2003-01

Solihull Society News Colorado Association of 4WDrive Clubs At the last committee meeting it was decided to proceed with the previously approved proposition for the club to join the Colorado Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs. This act is considered in the clubs best interests given the track lobbying activities undertaken by the association on behalf of all Four Wheel Drivers to ensure that trials are kept open for our continued use.

For the club to join the association we must contribute $20 per member which goes towards helping keep access open for us.

PO Box 480864 Denver, CO 80248–0864 The Solihull Society is a Land Rover club (Land Rover, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery) serving Colorado and the USA. Membership is open to all Rover enthusiasts.

Annual Dues are $60 and include 4 issues of the newsletter Solihull Society Magazine Copyright 2003 by Solihull Society President – Pat Bickford pbickford@ai–colorado.com Vice President – Mark Stolte marks@alliancecp.com Vice President – Larry Grubbs lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com Events Coordinator I – Ali Vali avali@mho.com Events Coordinator II – Jim Hall jimfoo@purplemountain.net Events Coordinator III – Ralph Brandt rnbrandt@earthlink.net Treasurer – Pam Haigh chaigh@boulder.net Secretary – John Alden Membership – Tim & Colleen Clair tclair@gowebway.com Newsletter Editor – Norman Hall norman_p_hall@hotmail.com Webmaster – David Nowakowski

Annual Membership To ensure good record keeping and align all memberships we are moving to a calender year membership arrangement effective January 2003. As a result all membership fees are now due. Last year we had a deliquency rate of approximately 30% meaning that 3 out of every 10 members failed to pay their annual membership fees. This was in part caused by the staggered dates for payment of dues and the resultant follow up failures.

Hopefully this new system will eliminate this and have all members back to contributing.

The club remains in a good financial position with ample surplus funds in our account. Whilst the account remains in credit it was felt by the committee that the annual membership fees should be increased from $30 to $40 to help ensure the continued financial strength of the club. This will be the first increase in club dues in more years than most can remember. As a result of this small increase and the Association levy this years annual fees now come to $60 which are due and payable.

Club Magazine The club magazine will now issue 4 times a year. Unfortunately due to the high cost of production and the high level of overdue membership fees, this will be the last magazine you may receive unless your 2003 membership fees are paid prior to the next issue being printed. This may seem a little harsh but I can assure you that it was vigorously discussed at the last committee meeting and decided that only paid up members should enjoy the benefits of the magazine [I use the term benefits loosely as my editorial skills are still in their infancy].

Newsletter Editors Ramblings Fortunately you will note when reading this issue that a lot of the content is no longer from the same author. My thanks go to all those who have contributed. It would still be appreciated if trip leaders could nominate a person from within their group top prepare a trip report on each club trip that is organized, either formally or informally through the forum section of the club website. The reports should include the participants details, a little but about the area into which you travelled, details of anything interesting that happened along the way and approximately 2 - 3 photos per page. I love hearing about trips that I was unable to participate on. I need your help to make the content of our magazine interesting and informative.

Battlement Mesa, Schofield Pass & Paradise Basin Colorado USA.

distances into existing wellbores. This was supposed to reduce the need for more wells and lessen the impact on the environment [interesting, 13th & 14th July 2002 lets let off two nuclear explosions to help save

