Gloucester resident Will Houtz recently returned home from a trip of a lifetime, a cross-continental journey from England to Mongolia, in this 1993 Toyota pickup truck.

Gloucester resident Will Houtz recently returned home from a cross-continental journey he called The Mongol Rally. He is shown here in Khiva, Uzbekistan.

The two returned in late August after participating in this summer’s Mongol Rally, raising money for Locus Children’s Centre, which provides aid to children in Mongolia, and for RettUK, a research organization based in the United Kingdom which is dedicated to helping individuals diagnosed with Rett Syndrome.

The two-man team, which called themselves "Quarter Life Crisis," shipped a 1993 Toyota pickup truck to England and embarked in the truck on the cross-continental journey.

"It was definitely the most amazing thing I’ve ever done," Houtz said. "It was very stressful. By the end, I was glad to be done with it and be home."

However, that feeling did not last for long, as Houtz said he already has the desire to start planning his next big adventure. "I think I became addicted to the absurdity of it," he added.

One can imagine traveling so many miles, often over rough terrain and near some of the most dangerous places on the planet, that there will be some crazy stories to tell. Houtz recounted three instances where he remembered being on edge.

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