buckle-up

The calendar may say it’s springtime in the Rockies but we know better. Anyone who is a regular reader of posts to this blog may recall the post of May 30, 2013 So, I am shallow … when, all ready and prepared to depart Niwot, Colorado, for a weekend of track sessions at Willow Springs International Raceway – yes, the fastest track in the west – we awoke to an RV, trailer and little red Corvette buried under 8” of snow. This time, it’s the last days of April and it’s nowhere near 8” of snow and yet, somehow, it’s enough, already! Bring back the sunshine. On the other hand it was only two weeks ago when a snow storm descended on us with little warning and while the early forecast were calling for just a few inches, the weather system proved to be stubborn and didn’t move out for a day. The 24 hour totals were surprising as shown below with the city next to us, Golden, scoring an amazing total and this is where, in summer, we used to ride the motorcycles for a coffee at the local G...

In case you missed it, a quick check of the label Buckle-Up, to the right of this post (you will need to scroll down just a tad to see it), reveals that the count of posts published on this blog has reached 100. For a blog that has seen numerous changes in its primary focus, passing the 100 posts is still a significant milestone and one that doesn’t need to wait another couple of weeks before being published during the first week of May. The really cool thing about being the writer and publisher of a blog is that I can pretty much set whatever deadlines I like and this is exactly what I have doing since the first post, all the way back in May of 2008. A mid-month post therefore shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of my readers. However, looking back at all the posts, this blog has been about the journey and rarely the destination – at times the locations and events may have looked routine while at other times it all looked a lot more glamorous. But we have never stayed in one pl...

There’s no letup in the passion Margo and I share for cars and the open road. Any opportunity at all to set aside the tools of daily life and head down our driveway to connect with the rest of the world and we both jump at every opportunity on a moment’s notice. March, as is usual for us over the past couple of years, proved to be no exception and in fact, really was a continuation of February as the boundaries between months didn’t mean that we had to abandon a trip. Quite the contrary, no sooner had we pulled back up the driveway as February ended than we were packing up and preparing to leave. Itineraries have always been subject to change. Our plans have had an element of fluidity to them for as long as Margo and I have been together. A planned trip to California or to Nevada can be aborted as we fly to Italy or Singapore – a circumstance that has happened more times than we care to recall. But it’s all been good clean fun and we have never regretted any changes that eventuat...

In the howling wind comes a stinging rain … Welcome to the next chapter in our joint experience of life as the future indeed continues to unfold in spectacular fashion. We have made it to Paris, Las Vegas, where we were fortunate to catch up with good friends, Brian and Jan Kenny. There was much to discuss and it was a time spent frivolously as well as in deep thought. If you recall the previous post you will be reminded that our trip to Paris was about to start and as we packed for the journey, the skies cleared considerably and for the week we were on the road there was no precipitation falling down on us – yes, clear skies are often their own reward as it put us in the mood to enjoy a much-needed weekend of rest. Whether it is out of superstition or just being over cautious, no matter what the weather forecaster may predict, at this time of the year our go-to vehicle is the all-wheel drive Jeep SRT 8. Into this vehicle we cram a winter survival pack that includes shove...