By Norman Hall. the environment]. Although the experiment was purported to be a technical success, no further The fires have ravaged much of Colorado’s forest explosions were set off due to public concern areas, The Solihull Society Club trip to Red Cone [derrrr, I bet they couldn’t see that happening!]. and Webster Pass is cancelled due to Park The Trip. closures and my Rangie is still stuck on stands waiting to be put back together. Not a good position for an avid 4Wdriver to be in going into We met just outside of Denver in a small town called Genesee before heading in convoy west another glorious Colorado weekend. along Interstate 70 to Parachute. We refueled Larry Grubbs posts a note on the club website, we there in preparation for the weekend adventure. are heading West to a place called Parachute to do The drive to the trailhead was an easy dirt road, some exploring. He also indicates that Karrie, his which ended at a small car park at 8,223 feet wife, was away so he has a spare seat. I accepted above sea level. We all aired down our tires, it of course without hesitation, after all how can I was now low range driving. let the chance go by to cross off another Colorado The first thing we noted about the trail was that trail from my list of must do’s. there had been a grader through in recent times as tracks could be seen on each side of the trail Trip Participants: along with a large number of trees which had ¾ Pat & Lurlie Bickford 1997 Defender 90 been deliberately knocked down, we found out why later that night. ¾ Mark Stolte 1997 Defender 90 ¾ Rick Kemple & son Ben 1994 Defender 90 ¾ John Stiller & sons Alec & Andrew Range Rover 1991 ¾ Larry Grubbs and Norman Hall Range Rover 1990 Saturday – Battlement Mesa Background History Battlement is part of a vast mountain range which is called the Bookcliffs, but which are officially called the Roan Cliffs. The Bookcliffs are composed of oil shale, which is shale that actually burns because of the high oil content. In the 1970s, the US Government set off two small underground nuclear explosions near the local community of Rulison [the same general area].

This was an experiment to see if the tight porespaces in the rock formations could be fractured so that oil and gas could migrate further

Larry at the Rock Garden

The first obstacle we came to is known as the Rock Garden [there seem to be a lot of Rock Gardens on Colorado trails]. This is a 50-yard stretch of trail over which very large and

constantly moving boulders need to be negotiated. After surveying the best driving lines Pat took on the Garden. After only a little amount of spotting and realignment of position his short wheelbase Defender capably negotiated the boulders. Front and Rear lockers helped enormously.

Larry Using his Rock Sliders

Pat taking on the Rock Garden

Next came Larry in the Range Rover. Being a longer wheel-base and having smaller tires he proceeded to have significantly more difficulty than the Defender. After numerous attempts to follow the Defender line we repositioned him to take a completely different track through the boulders. He was successful almost immediately except that after the exhilaration of getting past the difficult section he lifted off the accelerator and unfortunately left himself stranded with no way either forward or back. At that time it was decided to winch him through to avoid any potential damage to his car.

Third came Ben [yes Rick is a great Dad as he was letting him drive]. Unfortunately Ben only had a rear locker and as a result was unable to gain enough traction to get over the first main boulders. After several attempts out came the winch cable and he was easily through. From the look on his face it was easy to tell that once home he would be convincing his father to put a front locker in the Defender.

John wisely took the bypass in his stock Range Rover so last through the obstacle was Mark in his Defender. With front and rear lockers engaged he walked through the boulder field making it look like a flat bit of paved road, show off!

This trail is renown for its mud bogs.

Unfortunately due to the dry conditions most had dried out, however shortly after the Rock Garden we came across several bog holes that the boys just had to try out. Ben was the first to find out that mud is mightier than car. He ended up on a 350 side-slope stuck well and truly in the mud with nowhere to go without help. Off course the recovery strap and cameras came out very quickly with the Bright Yellow Defender soon being extracted. It was now dark brown on the Left Hand Side and bright yellow on the Right Hand Side.

for safety. With the proper equipment the Chevy was recovered very quickly and safely.

Being glutens for punishment the Toyota driver then decided to chance his hand and yes got stuck. Unfortunately he also broke a rear axle in his attempt. We assisted in the recovery, which went smoothly. As they did not have a replacement axle, and it was of the type that makes the vehicle undrivable when broken, they had to leave the vehicle and drive back to Parachute for replacement parts.

Ben finding out what mud is really like

Both Larry and Ben tried the next bog hole with similar results to the first. A lesson was learn’t, well at least until next time!

It took very little coaxing to get Larry to give it a From then it was a relatively easy drive up to the go in his Rangie. Yes his fate was the same as end of the trail where a picturesque open meadow Ben’s. area surrounding a cool clear mountain lake greeted us.

