Nolan Yapp and Layne BurdetteI have always been a Land Rover enthusiast, drawn to the ethos of the brand. Land Rovers have soul. They can accomplish anything, and they enable you to accomplish most anything. You can dress them up or down; you can match your vehicle to any place or occasion. During a study abroad year in Europe, I not only sought out travel and aimed to experience life from behind the wheel – I hoped to meet someone who believed that driving to a new place delivered you deeper into a new culture.
On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, in Florence, Italy, Layne Burdette and I stepped into our new international marketing class while studying in Europe. Little did I know I had just chosen a seat next to my lifelong travel partner.
We found ourselves assigned to the same group project and exchanged contact information. While in Hungary, Layne had left her ID at a hostel in Budapest. Call it divine intervention, but my friends and I took a travel deal on a whim and found ourselves on a train from Austria to Budapest on the same day that Layne left Budapest on a bus for Vienna. She had posted a request on Instagram seeking a miracle connection in Budapest to rescue her ID and, to my delight, I could answer the call. When we arrived, I realized we were even staying at the same hostel.
Three days later, I traveled by plane, train and all night in a Fiat 500 to make it back just in time for a mandatory pass/fail midterm exam. Enter Layne, cheerful as ever, thanking me for the valiant ID return and asking if I would like to get drinks that night (knowing full well I had not slept the night before). I gave her an enthusiastic, “Yes!”
I walked to her flat to pick her up for pizza and drinks. She opened the door and I told her she looked “Totally amazing!” She strutted past and said, “I know.” At that moment, I knew that
was the very last first date I would have in my life. Equally meaningful, meeting Layne so early in our study abroad gave us the unique opportunity to travel Europe together – starting with a drive in Tuscany in a Defender 110 and following up with treks through Germany and Croatia.
For Layne’s birthday, we took a Defender into the Florentine hills over ancient Roman roads. As a history buff myself, and for Layne, a travel writer, we felt honored to walk the same streets as the World War II Partisans and see their same residences. Our guide told us, “There was nothing else that could make the trip, or would keep making the trip, quite like a Defender.” Over rocks, side-sloped roads and many other obstacles, I felt like yelling, “Go, Defender, Go!” That night, I commissioned a painter to craft our dream Defender; a Land Rover had forever become part of our story.
Over our years together, Layne and I continued overlanding in the United States, conquering trails throughout the Pacific Northwest and Utah, like the White Rim Road. The Land Rover brand stayed close to our hearts. We attended the 4xFAR Festival and the Defender 2020 launch experience [See Spring 2020 issue] In 2022, I planned our next step – officially asking Layne to be my wife. We set out for a weekend of camping and adventure, but like every wonderfully unexpected step of our life together, nature had other plans. As we stood
together on the Oregon dunes with our new “road trip” puppy, I proposed to Layne while a rainstorm soaked the three of us.
She said, “Yes.”
We sought a special experience to celebrate our engagement. We contemplated, but ruled out, a big group bachelor/bachelorette Las Vegas party, However, one night, as we rewatched a favorite movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, we thought, “What about going to Iceland?” We called our best man and maid of honor to-be and invited them to join us on this wild adventure. Layne, the travel guru, needed only 30 minutes to book us all tickets and create a travel plan.
As in Europe, our first step involved finding a Land Rover for our travel behind the wheel. We connected with ISAK 4×4 rental in Reykjavik [see Winter 2016 issue] They were incredible and helped us outfit a Defender 110 to hit the road on day one. From Reykjavik, we travelled the Golden Circle route [circumnavigating the island] visited wilderness areas, farms, lagoons, thermal spas, and survived a blizzard on the way to Vik. Despite Layne’s upbringing in Minnesota and my experience with a Pacific Northwest volunteer off-road search and rescue, this storm was over our heads. Our communication, teamwork and trust that we can get through anything together guided us safely to the black sand beaches. It is fair to say our Defender 110 ISAK38 saved our life.
When we returned home, I searched for our dream Defender. We named her “Luna” and she came to us from a one-owner family in Madrid. This ’97 model, one of three in the family’s fleet, had been identified as “the church car.” Given its condition, it must have also made multiple trips into the nearby rock quarries! Layne and I have been more than excited to take it in and bring it new life. We’re modifying it with off-road kit based on our global travels. We’ve installed the same snorkel we had on ISAK38, and will include the limb risers from the 110 that took us through Tuscany. We’ll add the roof rack we fell in love with at the 4xFAR Festival, and will likely continue to add kit based on future adventures. Luna will be our wedding getaway vehicle, and we look forward to the day we can take her on international travels with us. She’s been more of a project than I would have anticipated, but isn’t most every Land Rover?
For me, it all began with wearing out my VHS of Camel Trophy 1989, and I am grateful to bring that energy and event spirit with me everywhere I go. The motto, “One Life, Live It,” has become a mission statement for our life. I wanted to incorporate our passion for Land Rover in my wedding band and reached out to my friends at The Underpowered Hour, Ike Goss and Stephen Beres. As a thank-you from them, Steve presented me with a lug nut from British Camel winner Bob Ives. Layne searched for a specialty shop to transform the lug nut into a wearable art piece of automotive history, and found Element Ring Co., based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They matched the color, Sandglow Yellow, and carved the motto inside.
Through every shared adventure, a Defender 110 has been a part of our journey and relationship. It is an anchor that wherever we are in the world, our love will stay the same. Just as the Defender will get us through every terrain, so will our love carry us through every challenge. We will always find a Defender and we will always have our love. With this one life, we intend to live intensely every day – and preferably, behind the wheel of a Defender.
