The expedition to travel the earth’s seven continents, covering more than 58,000 miles, and spanning three years began quite simply: Two dreamers sat down to breakfast. One had a passion for Land Cruisers – a passion he has had since he was tall enough to clamber into one on his own. The other had made overland adventure a lifelong pursuit and career.

Greg Miller, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, and Scott Brady, publisher and chairman of Overland Journal and ExpeditionPortal.com, were drawn together by a common vision: to travel the earth’s seven continents, touching each one in the same vehicle. It took nearly a year of intense planning, preparation and gear acquisition, but in April 2012, Expeditions7 was ready to get underway. The vehicle of choice was the 78 Series Toyota Land Cruiser. By the time the expedition rolled to its final stop in Tooele, Utah, in 2014, the fleet of vehicles would include five Land Cruisers and one AT44 Hilux – each chosen to fill a specific role.

While setting wheels down on all seven continents was the primary goal, the E7 team wanted to drive some of the world’s most iconic routes as well. In North America, it was the Dalton Highway out of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. In Europe, the destination was the northernmost vehicle-accessible road in the world – Nordkapp, Norway. Crossing the Asian continent through Siberia would include the infamous M56 Kolyma Highway, known better as the Road of Bones. In Australia, the choice was the Canning Stock Route. The Namib Desert and Skeleton Coast would be the focal points of Africa. The last leg of the expedition would see the team completing the Pan-American Highway— the world’s longest “motorable road”—spanning North and South America.

Antarctica presented its own unique challenges for Greg, Scott and the E7 team. The journey to the southernmost point on the globe required the expedition to scale back to just two specialized vehicles and a much smaller crew, which now needed to include a skilled mechanic—an absolute necessity on the remote and dangerous terrain famous for wreaking havoc on anything mechanical. It also added new words to the team’s vocabulary: Katabatic winds, to describe the relentless downslope gales; and Sastrugi, the Russian name for the jagged waves of ice blanketing the arctic plains.

For the leaders of the team, the three-year journey was epic. It was a dream turned reality, the opportunity to explore the world with good friends, talented cinematographers, and in the most exceptional of vehicles. Greg Miller expressed the discovery learned by many adventurers and explorers: “When it comes to dealing with other cultures, very little separates us. Whether we were in Africa, South America, Siberia, Australia or the United States, people just want to provide for their families. They all want food, comfort, friendship and a bit of fun. The lessons you learn interacting with other cultures, and perhaps reaching just a bit beyond your normal comfort zone, are lessons you can’t learn in school.”

The remarkable people involved in the expedition comprised a core team of six individuals, but also included a group of about 47 people who spent time on the journey and added to the richness of the adventure.

Expeditions7 wasn’t a trek intended to land in the record books, but one to make connections, cementing bonds with family and friends, of finding new stories and inspiring others to look at the horizon and seek out their own adventures.