Larry – How did I end up like this?

We had been followed by a big Chevy and a Toyota Tacoma. They decided to also try their hands at the mud. First of all the big Chevy got stuck. Unfortunately they were not properly prepared as the Chevy had no recovery point on the front and the Toyota had no recovery point on the rear of their vehicles. They had also only bought along a lightweight towing strap. After watching them from a safe distance break their strap, twice, and use the Toyota’s front bumper as a recovery point we offered assistance. A proper snatch strap [kinetic rope] was loaned to them along with us attaching the strap to the vehicles

Our Campsite view

Pat and Lurlie had decided not to camp over night but return to Parachute whilst Ben and Rick had to return to Denver, so after a quiet ale they departed and the three remaining vehicles set up camp at 10,000 feet above sea level.

Larry and Mark braved a swim in the cold water.

Not to be outdone Alec [aged 5] and Andrew [aged 2 ½] convinced their father to also let them go for a swim. I was the only sensible one to abstain from what was obviously folly.

Larry and Mark after their swim

After Dinner Mark, Larry and myself went for a hike to circumnavigate the lake where we camped. On the far side of the lake we found the reason for all the trail and tree damage we had noted earlier. It appears that the forestry service had bought in a giant backhoe on a large tractor base to undertake some earth works around one of the dams in the area. The machine was so large it could not fit up the trail without removing what appeared to be several hundred trees along the way. Never let a forestry worker tell you that they do not do more environmental damage with some of their projects than responsible 4Wdrivers do by merely following existing trails. If we had bashed down the same number of trees I have no doubt we would end up in jail.

Sunday Schofield Pass and Paradise Basin

Following a great lunch we headed south on the main road towards Aspen Ski Resort. Prior to getting to Aspen we turned off through a town called Carbondale and then along the Crystal River towards Marble. We also deviated to drive through a very picture perfect tourist township called Redstone, well worth the drive to look at all the small cottages and shops. Marble is a small mining town that was originally set up to quarry marble. All along the river bank we saw large chunks of Marble that had fallen off trains in years gone by and due to their weight had been left as there had been no way to get them lifted back on.

We were given conflicting reports about whether Schofield pass was open or not. Being adventurous we decided to try our luck and proceeded on.

The first major point of interest along the trail is the Old Crystal City Powerhouse. This is an old Water Mill built in about 1890. It is now in a state of disrepair, however is being kept together by local historical groups. It is purported to be one of the most photographed landmarks in Colorado.

From there it was a quick drive up to the old township of Crystal City which now appears to be taken over by people who have renovated the old ghost town into a group of small holiday cabins whilst retaining the turn of the century architecture.

We had all decided to meet up with Pat and Lurlie down in Parachute and, time permitting explore some other trails on our way back to Denver. On our way back down the mountain we bypassed all the difficult sections in order to save time.

From Parachute we all headed out along Interstate 70 back to Glenwood Springs, just in time to have lunch at the local Brewery. We looked a real scruffy bunch with dusty clothes, unkept hair and just enough mud over us to generate a few stares.

Crystal City Powerhouse

From there we traveled up towards Schofield pass. Along the way we drove along a steeply sided trail past a large snow avalanche and up to a high country meadow that was filled with wildflowers including many examples of the Colorado State Flower. Well that’s what Larry told me they were.

Devils Punch Bowl

We then proceeded over an old single car bridge and through the Devils Punch Bowl. This is a steep climb up to the pass with the trail at this section being very narrow [i.e. barely wide enough for a Rangie]. The trip is complicated by several large boulders that have fallen which must be negotiated with the aid of a spotter. It is in this section of the trail that 9 tourists died in 1970 when their full sized Four Wheel Drive plummeted off the edge. After reaching the top we had a very easy drive along a large mountain paddock filled with Pine Trees, wild flowers and several holiday log cabins.

