September 2 weekend – This year’s Labor Day weekend was heavily weighed down with rallycross. There were separate events on Saturday and Sunday both at CORE. There was some real concern that we wouldn’t have enough competitors to run one or both of them and we made a big push for participants during the preceding week.
Saturday we got an early start, leaving the house for the event around 6:00. Janis was to design the morning course and was there before we arrived. The rally bus wasn’t there yet so no designing could occur so we took the time to unload the evo. Finally the bus showed up and I drove it around per Janis’ course map while he and Jonathon (another competitor) threw cones out the back. I was satisfied with not participating further with the course setup and helped Susan get the bus ready for the day. This included setting up our PA so we could do announcements as the old amp was not functioning from its fall back in August. Our PA turned out to be the little PA that could and actually did rather well despite its small stature and low wattage. The area we used for the course was largely neglected for the past month or so and much of the previous ruts and whatnot were obscured by new grass and weeds. I’ll use that as an excuse as to why the course was so bumpy and a bit crazy. By request our class ran first and there were a couple of places where there was likely a bit of air between our tires and the ground which is highly unusual and generally a no-no. It’s possible this is what caused a crack in the top of our radiator to manifest itself halfway through the morning runs though it’s hard to know for sure. While bumpy and a little crazy the morning course was fun and the afternoon course proved to be great too. I pushed for maximum runs and seat-time and, in the end, even the fastest drivers had over 10 minutes of racing. I finished the day second and Susan fifth in our class. My coworker Connie came out to take some rides in the afternoon and she rode with us as well as several other drivers as we did our thang. Our original plan was to leave the evo overnight on-site but we ended up trailer it home to replace the radiator with one we luckily already had. So when we got home we rushed the evo off the trailer and immediately worked to swap the radiator out. This went alright and by 8:30 we loaded the evo back up for the next day.
Sunday was another early day. When we arrived I was saddened to see the course was not already set up for the day (I had asked one of the other chiefs if he would take care of it right after the event the previous day) so set about helping to get it done (I wasn’t mad though as Saturday was a long day for everyone). Sunday’s course used the same area as Saturday’s but had a very different layout. As we knew the turnout was lower we designed the course to be shorter as well. At first I worked the course while Susan handled the timing but that didn’t last long as people bugging her led to issues. I jumped into the bus to help as I’m not as nice to those who annoy as she is. The course was bumpy again but not nearly as much as the day before. With the evo’s new larger radiator we were hoping its overheating problems were in the past but found we still had to spray off the radiator after each run to cool it off. To be fair to the aftermarket radiator temperatures were over 100 degrees on Sunday which didn’t help. Due to some course-related issues we didn’t quite get the runs in that I originally wanted but much fun was still had in the dirt. I ended up finishing first in our class with Susan taking fifth place again (a few too many pesky cones kept her out of fourth). After picking up the cones, loading up the rally bus, and packing up our racing stuff we left for home. We did stop at Chili’s for dinner on the way home which was nice. I was much too exhausted to unload the evo when we got home and we spent the remainder of the evening on the couch with Bella.
Monday – We were actually up and about around 9:00 which felt mighty-early after racing two days in a row. Our day’s plan was to drop off the WRX to get its niggling issues addressed by the Subie Doctor, drive up to Greeley to buy some cheap slightly-used rally tires, and be home by 3:00 so as to facilitate Ken picking up some racing supplies we brought home for him the day before as well as his Corn Hole setup we lent us for our housewarming party. Dropping off the WRX went fine and then we headed up to Greeley to check out the rally tires. The shop was one I hadn’t heard of before (O.D.D.) which was a bit nuts as we’ve never seen so many professionally prepped rally cars in one place. There were at least a dozen race cars on site in various stages of repair. The person managing the sale of the used rally tires was a friend of our friend Jeff and his name was Ronnie. He was very talkative and we hung out after I purchased tires while he gave us a tour and told us many a story. In some ways it felt like we already knew Ronnie and we had a nice time. We found that we had spent perhaps too much time at the shop so only made one quick stop on the way home to get BBQ stuffs. Susan was famished and I finally BBQ’d some burgers for us around 2:30. Ken showed up right on time at 3:00 and we helped load up his Subaru Impreza wagon (almost exactly like the one we just sold). Ken had rallycrossed both previous days in his beat up Ford Escort which was great as he hadn’t been out all season. After Ken left Susan and I talked about possibly doing some other productive things but I made the declaration that I was essentially ruined from the previous days’ activities and made my way to the couch. The only real interruption from our couch-time came when I got up to make beef stroganoff for dinner. What a weekend!
