We kept on following each other for quite some time until we reached the foot of the mountain near Westcliff Colorado, at a place called 'Hermit Trail'. This is where our adventure began. We locked the wheels and shifted to second gear. The rocks did start off small, but despite the effort of the shocks in the car, it was a bone-jarring ride. And to think that we'd be driving for about 4 hours! Luckily, I don't get carsick.

The method for driving on bad roads such as these is to avoid hitting any rocks. In some cases, hitting rocks was inevitable, so one would have to either drive over them if they were reasonably smooth, or try to avoid them as best as possible. Also before we left, they told all those driving the Discovery model, (which included us) to avoid hitting the differential, which was on the passenger, (my) side of the car.

Well, all the advice we were given about rocks was in vain, as we soon ruptured a tire. It wasn't until the car behind us honked and signaled toward our tires that we realized our tire was flat. Neither my dad or I noticed that it was flat beforehand.

We pulled over, and the Land Rover people changed our tire for us using the spare we had on the back. Overall, this process lasted about a half an hour, but it seemed like eternity. During the entirety of the trip, we were the only ones who ever burst a tire, which was kind of embarrassing. It seemed like everyone was willing to help, which was really nice.

After the tire was changed, we went on, and about a third of the way to our destination, we had lunch. My dad had a ham and cheese sandwich, and I had smoked turkey. Both were delicious. We then had the chance to walk around and admire all the beautiful scenery and to talk with our fellow drivers.

We met a guy who was in some sort of Yacht club, which was funny, because we live in a landlocked state where the biggest body of water is the Pueblo Reservoir. A lot of people brought their dogs along, too. Somehow, I don't think a dog would enjoy this trip, but then again, they don't have much choice in the matter. :)

We continued on our way, stopping occasionally to take pictures -- and check the tire! Thankfully, the tire lasted us through the rest of the trip. At that time I got to thinking just how wonderful the scenery was, despite the roughness of the ride. I thought that it was all worth it. However, my dad thought he was doing the car a great disservice.

"Just think, Dad," I said, "if Land Rover is willing to send us all the way out here, they must be absolutely confident of the quality of their cars."

I guess this statement was enough to motivate him to go further, not that we could back out; it was all or nothing. We continued on, ever the more vigilant for the sake of our tires until we got to the last leg of our journey.

It was a shelf of land that served as a switchback up to the summit of the mountain. Before, the rocks had been easy, but now, they were everywhere! I think every bone in my body was shaken by the experience, but once we got to the top, we were once again reminded of what we came here for.

Much to our dismay, our path to the summit was closed, but we only fell short of it by about 200 feet, and we were definitely above tree line. We were still about 12,100 feet up! Nestled in the mountains was a lake. Some people chose to hike down there; we chose to stay where we were. Again, we were given the opportunity to take photographs and witness the raw beauty of nature.

After we were took in all the beauty we could stand, it was time for us to head back. We paid our last respects to the interesting features above tree-line and headed back down the trail. It started to rain as we headed down, and the journey down seemed to take longer than the one up. When we went back down, we noticed the air get back to its regular pressure and we no longer felt as tired.

We went back down thinking of all the fun we had during this trip. As much fun as I had though, I'd probably never do it again - It was just too bumpy. Ironically, this was considered an 'easy' course. I'd really hate to see a hard one!

This was just our second trip with Land Rover. On the first one, we went up to a frozen lake and we drove on it. There were some contests as well, such as blind driving on a closed course where the passenger had to guide the driver, and a race on the lake (one person at a time, of course.) This was to prove the car's durability and traction. Needless to say, I was impressed with the quality and performance of these cars. If ever I decide to get a car, I'll definitely consider a Land Rover.

Look how proud we are!