Lake Emerald

After leaving the top of the pass we traveled down past Emerald Lake on what we thought would be a quick exit out to the township of Gothic. Were we wrong. Barely Âź mile past the Lake the road was blocked by a very large snowdrift. Any attempt to drive over the drift would have ended in disaster due to the steep off camber angle that the snow had covered the trail.

After much deliberation it was decided to retrace our steps and to hopefully find an alternate route out and over to Crested Butte.

Luckily for us all Pat had bought along his Ace navigator Lurlie. With the assistance of her map she managed to plot an alternate course out for us via Paradise Basin and Paradise Divide. The area around the Basin is very picturesque with most agreeing that it is a place to return to and explore at a future date. The road at its peak on the Divide is slightly over 11,250 feet above sea level and offers magnificent views down the valley into the Raggeds Wilderness area.

Paradise Divide

After leaving the Divide we had two choices, the more traditional County Road 734 which features in Charles A. Wells book as trail 23 or the slightly more direct Route 811. Given the time we chose the quicker. Part way down we came across a large group of vehicles including Mountain Rescue and Police. We were informed that a hiker

had been hit by a localized Lightening Strike and that they were in the process of evacuating her from the peak. We had not seen rain or lightening all weekend.

would take a few minutes to write down a bit on what I know about them, what is important to look for, where to buy, things like that. Forgive me if I repeat things that you already know. Also remember, this is just based on my experience and while I have owned/used at least 6 different digital cameras extensively in the last year, my viewpoint is still limited. This will likely be just free-form thoughts, much like if I was telling you in person, forgive the rambling nature. So said, I shall begin. Important features to consider.

Resolution Generally, most of the cameras available today are 1, 2, 3,4 or 5 mega pixels. I would consider Ragged Wilderness Area 2 mega pixels a good minimum. With a good 2 Cottonwood Pass. I say eventually because our MP image, you can print a photo quality image intrepid leader flew past the turnoff at 80 miles an that is 8" by 10" with no visible pixelation. As hour and only stopped when questioned by his you increase the resolution, you gain the ability charges. to print larger images without pixelation, but also the ability to crop an image and still print an 8X10 without pixelation. For example, if you take a picture but want to crop Larry out of the picture, you could do this with less image degradation if your image is a higher resolution.

The resolution is probably the single most important attribute to consider, but not the only one.

Optical Zoom

The effervescent Mrs Bickford

Cottonwood pass is a long winding dirt road that peaks out at Cameras 12,100 feet above sea level. Besides Digital concentrating on the road all drivers had to be on bylookout David Nowakowski the for grazing Deer at the side of the road who have a habit of fleeing onto the road So each of you has indicated that they are when caught in headlights. Luckily, the trip over interested in buying a digital camera. I thought I Cottonwood as uneventful.

The trip home was also without incident and I finally rolled into the house at about 12.20

90% of the digital cameras have an optical zoom capability of 3X. This gives you the ability to make an object in the distance fill your photo. It is really cropping of an image done in the field.

Depending on personal preference, you may not require more that the standard 3X. There are a few cameras available with larger zoom lenses, some with 7X and one or two with 10X zoom.

The camera that I currently use has a 10X optical Zoom. Another side effect of optical zoom is that the cameras tend to increase in size with increased zoom. Many cameras tout a

higher number referring to digital zoom.

Disregard this completely, it offers no value whatsoever. You can crop an image on your PC and get the same result. Always make sure you are comparing optical zoom.

Size Obviously , this is purely personal preference. If you want a camera that will fit in your shirt pocket, you will sacrifice other features. If you do not mind a larger camera, you are less restricted, specifically as it regards to zoom.

