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Jaguar Tribute

10/1/2004 / Matt

I miss my Jaguar. It had a certain mystique about it that cannot be replaced by ordinary Detroit iron. What exactly do I mean by the Jaguar mystique? What is it that Jaguars have that other cars do not? Even people who are not generally interested in cars can immediately identify a Jaguar, new or old. Perhaps it is the rare combination of understated elegance and grace, a certain “presence” on the road. It’s hard to say, but when all is said and done, the Jaguar is a car which pleases the senses, and does so in a way that virtually no other automobile seems able to. Those of us who have (or had) Jaguars can attest that our cars simply make us feel good, whether driving, tinkering, polishing, or just staring at them.

I suppose this unquenchable desire has its roots back in the mid-seventies when I got my first LBC (little british car). I’ve forgotten exactly what drew me in the first place. It may have been high shool memories of John Zaun’s TR-6. Whatever the case, I found this navy blue 1967 Triumph TR-4A languishing in a dilapidated one-car detached garage out by Waukee, IA. Aahhh but that’s another story…

I found my Jaguar in Kansas City. It had been well cared for and did not show it’s age or the 156,000 miles. I did have a few issues to work through but they were minor. I enjoyed entering the Jag in local car shows when the opportunity arose and always did quite well. We won several plaques and trophys for Best in Class. Perhaps most enjoyable were the events sponsored by the British Car Club of Iowa. During the summer the club would have monthly get togethers which consisted of a “drive” culminating in a final stop somewhere for fellowship and ice cream. Sometimes we would put on a little car show of our own to help sponsor a local business.

Yes, one day I think I shall acquire another LBC. I’ve always wanted an Aston Martin… like the one James Bond drove in Goldfinger.

Jones Park – Cap’n Jack Trail

9/30/2004 / Matt

We have made several trips down to the Cheyenne Mountain area to go hiking. There are quite a few trails in the area including the Gold Camp Road hike detailed earlier. One of my favorite journeys is a combination trail that starts at the top of High Drive.

Cap’n Jacks is a multi-use trail that climbs rapidly up the east side of Mt. Buckhorn. It is a single track that is heavily used by mountain bikes and dirt bikes. You have to be a little careful going up since it is difficult to get “off-trail” should you meet up with a bike coming down (ask me how I know). The trail provides some nice views of the city off to the east until the trail goes around the south side of the mountain. Thereafter the views are dominated by the smaller mountains surrounding Pikes Peak.

It becomes Jones Park Trail as you leave Mt. Buckhorn and begin heading south along the side of an un-named ridge. After a while you reach a saddle where you can see down into Bear Creek Canyon and also see Josephine Falls. If you backtrack up along the top of the ridge you come to some very nice observation points. From here you can see the Tenny Crags and a gorgeous view off to the north of the Garden of the Gods, and all of northern Colorado Springs. The day we were there the visibility was quite good and we could see way out onto the eastern plains and all the way north up to Monument.

The aspen trees were begining to turn in the higher elevations and there was a little snow on some of the mountain tops. We have travelled a little further up the trail during an earlier hike but I have yet to see if there actually is a Jones Park or not. This trail was one of the early “tourist” hikes to Pikes Peak before the completion of Barrs Trail.

Camera Gear Motherlode

9/29/2004 / Matt

I hit paydirt awhile back on some camera gear. I had been looking on Ebay for a zoom lens to expand my photographic capabilities but had not seen what I was after (at least not at a reasonable price). Then one day I saw a collection offered up that had the lens I wanted.

There were 8 lenses, the camera body, winder, flash, grip, filters, tripods, etc. One of the lenses was the 85-250mm one I wanted.The starting bid was $1,000.

I had a feeling that it would not sell. So, I emailed the seller that I would be interested in purchasing the one lens if the collection did not sell.

I got an email back stating that the family did not want the set broken up (it was an estate deal). As I suspected it did not get any bids. I got to thinking about it a few days later and decided to shoot them an offer for $800. Figured I could keep the lens I wanted and sell the rest individually on Ebay. It took them a few days but they accepted my offer.

Several weeks later several large boxes arrived via UPS and I was suddenly the owner of a very complete set of Olympus gear. What a treat! It was kinda like Christmas. All of the equipment is in mint condition. It has been quite challenging trying to decide what to keep and what to sell. I was able to get out and take quite a few pictures using some of the different lenses and that helped me decide. Reason prevailed. I only need a few lenses. The winder and flash are staying here though!

I have begun listing them on Ebay. They have sold well so far with some of the buyers as far away as Italy and Germany. By the time I get finished I will have recouped most all of my money and still have the zoom lens I wanted in the first place and several other bonus items to boot!