On Wednesday night (September 6th) we bought a 2000 Mazda Miata. Since we sold Jay I’ve been itching to buy another car and specifically another Miata to rallycross (Susan put the kibosh on rallycrossing Tia). I saw the ad on craigslist late in the morning and reached out not really expecting an answer as it was low-priced and looked in decent shape (such Miatas are generally snatched up fairly quickly). He got back to me and after further exchanges and emails with Susan we decided to meet at an Olive Garden relatively close to our home. This was great as the guy (Ray) lives 23 miles south of Byers which is over an hour from where we live. We drove Tia and Ray was a pleasant fellow. The car came with some history and had a relatively newer engine swapped in last year. The test drive went well and I actually paid him his asking price without even trying to work him down (it was truly already very low). Hilariously (to me anyway) I noticed a significant vibration begin in the car at above 65 MPH on our way home. My guess is that the drive shaft needs replacing. Luckily for us I don’t mind doing such a simple job myself (they are pretty inexpensive too). After we got home we went to a car wash at Susan’s behest to give the car a quick rinse and to take pictures under better lighting conditions. The car is as of yet unnamed but we’re furiously thinking of something as I type.
September 9 weekend – It really began on Friday night when Jeff came by to check out the new Miata and eat BBQ’d burgers. He took it for a ride which was alright and we put it up on jack stands when we got back to take a closer look at the car. There were various issues with the suspension and obvious ones with the motor. Due to the several oil leaks and that it needed the timing done we decided we’d pull the motor on Sunday. The remainder of the evening was spent hanging out and chatting.
We had a couple of things scheduled on Saturday. The first was to pick up the WRX from the shop that was doing some work for us. They fixed the misfire issue it was having, replaced some power steering lines, and installed a kill-switch (this makes it more difficult to steal the car). The power steering pump was shot (again) but luckily it had a warranty so after we got home I pulled it to exchange for a new pump. Susan had stopped at Ikea to pick up a present for the housewarming party we were to attend later in the day and got home just as I was leaving to exchange the pump. She ended up heading back out to a thrift store while I did my water-pump-thing. Even though I’ve now replaced a few power steering pumps I managed to crack one part that one can’t really buy. *Sigh* Frustrated I stewed on the couch until Susan got home. It was around 5:00 when we left to attend Dan and Alina’s housewarming party. They had a variety of different foods and drinks for consumption and gave us a tour. They have plans to make serious improvements to the basement which were pretty cool. Their dog Pixel has grown up and is a wild-child. Many of the guests were new faces to us and we mingled with a few of them. We had a nice time and headed home around 10:00.
Sunday I woke at 8:00 and eventually dragged Susan out of bed around 9:00. Jeff was to come over at 9:30 to aid us in pulling the Miata’s motor. He ended up showing up after 10:00 which was fine as I got a jump-start on the project. Over the next few hours we removed a lot of components above and below the motor. Eventually we hooked up the engine to the engine hoist Jeff brought with him and pulled the engine out. We didn’t have the right bolts to connect the motor to the engine stand so made a quick trip to Murdock’s to get them. After we were back and the engine was attached to its stand we again left, this time to a junk yard to look for the power steering part I broke the previous day. We went to our favorite lot (Littleton Pull and Pay) but were unsuccessful in our searching. We did end up getting some coil packs off a Toyota Camry to eventually use on the new Miata (it will be an upgrade over the OE setup). It was hot and after some Susan-cajoling we stopped at Cold Stone for ice cream. It has been many years since we’ve gone but we managed to all get something tasty. Once we were home again we pulled off the oil pan, head, and other internals from the engine to get a better idea of what work would possibly need to be done. We found the block and much of the internals to be in good shape but the cylinder walls and crank would need some work done. Susan kept track of the list of potential things we’d need to buy and places to contact to get started. It was getting later in the day and Jeff took off to finish his evening at his home while Susan and I headed for the couch. Poor Bella had been by herself for most of the day and missed Susan terribly. It wasn’t all bad for Bella as she did get to join us at Murdock’s where she relieved herself on their floor. Bella is a good dog most of the time. We ordered pizza for dinner and watched TV before heading to bed early as we were tired from our busy weekend.
