As we headed into the canyons, the pavement disappeared, the roads got rough and the drop-offs got closer and scarier. But hey, we were in a Jeep, right? Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! We made our charge around the twisty, turny "roads" and they got worse and worse as the miles went on. Mile after mile, though, the Patriot sucked it up. Amazed, I was, at how well it handled the worst washboard and potholed roads I had ever traveled. The shocks staved off fade, the steering stayed true and the wheels never fell off! To top it off, we held a conversation the whole way without wavering voices, without yelling, and without losing our teeth.