Winter is coming

Every Autumn we like to spend a couple of days in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. This October's trip we hit our first sight of snow this season, and found a face in the mountains.

Face looking skyward. Can you see it?

Valley below, snow above

Autumn and Winter meet at Sprague Lake

Denver Zoo

We try to get down to the Denver Zoo at least twice a year. We only made it once this time around. It gets harder as the schedules start to pile up. It's a great place to stop when visiting Denver. The new Elephant Passage Exhibit is immersive and beautiful.

The animals were out in droves for Teacher Appreciation Day and to top it off we all got All You Can Eat Ice Cream from Boulder Ice Cream Company. After all that ice cream we had to go downtown and visit Rioja, one of the best restaurants in Denver. Well anywhere for that matter...

Tigers out relaxing

I dare you not to yawn.

The name is Tank.

Somali Ass... Yes, I'm not kidding.

Okapi... OK.

Still Chill.

Summer Cleanup - BMW R1200C

For many years I watched these bikes. In parking lots, occasionally on the highway, and at the dealerships. Unfortunately, the high cost of entry kept me from jumping on one for a very long time. Then I started a slow and steady search on Craigslist. Checking the RSS feeds, looking for that perfect deal. After a couple of years I found it. A silver 2004 BMW R1200C.

I really wanted to find a Phoenix Edition bike, but something about this silver one grabbed my attention. It is a bit cleaner than stock with a couple minor mods; a Remus exhaust, the pencil beam driving lights, clear lenses, and a trimmed down seat. Truth be told, I appreciate the little bit of windshield when it is cold or drizzling and the bags turned out to be handy.

Yea, it doesn't have 200 HP or massive amounts of the twisty stuff, but it's good for 90 MPH if you need it. It turns nicely, stops fast and is reasonably comfortable for a 300 mile ride. I do wish it had a little more room in the cockpit and that the cylinders weren't quite so close to my toes in the summer, but in the winter it is nice to have a foot heater.

It's a good bike, it's solid and I like its German weirdness. It isn't exactly like the other hordes of American Iron and Japanese Speed I see everyday. Nothing against those makers at all. I still fantasize about a chopped Harley Davidson FXR and maintain  dreams of rebuilding my wrecked 1978 Yamaha SR500. The way I see it, if it has two wheels it is nothing but good.

NOW, STOP SURFING THE WEB AND GO RIDE!

Rocky Mountain National Park

It's hard to beat a stay in Estes Park at Murphy's River Lodge and a day exploring Rocky Mountain National Park. This year is particularly green with all the rain and snow we've had. Beautiful place. Have a great Independence Day!

The view from Murphy's River Lodge

Glacial valley

The western side of Long's Peak

Shadowman

Typical Colorado Weather

Here's what one can count on in Colorado; random weather with no apparent reason. After a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon... I hope all the crops made it through unscathed.

This

And this

Led to this

And 30 minutes later.... 

As if nothing happened.

Welcome to Colorado. I hope you've got full coverage on that car and roof.

Foose Stallion Mustang

I stopped in at Best Buy in Centerra the other day to pick up some parts for a client and there it is, a Foose designed 2007 Mustang! At least a 2007 is my best guess... 

In case anybody doesn't know about Chip Foose, go check this out. The partnership with Unique Performance that created the beast went south and got very ugly quite a few years ago. Too bad, it was a nice looking design. 

I don't have any specific details on this car but it is very nicely put together. I found references to the Foose Stallion here at the Mustang Forum and here at Supercars.net . I came out of the store as it drove off and it sounds as good as it looks. 

Mildly frenched headlights

Lowered just enough

Two Tone Red and Black

What's with the long face?

I snapped the shots with my Droid Ultra. Not too bad a camera for having a phone stuck to it...

Ducati Monster S4 Corse For The Spring

A friend of a friend broke out his Ducati Corse for some springtime riding. Andrew's Ducati is a Corse edition that is near stock. The only tweaks he's made are an aftermarket Arrow exhaust and bars that sit him a little bit more upright. It's so comfortable that he rode it all the way down to Texas recently. 

The bike's unique paint scheme is an OEM feature on this Special S4 Monster. Normally I'm not a big fan of factory custom paint, but this is just perfect for this sport bike. Great bike Andrew!

Rare Ducati Checkered Flag Tank

Nice find before a business meeting at Starbucks!

Arrow Exhaust on a Ducati Monster