Where to Buy If you like the comfort of being able to return a camera locally, Wolf Camera has a good selection, as does Circuit City. Best Buy and Not generally a quantitative attribute, this can CompUSA, also carry a good selection. Make still be a deal breaker. This can only be determined by using the camera, although some sure that you know the return policy. Circuit city, for example, charges a 15% restocking fee reviews will include data on this. I had one after 5 days, even if you buy another camera camera, a Fuji 6900Z, that I loved for every other attribute but this, and ultimately could not from them. Most online companies have better get past. It was horrible at pictures indoors, with return policy’s than that. Buying locally will or without it’s flash. The camera I own now, on usually cost more, not always. When buying online, use www.pricegrabber.com to find some the other hand, can focus on an object in the dark, really dark, and still take it’s picture. Not of the best prices. One of the online vendors that I recommend is www.buydig.com. Recognize many can do this. that most online vendors make there money by selling the camera cheap, then selling you accessories at a premium. DO NOT FALL FOR Memory THIS! Most places will try to cross-sell you additional items, but will accept a no it you There are three main types of memory used in insist. Some will even go so far as to all of a most cameras, Smartmedia, Compactflash and sudden say that the camera is backordered after Sony’s memory stick. I would avoid the Sony you refuse to buy accessories. If this happens, models for this reason alone. That leaves Compactflash and Smartmedia. Compactflash as just call somewhere else. a medium is cheaper and available in larger sizes. Everything else being equal, I would choose a camera which use Compactflash. That When you want to buy memory, I highly being said, my camera use Smartmedia. I chose recommend www.newegg.com. Rechargeable the camera and it’s ability to take great picture batteries and chargers, I buy from over the memory type used. Don’t get two www.thomasdistributing.com. caught up in the memory type, just keep it in mind.

Low Light Capability

Summary

also quite large, not pocket sized. For me two things make this camera one of a kind. It has the Okay, so what to buy? First, decide what size best 10X zoom of any digital camera under $ you want, this limits your choices right away.

2500.00 and is very good at low light focusing.

Next, how much zoom do you need. If you don’t It is also not very expensive. know, you probably will be fine with the standard 3X. If on the other hand, you are used to a camera with greater zoom, think carefully Other cameras of note that I would look at about this, it will affect how you compose you pictures. Finally, after working through the first include the Minolta Dimage 5, and the newly announced Dimage 7i. The D5 is a 3 MP camera two, buy the highest resolution that you can that has 7X optical zoom. It is somewhat large, afford. Ultimately the increased picture quality but a fine camera. The new D7i is a 5 MP will stand you in good stead. camera, one of the highest resolutions available also with 7X optical. It is also going to cost close to $ 1000.00. With ought my current I am a huge fan of Olympus’ cameras, they have budget limitations, I would buy this camera the consistently delivered cameras that put image minute it is available. quality first. Nikon, Minolta, and Kodak also make cameras that are consistently on the top of the list.

One of the best places online to get information about digital cameras, new and old, is www.dpreview.com. Go read reviews of If you decide that increased optical zoom is not cameras that you are interested in. It also has the as critical, and that you want to stay relatively ability to choose different cameras and compare small, several camera’s jump out. The Olympus there specs directly, this is an invaluable tool, it 2040, 3040 and 4040. The 2040 is 2 MP, the gets you to the point of comparing apples to 3040 is 3 MP and the 4040 has 4 MP. I used the apples. predecessor to the 2040 for a year and it takes fantastic pictures. The lenses that Olympus uses for this line is one of the fastest and brightest, So there is my brain dump. I’m sure that it went allowing the camera to take pictures very well on for far to long, but there it is. Feel free to in low light without even using the flash. This disregard everything, I will only tell you that I allows much more flexibility. I can honestly told you so later, and feel free to ask me more say these are great cameras. It is hard to take a specific questions as you get closer to buying a bad picture with them. camera. Try to see and touch them in person, even if you buy online for a lower price.

Olympus also has a smaller (cigarette pack size) model the C-40Z / D-40Z that is 4 MP and fairly new. It has also gotten good reviews. I would look closely at it if I were in the market for a new, small, camera.

