It’s a Jeep Thing!
The day I acquired my Jeep Wrangler back in 2000 was an incredibly exciting one. I called up a friend of mine, and without further delay, headed for the trails. It was a two-door sport, boasting a powerful 6-cylinder engine, coated with a beautiful chili pepper red and adorned with a tan soft top.
It was then eight o’clock at night and the sun had just begun setting as we made our way down the treacherous fire trail along the ridge of the nearby mountain. It performed wonderfully, maneuvering through rocks and obstacles much too large for any ordinary car to conquer. Every so often we'd come across a massive pothole one foot or more deep and brimming with mud and water. I maneuvered through my first few with relative ease, the Jeep splashing and covering itself in mud, coating it as if it were a rite of passage.
As it had now become completely dark outside, I approached an immense mud hole, divided into two distinct paths. One was relatively shallow, around a foot and a half deep, whereas the other could have been anywhere between four to five feet. I picked the route to the right, accelerated and then submerged my headlights, only for the pool of water to become engulfed in darkness, as my vehicle waded through the deep mud and water. With the water flooding up onto my hood and starting to seep in through the doors, I pushed on until I finally broke out the other side. Ecstatic, I let out a roar of delight, unable to comprehend what I had just managed to drive through, before proceeding on the rest of the trail.
In addition to buying the Jeep, I had unknowingly also become a part of its community. A tradition that this group held, was the Jeep Wave - a gesture of etiquette, recognition, and companionship. People also host Jeep Clubs, whereby they organize camping, car shows, and group drives along off-road trails. Furthermore, there is a unique form of flattery that is shared between owners - ‘Jeep Ducking’. Should you come across a Jeep you admire, you can put a rubber duck on the windshield or door handle to show appreciation - something which is displayed inside the vehicle in all its glory.
In the summer months, driving around with the top down and the doors off is simply an unbeatable experience. There is a true sense of liberation that comes with it, one which I hope to feel every single summer. Presently, I am the proud owner of a 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, an absolute beast in the off-road environment. As this will be a vehicle, I plan to keep for many years to come, I'm sure to upgrade and customize it as the years pass. In essence, owning a Jeep opens the world to you, and the only thing left to do is have fun with it!