Willow Riston, an intrepid young Land Rover adventurer (and daughter of our Senior Retail Sales Representative, Eric Riston), returns to Roverlog with her recap of one of her favorite Land Rover events: the annual Maine Winter Romp, accompanied by her photography from the event.
I think Winter Romp is a great place for everyone to start off-roading! Winter Romp has super easy and very difficult trails, and many in between. The Winter Romp newbies are accompanied by the Winter Romp experts -- though the phrase “Winter Romp Experts” isn’t really a thing, except for the event's founder and organizer, Bruce Fowler. The trails change every year! Erosion, ice, snow, mud, and rain are what all the trails depend on, so even if I had been coming to Winter Romp for twenty years, each year is different.
Winter Romp gives you tons of opportunities to learn how to drive, learn how to get yourself unstuck, and even learn how to guide your way through the trails. Like when my best friend Anne decided she wanted to drive through the Pit Of Despair this weekend with me as a passenger.
When Anne brought up the idea, I would have never guessed that she was going to drive the Pit Of Despair before me! Anne is only six days older than me, so we are both 13, and let me tell you, Anne was freaking out. But with my calm voice working her through the Pit, and more than thirty people watching, she did it all by herself, no adults in the car, just Anne and I. She is officially the youngest person to ever successfully drive through the Pit Of Despair all on her own! So see, anyone can learn something new even if they don’t think they can.
Because no matter what, you never stop learning. That’s why Winter Romp is a great way to start your Land Rover adventures! But that also means that driving Land Rovers can give you a bunch of benefits. First off, which most of you already know, they're known for their durability and off-road capabilities, so you can explore new places and go on exciting adventures. Plus, Land Rovers have a luxurious feel, unless they don’t, cause I love that old rusty feel to some Land Rovers. So, if you're looking for a combination of style, performance, and reliability, Winter Romp plus Land Rovers definitely have you covered!
I’ve clearly grown up in Land Rovers. In the first few years of my life I was riding at Winter Romp in my parents' friend Quentin Aspin's yellow 1950 Land Rover Series 1. I only know that because of videos, and from what I know it was SO COLD. But since then I’ve been in trucks from early Series trucks like that to modern Land Rovers from the 2000s. Speaking of cold, the temperature this Winter Romp was very warm compared to past years. it got to 20 degrees on Saturday and almost 30 degrees on Sunday. In years past, my parents told me about when they woke up to the temperature being 13 below, and it never got above freezing that day. Trucks had to be dragged around the parking lot, or needed a heater underneath with tarps around the whole truck to trap the heat in order for them to start, but thankfully none of that was needed this year.
Man that went fast, Winter Romp is over and it’s Sunday night, we better get packing. I know that when people think of Land Rovers they think of older men, but that’s not just it. There are many generations that go to Winter Romp, women and children included. Lots of people enjoy Land Rovers just as they are, lots of adults start their kids early, and that lets kids have so many new adventures in front of them. Land Rovers may lead the way, or open another mysterious door that leads to a new adventure.
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