The camera that I currently use is an older model the 2100UZ with a 10X zoom lens. It is

Hackett Gulch - Post the Hayman Fire

around Corral Creek Rd, as can be seen on the map below, ranged from toasty to not too burnt.

by Jim Hall

The road itself was in great shape, with only a few shallow ruts down the middle. When we got I recently had the unique opportunity to go on to the junction of Corral Creek Rd and some of the trails in the Hayman burn area. My Longwater, we decided to go up Hackett, do friend and 4-wheeling buddy, Ralph Bradt, also Metbury, and return down Longwater. When we happens to be the Lead Wilderness Ranger for the reached Taryall Creek, we could see that it had Lost Creek and Mt. Evans Wilderness areas. At a flooded at some point. It no longer looked as meeting, someone asked if anyone had run any of deep, and upstream, a lot of boulders were the trails in the burn area to see what condition visible. Upon attempting to cross, we discovered they were in. No one had, so Ralph volunteered that large amounts of silt had been washed down to run them and write up a report. Being and had collected near the banks. Ralph almost unwise to go off-road alone, Ralph invited me got stuck going in, and both of us got stuck along. We had both driven the trails many times coming out and had to winch up the far bank. For before, with the exception of the south end of the most part, Hackett was only lightly burned, Hackett. with only a few severly burned areas.

The trail was in as good of shape as a trail that has been undriven or maintained for 6 months could be. When we got to the Platt crossing, we decided to put some straps between our vehicles.

The river was the deepest I had ever seen it, and was flowing quite quickly, even in the normally shallow areas. We figured that if Ralph started floating downstream, I could pull him back out. It ended up being deep, but not too deep. Like Taryall Creek, it had silt built up on the banks.

Ralph made it through but I needed a pull out.

The logs along the steep hill on the other side had been burned, but the hill only had minor ruts. It Road 211 also had a minor washout at the bottom of the mogul hill where it crosses the drainage. Just past We went in on 211, which starts down by there, we had to cut a tree that fell across the trail, Wigwam Creek, and followed this to Corral as this was one of the burned areas. Down Creek Rd(540). It was erie driving along with no towards the south half, the trail was unburned. We one else on the road, no animals other than a few turned around and followed the north half up to birds, and such a vast amount of burned trees.

Cedar Mountain Rd. At this point, we decided to The road(211) was in good shape, although it save Metbury for another day, which was a good looked as if a little work had been done to it in a decision as we had our work cut out for us on few spots where it may have washed out. As we Longwater. got closer to Goose Creek Campground, it started getting greener all the way down to the campground, which was unburned. The area

The condition along most of Longwater.

The mogul hill.

Again, the Platt crossing proved difficult due to the silt, but both of us made it across unaided. We went back the next weekend to run the south part of Hackett since we had never done it Before.

The beginning was green from the river to maybe halfway up the first hill. From there it was also severely burned. Trees also had to be cut on this trail, and we had to cross three washed out sections where it follows the ravine. It was in slightly worse shape than the other two trails, but only in a few sections. It could use work before next spring when the rain starts as the upper section will no doubt wash out even more without a bit of work.

Going down Hackett Rock.

Longwater had some ruts about 1 ½ to 2 feet deep at the beginning where it follows the drainage. Unlike Hackett, it was fairly severely burned down most of it’s length. However it also The start of the south section of Hackett. was in very good shape. This was due to the fact that these trails run ridgelines, and have been well maintained in the past. We had to cut 8 to 10 trees that had fallen across the trail. More unstable ones will need to be cut before the trail is safe.

A much needed tool on this trip.

Typical view on this trail.

to help in any way possible, be it reseeding, cutting or moving trees, working on the trails and roads, putting up new signs and markers. This area is used by many people for many activities including hunting, fishing, camping, ohv’s, rock climbers, so get your friends to help out too, even if they aren’t into 4-wheeling. The stronger our voice is, the harder it is for them to ignore it. You can contact them at http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/ or send mail to: Pike, San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron, Comanche National Grasslands 2840 Kachina Drive Pueblo, CO 81008 (719) 553-1400

November 8, 2002

One of the washed out sections.

