By the time I became some what of a "regular" around Moab it was almost exclusively the arena for Jeep--many of which were "trailer queens".
Whenever the subject of Rovers comes up, I am reminded of an example which, I think now, more typifies the life of the "new" Rovers on holiday. I have no clue why these two couples would have made such a journey on which we encountered them. We were on the early stage of going south on the Dempster Highway in the NWT. Just south of Inuvik is the crossing of the Red River. In winter it is via an ice bridge, in summer by ferry. As we pulled up to the ferry slip, we found ourselves in line behind what was obviously a new Rover with Washington plates. As we waited the four occupants emerged. They looked as if they had just stepped out of an REI catalog. I'd guess them in their mid forties and I judged a bit uncomfortable with their current environment. They were dressed as if in uniform. All were wearing "convertible" pants, and safari shirts. All clean and pressed! One male did break ranks with his foot wear, instead of hiking boots he was wearing leather sandals---with socks! On the roof of the Rover was the officially ordained travel rack and covers. The only thing not seen was a jerry can---but I'd bet there were high heals under the covers.
We avoided conversation and as we arrived at the south shore there was a unusual show---even for the Arctic, a line of possibly 10 mature Bald Eagles and a few juveniles standing in a row along the water line as the tide went out. We stopped to enjoy that sight and also wondered around a native (but then unoccupied fish camp) on the other side of the road. The Rover seemed disinterested and continued on.
The trip from Inuvik to Dawson in the Yukon is a bit over 400 miles of dirt road. We did not encounter our "shipmates" again until late afternoon at the mid-point of the Dempster. We pulled in for a cup f coffee and fuel.
During the day, we stopped often to enjoy Eagles, Arctic Fox, Brown Bear and Caribou. As we drank our coffee, we could not help but over hear the discussion going on between this out of place strange huddle of travelers. They were sharing their disappointment with their day, which apparently was at an end because they were staying that night at this roadhouse which included a motel. They had not seen any wildlife all day, as I listened I tried to imagine where their eyes were pointed.
Finishing my coffee we moved on---with a feeling of some sorrow for the unseeing. To them, they missed much of the great value in such places. They came but they weren't there
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
"Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis