Leighton’s Blog

Made a really good friend today. David Wood   has got a really big heart and a Jeeper to boot. Dave is one of the leaders for Mission 22 . Mission22 is a non-profit that helps veterans with PSD. At least 22 veterans in the US commit suicide every day. Their programs are helping to reduce that number. Dave...thank you for all your doing for our Vets! We appreciate it!

I made it! One of my favorite places in the world. Left Massachusetts on Sunday at 1:30AM. 62:27 hours driving, 2,188.2 miles, 12 states & stayed in 4 national forests.  No hotels, no restaurants and no fast food except for those two slices in West Virginia. (Which were delicious!) Trip back on Tuesday should be just as fun. Plan on driving on as many beaches I can along the East Coast from Florida to Massachusetts.

This is where I ended up about 12:30 last night...Osceola National Forest in Florida about a mile south of the Georgia border. Took me a couple of trails to find something I was comfortable driving deeper into the Swamp on  cuz my Jeep is all stock with no winch. Swamp mud is a lot thicker than  mountain mud and not as forgiving! :) I never drove in a swap before but I think I got some incredible shots this morning which I will try to do put on my blog tonight if I have Internet. Also did some video which I hope to get something edited from the last few days footage and post on my YouTube. Making my way down to the Everglades today and then to Key West tomorrow. Can’t wait to take the top down and get some sun. It was 42 degrees this morning and a bit colder last night.

Asked for special permission to put the Jeep here.  They wouldn’t let park it on the lawn. JK Quite a morning. Lots of feeling. Similar experience to when I visited William Carey’s church and Mother Teresa’s Motherhouse in Kolkata.  Heading towards Florida now. 

Kind of upset. This gas station’s cappuccino machine wasn’t working this morning. #whatabummer

Arrived in Everglades late last night and got up early this morning and found some backcountry trails that weren’t even on the regular maps but were on the satellite map that luckily I download a few weeks ago. Beautiful and remote!! There were barely trails in some spots. I had no business being on them in a stock my stock Jeep but you know me. Saw some gators this morning and a whole lots of birds. Got the top down and I’m on my way to the keys.

My view this morning in the Great Smokey Mts in Virginia. Slept well in the woods. Pretty remote! Heading to Key West to help a friend with a photo project on Saturday. Going to visit Kyle in Orlando on the way down. Stay tuned for more back country stuff the next few days. Can’t wait to take the top off this thing and do some tropical overlanding! 🌴 🚙 🏝 ☀️ On the way home next week I’m going to take my time as well and drive on some beaches on the East Coast. #overlanding #jeeping #camping #jeeps #jeep #sunrise #virginia #va #greatsmokymountains #ajeepthing #willy #since1941 #jeeplife #backcountry