September 16 weekend – The weekend began on Friday night when Susan and I brought dinner up to Karen and John’s house. I prepped chicken casserole immediately after work and was just finishing up when Susan got home. I only had to cut and butter/garlic some Italian bread and we were off to the mountains. Unfortunately for us the traffic was horrible and the drive took a long time. We finally arrived at our destination and popped the casserole in the oven immediately before heading to the living room for chit chat time. We were very hungry by the time the food was ready and all agreed it was tasty. Back to the living room we went as per the normal dinner schedule. We talked for a couple of hours before deciding to forgo the dessert we brought up with us as we were still full. Susan and I left around 10:00 for a drama-free drive home.
We slept in a little on Saturday morning. I was up around 7:00 and Susan 9:00. The plan for the day was to do some work at the Dawn house. I wanted to bring the Suburban so we had to finally unload the evo from the car trailer. We towed the evo to a parking lot close to our local car wash to get the evo off the trailer. We did this because a bunch of Goat Head stickers/seeds were still stuck in the tires of the evo from the last event and we didn’t want any to plant themselves around our house. After the evo was free of the trailer we went to the car wash to vacuum out the evo’s interior before we went home. Most of the goat heads were flung off on the drive back and Susan plans on plucking the rest at some point in the future with pliers. We unhitched the trailer and loaded the PA from the Suburban to the WRX before finally making our way to the Dawn house. We stopped at Village Inn for a late breakfast but found the joint packed so we moved on. We settled on WichWich for Susan and Garbonzos for me (they are next to each other on Highlands Ranch Parkway). We then stopped at Home Depot to pick up new mini-blinds for the kitchen. Once at the Dawn house we mounted a couple of doors and I attempted to install the blinds. Unfortunately the blinds we bought were too short (my bad) so we went back to Home Depot to exchange them. Fortunately the guy working the returns counter was sympathetic so we left with what we needed. After a quick trip to the Dawn house to install the right-sized blinds we went home to the Dogwood Estate. It wasn’t late or anything but I decided I was finished being productive for the day. Susan was still rearing to go so she went to a couple of thrift stores looking for overalls. Dinner was leftovers and we hung out with Bella on the couch.
Sunday was Colorado Pug Rescue’s annual Pugs in the Park fundraiser. We packed up the rest of the items we’d need in the WRX and leashed up Bella. We stopped at Lora’s Donuts & Bakery Shop for coffee and a donut for Susan (I ate before we left home). The drive to Central Park where the event was held was uneventful and, upon arrival, jumped to helping where we could. I set up the PA we brought (we always loan ours to CPR for the event) while Susan helped get the Rescue Tent/area prepared. The event itself went well to my limited view of it. There were too few foster pugs in attendance but that is essentially a normal thing. The pugs there were cute and many people were interested in adopting them. Bella quickly ran out of energy and spent much of the day on Susan’s camping chair resting. She was very popular and received a lot of attention. The standard pug-activities went on without much drama (beyond the pug-related kind) which was good. Susan and Bella would have won first place in the kissing contest but it was decided to award it to a non-volunteer pug duo. It was all very cute. Rain rolled in around 3:00 and we packed up around that time. Susan and I stuck around until most everything was loaded in the volunteer’s trucks and trailers before heading home. Only one food truck showed up and we didn’t take the time to get anything so were fairly hungry at this point. Susan was cool eating a BBQ’d hamburger so I grilled when we got home. Later we finished off leftover pizza. I was exhausted and went to bed early. It was a great weekend!
-September 23 weekend – The weekend began with buying a snow blower and duvet on Friday night. We ate a quick meal at Qdoba on the way to Bed Bath & Beyond which was tasty. At BB&B we purchased a new king-sized heavy comforter. It was only really noteworthy as I felt we were treated as ignorant poor folks. There was perhaps a little too much emphasis put on keeping the receipt in case we needed to return it and making sure we understood how much it was going to cost. I didn’t realize I was sensitive to such things (and it’s entirely possible I felt something that wasn’t happening). Weird. Afterwards we headed to Lowes where we bought the snow blower we’d picked out online earlier in the day. As it is early in the fall it took some doing to find the model we wanted but in the end we loaded up our prize on the back of the car trailer for the drive home.