Chile and Frijoles Festival

9/26/2004 / Matt

Ronda and I drove down to celebrate the harvest of the Mira Sol Chile in the 10th Annual Chile & Frijoles Festival. The Chile & Frijoles Festival is a fun, fall event designed to promote the area’s agriculture of Pueblo-grown chilies and pinto beans, as well as to display the works of many talented artisans and craftsmen. The festival, which is free to the public, takes place in the heart of downtown Pueblo.

It was quite a large festival with at least 6 or 8 blocks of food and craft tents. As we entered the festival we went by the area where they were roasting the green chili peppers. They roast the peppers in large wire cages that are rotated above a gas flame. The roasted peppers were available for purchase in small bags all the way up to bushel bags. It was interesting to see pallets of green chili peppers sitting in the back waiting to be roasted.

We wandered up and down the streets for awhile looking at all the different goodies and crafts. There was a Corvette show on one street with a nice selection of old and new Vettes. My favorite was a black 72 Stingray.

1968 Shelby Mustang GT-350 While I was down at the end of the block waiting for Ronda to finish looking over some clothes I did a double-take. Coming down the street was a 68 Shelby GT-350. I managed to get a quick snapshot as it was turning the corner.

Savoring the Loot
We eventually dined on some of the tasty food and purchased some things to take home. Like: a quart of locally produced honey, a few bags of roasted pueblo peppers, some salsa, and a 20lb bag of pinto beans.

The weather was marvelous, sunny and mid-70’s.

Topographic Maps

9/15/2004 / Matt

I have been meaning to get down to the local map store and pick up some detailed (1:24,000) USGS topographic maps. The map I have been using while hiking is a larger scale (1:75,000) map which covers a large area but does not have the detail necessary for making those ad-hoc trail decisions.

Today I drove down to the local Macvan Map store in Old Colorado City to see what they had. They stock a nice selection of the USGS maps and pretty quickly I had half-dozen or so laid out. The 1:24,000 maps have great detail but don’t cover a very large area. Naturally, one of the areas I wanted was on the edge and spanned two maps. At nearly $9 a pop this was quickly becoming expensive.

The clerk that was helping me suggested I consider going with the digital solution. There are several companies marketing topo map software and you can get the entire state for around $90. Didn’t take me too long to do the math on that one. 10 sheets covering a small area or the entire state…. hmmmm… I think I’ll go the digital route.

Now all I have to do is decide which one to buy. Both of them seem to pretty much have the same features. One of things that sold me was the programs ability to “stitch” together all the maps so they are seamless. You can select the area you are interested in, add your own markings, routes, etc. and then print out just that section.

I’m leaning towards the National Geographic package. But the Maptech one looks pretty good too.

Queens Canyon – Updated w/photos

9/14/2004 / Matt

The Punch Bowls [Update – I made another trip to Queens Canyon with Ronda and Abby and got some decent pictures]

Queens Canyon is located just behind the Glen Eyrie Castle on the Navigators site here in Colorado Springs. I have yet to visit the Castle but would like to do so. The castle was built by General Palmer who was also responsible for the founding of the city of Colorado Springs and many other notable achievments in the local area. The Glen Eyrie site is at the northern end of the Garden of the Gods and Queens Canyon extends up into the foothills of Rampart Range.

I got an early start on this solo hike with the intent of using the early morning light for some photography. I headed up the trail at 6:30 am thinking the canyon would be illuminated by the forthcoming sunrise. This turned out to be a bad assumption. Because of the twists and turns in the canyon, sunlight does not arrive until much later in the morning even though the canyon is aligned on a mostly east-west line.

The canyon is quite narrow and the sides are very steep and rise several hundred feet or more. Continue reading

Father Redeem My Time!

9/12/2004 / RHonda

The days are flying by and I don’t seem to get any articles written or emails returned. I am sorry all. I am amazed at what it takes to keep this crew running with all three of us in and out all day! Not to mention the continued ‘moving in’ process or doing any projects, I am not going to get into trouble any time soon for sure!!

Matt has been so faithful to write articles and did such a grand job getting the website redone! I will start tonight and try to do a short update and then write more individual items as I can.

We are about 80% moved in and settled. I still have a lot of things stuffed in to the guest room. No one has been here for almost a month now and so it has gotten filled with the extra things that don’t go anywhere else yet. Someone NEEDS to come visit so I get it cleaned out! We have painted a couple of walls in the main part of the house but for the most part the ‘decorating phase’ has not started yet. We love our location! Our ‘backyard’, as we call it, is the 330 acre Ute Valley Park. The trail head is 1.5 blocks from the house and we go often to walk and hike. It must be where the coyotes we hear run at night. We have enjoyed the doe and her twin fawns that frequent the park as well as the birds – especially the humming birds. They are quite common there and they allow you to get up close. They will sit in a tree and just let you walk by! They are beautiful.
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