Kevin left for the military and spent time in the Republic of Korea and later Fort Drum New York. Much to his chagrin he discovered 2 ½ years into a four-year enlistment that he really wasn’t a lover of authority, particularly with being told what to do. As it turns out, this wasn’t a great attribute for people in the military. Luckily, he was able to literally soldier his way through and met his future wife Brenda at his “getting out of the Army” party when his four year enlistment finally (and at the time glacially it seemed) came to an end.

Brenda and Kevin moved to Minneapolis where he got his bachelor’s degree. It was a great time in their life as Brenda was a corporate travel agent, a job who’s benefits allowed them to travel the world while still being a couple of poor twenty somethings. It was also great in another way, as they became more financially secure Kevin was able to talk about the thing… That’s to say his desire for a VW Thing. In 1998 they found a 1974 Thing and flew out to Arizona to buy it sight unseen. They then drove back through snow and over the Rocky Mountains to their home in Minneapolis.

After they restored the car they began to use it for trips, diving around the Great Lakes, up and down the East coast. There was no where they were not willing to go and break down on the road.

A couple of short years later they moved to the East coast and started the car phase. This is a nice way of saying Kevin started to indulge in his car habit until he had a barn filled with so many of them all of his spare time was filled with working on them. Spare time, being that time outside of getting a Master’s degree, working full time and helping Brenda run business as a B&B owner. Those cars, including the Thing, continued to be taken trips and break down around the country and sometimes outside of it.

Then around 2017 it happened. An awful winter in New England, or should we say another one. Kevin and Brenda decided they had enough and vowed never to deal with Winter snow again. they sold off most of their possessions, including many of the cars, and bought a class A RV. They hit the road and have been on the road ever since, moving their base of operations to Las Vegas Nevada.

In 2024 they sold off the last of the cars from their car phase, a Ravenna Green 1974 2.0 liter Porsche 914. Now it was just the Thing left, a car Brenda claims Kevin will be buried in. Kevin and Brenda now reside in Todos Santos Mexico and continue their love of old cars while slowly making their way down the Pan American highway.

aka @Chicksdoit2

Home Base: With her husband on their horse ranch in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Candi grew up with a love for the outdoors and adventure (exploring, hiking and mountain biking).

She purchased her first Jeep at eighteen years old and became addicted to off-roading. The trails, secret locations, lifestyle and community were intoxicating to her.

Now with more than thirty years of 4x4 experience behind her, she is on Jeep number six (her second Cj7) looking ahead to unique new adventures in her rebuilt and upgraded (by her and her husband) classic 1986 Jeep Cj7.

I live in Winhall VT. Most of my time is spent working on old Jeeps and exploring the endless backroads and trails. I bought my first Willys at 15yrs old, and have been addicted ever since. Find me on Instagram at Oldjeepadventures.

My connection to Overlanding began many years ago when I started Petes Camp in Windham VT. What started out as a bicycle touring camp/hostel quickly became a popular stopping spot for Overlanders and Adventure Motorcycle travelers. For more than 20 years we hosted travelers from all over the world. The amazing stories told around the campfire are memories I'll have forever. I have recently sold the Petes Camp property, and now its my time to explore the backroads of our beautiful Country.

I have always wanted to do long distance trips in an old Jeep. Several years ago I organized a group trip across the Country on the Trans America Trail driving vintage vehicles. Unfortunately the trip was canceled due to the Covid situation. There is still some content on Instagram at VintageTAT2020 and VintageTAT2020.com. I built a green CJ7 for this trip, and sold it without ever driving it.

My vehicle for The Southern Cross Expedition is very similar to the TAT Jeep. This one is more YJ based, with CJ5 and CJ7 parts. A very rare metal top adds a nice vintage look. I've named this Jeep "Azel". Azel Hall was the last of my many old Jeep mentors. He was a wonderful man, a Veteran, and career Jeep shop owner. I think of him often, and he would of liked to follow us along on our adventure.

I'll be joined on this adventure with an old friend of mine Mike Hussey. Mike is well known in the Land Rover circle as being on the 1993 USA Camel Trophy winning team. I'm looking forward to having Mike on this trip, and hopefully we can convince him to bring his Land Rover on our next adventure!

1993 Camel Trophy winner, Sabah Malaysia

Cinematography & Expedition Support

Chasing Adventure Now