Amature LRDG

So, for about the next week, I'm going to be in Big Bend National Park in the south of Texas, USA. I've never been before, and I'm really looking forward to it. My father and I were packing up the truck today and it made me think of the LRDG - the Long Range Desert Group. Then I thought of one thing better - the original Saharan explorers. Well, of course they weren't the first, but they were the first to go in cars. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, some explorers took regular cars, as well as tons of supplies, into the Sahara. Before that, it was relatively unexplored by Europeans.

Then came the war in the desert in the early 1940s. Quite a few of those explorers' maps and experience went into creating the LRDG. If you don't know, the LRDG was basically a reconnaissance group made up primarily of ANZAC (Australian/New Zealand Army Corps) troops. They were experts at navigating across the vast deserts, and surviving the incredibly harsh climates. Here is one of their most popular vehicles - an American Willys Jeep. They were light, powerful, and four-wheel drive.

Here's a photo of another, much larger truck. I'm not sure what it is, but it seems to be fairly heavily laden with supplies. Also, notice the wider tires. Better for getting across sand and the rocky desert terrain. Unfortunately, I won't be going where no one has gone before in Big Bend National Park. But, I can always dream.....