Saturday morning began around 9:00 when I finally got up and fed Bella. Around 10:00 and I was bugging Susan to get out of bed. The plan was to catch breakfast on the way to the Dawn house and we ate at Great Beginnings. As we were there late in the morning there was a short wait time before we were seated. The food and coffee were excellent and we were soon on our way to the Dawn house. We proceeded to load up the WRX with photo chemicals and various supplies from Susan’s old darkroom. We also finally cleaned out and swept the garage. We’re really hoping to rent out the Dawn house soon. On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart and then Costco for some needed things. There was to be a rallycross on Sunday which was relocated from USTDS to CORE. This location change was decided on Friday so Saturday afternoon I swapped out the rally tires from our super-worn set to a newer set and we loaded up the Suburban for the event. In the evening we left for the Cherry Creek Canvas and Cocktails to paint. We arrived early despite the rainy weather and me missing a turn and hitting a curb in my efforts to flip a u-turn (I’m pretty sure the car is fine). The class began a little late but we were alright with it. The instructor was originally from South Africa and had a cool accent. She did a fine job instructing and entertaining the room and by the end of the night we all had achieved some degree of success. Our paintings came out well and we enjoyed the experience despite the crappy brushes provided. We went home where we found that the next day’s race was cancelled due to the rainy weather. We also found that our furnace wasn’t functioning. After some consternation we discovered the gas line was shut off and, after a quick “re-boot”, the heat began blowing.
Sunday ended up being a lazy-day. It was cold and rainy out and we opted to not leave the house. Susan spent the day watching Netflix shows on the TV with Bella and I watched YouTube videos on my computer (Bella pretty much stayed with Susan all day as is her prerogative). I managed to BBQ us lunch and whip up some chili for dinner and even got in an hour or so of guitar playing. Saturday night was the first night we slept under the new comforter and I found the experience very hot. I woke up early Sunday morning sweating a lot and I couldn’t cool off. Perhaps it’s good the BB&B lady made sure we kept our receipt in the end. We felt like we really needed a lazy-Sunday and made the most of it. It was another great weekend for us!
During the next week I thought it time to release my guitar instruction guide I’d written on the world of r/guitar (it’s a Reddit thing). I was gratified with the majority of the feedback. I figured out how to play guitar in a way that I’ve never seen anyone else do in quite the same way so wrote up my guide/instruction book. As I love playing and believe firmly in the benefits I experienced due to my particular way of going about it I just hope some enterprising guitarist can find some benefit in it.
Saturday, September 30 – we slept in until around 9:00. Both of us were up and playing on our devices in bed with Bella when Jeff messaged that he was on his way over. He was coming over to look again at the new Miata’s motor again to give a final opinion on what we should do. Susan and I levered ourselves out of bed and got dressed. Jeff delivered his advice and we decided breakfast would be nice. We jumped in the wrx and I drove us to Great Beginnings. It was busy but we were able to get a table right away. The food was excellent and we ended up staying there for over two hours talking/debating about this and that. Back at the Dogwood Estate we hung out for a bit longer before Jeff made his escape. Susan and I hung out with Bella for a time and I got in a few minutes of guitar practice before we left to an end-of-summer celebration with our rallycross friends Todd and Valerie Briley. I got to drive the rallybus while Susan followed in the RS. I drove the bus as the person driving it to the next day’s rallycross was going to pick it up at the Briley’s party. The rallybus really was pretty easy to manage and the trip was uneventful. Their house is new, huge, and beautiful (entering felt like walking into one of the amazing homes on HGTV). The Brileys are a recently married couple who both have been married and had children before and thus brought a lot to their relationship. They had lots of food and beverages and we indulged in both. The conversations were light and most were related to rallycross. We left around 6:30 to hang out with Bella at home. We probably stayed up too late which isn’t usually a good idea the night before a rallycross.
September seemed to fly by and it’s hard to believe it’s over. The weather has been a constant variable this month with hot days followed by rainy cooler days followed by more hot days. Bella has been a doll and it so fun to play with. We got our propane tank filled for the winter while prices were low and hopefully will have enough to make it until next spring. October will be another busy-busy month that we’re both looking forward to.