On the 20th, Ralph went on Metbury with a group of other Rangers. I didn’t go on this one. It was in the worst shape of the three trails as it doesn’t follow the ridgeline as much. Apparently most of the other Rangers had fairly negative attitudes about opening the area back up. This seems to be the common attitude after a fire in the Pike District. How long ago was the Buffalo Creek fire? 6 years or so I think, and is the Top of the World area open? No it isn’t. We need to call, write, and e-mail the Forest Service and let them know that we want our land back! Let them know that we want

A Ride That’s Old, Rough and Ready

By STEPHEN P. WILLIAMS

UST a decade ago, before the sport utility vehicle emerged as a supercharged family supply barge, it was safe to typecast devotees of four-wheel drive as rugged people who preferred the most difficult fork in the road. Four-wheel drive spoke of boulder-strewn mountain switchbacks, rough tracks in the bush, adventurers on safari.

As S.U.V.’s have gone soft and mainstream, it’s only natural that some drivers seeking to project the old rough-and-ready image are buying the new Hummer H2 S.U.V., with its military swagger. But others are searching out the rugged old models themselves, especially the most

glamorous of the old four-wheel drives: vintage Land Rovers and Toyota Land Cruisers.

Shops across the country find themselves rewiring electrical systems, rebuilding carburetors and even installing modern brakes, satellite radios and seats in pre-1980 Land Rovers and Land Cruisers — not for storage in some collector’s warehouse but for day-to-day driving.

While these old workhorses were never built for speed, the refurbished versions do well at 60 miles an hour on the freeway and can be pushed to do 65. Some of their buyers think they perform better off-road than their modern offspring, able and Land Cruisers became the hard-working to winch themselves out of a snowdrift or ford a vehicles of choice in road-poor countries and backwoods locales. flooding stream.

Because of their rarity and their quirky British design (body panels that can be removed with a screwdriver for replacement; windshield wipers in some models that can be operated by hand from within the vehicle), the old Land Rovers have special cachet today. About 16,000 Land The mystique comes with a long history. The first Rovers were sold in the United States between four-wheel drive was made by the French 1951 and 1974, when the company abandoned the company Latil in 1898. By the early 1930’s, a American market (the brand returned in 1987 and four-wheel-drive Citroën was tracking Marco is now owned by Ford). Perhaps 4,000 of those Polo’s route from Beirut to Beijing. In 1948, are still in use, the majority of them from model inspired by the Jeep, the workhorse of World War series 2a, made from 1961 to 1971.

II, the British automaker Rover introduced the “At least 85 percent of all old Land Rovers on the aluminum-bodied Land Rover to keep its road today are patched back together with odd factories running during the postwar steel parts, just like the American cars in Cuba,” said shortage. It took off, and Toyota followed with Charles Kellog, owner of British Northwest Land the first Land Cruisers in the early 50’s.

Rovers in Olympia, Wash., which does Eventually the Jeep evolved into the sporty vehicle we now see everywhere, and Land Rovers restorations rather than patch-ups. “They are owned by people who don’t have a clue how beautifully and magnificently a properly turned out Land Rover can run.”

“There’s a mystique around them — they really turn heads,” said Cathy McGowan, 49, an artist who owns a fully restored 1979 Land Cruiser and drives it around Boulder, Colo., as well as in rougher country outside town.

You might find an old Land Rover for sale by an owner for a few thousand dollars but you would be buying problems. With a restored engine and electrical system, a two-door (plus rear hatch) pre-1971 series 2a is likely to be $30,000, and a mint-condition restored model can be much more.

A Land Cruiser may be cheaper — Toyota sold about 350,000 of its FJ-40 model in the United

States between 1961 and 1979, and many (the actual number is hard to guess) remain on the road. The Land Cruiser’s steel body is more vulnerable to rust than the Land Rover’s aluminum husk, but Cruisers have a great reputation for reliability and endurance, with engines routinely lasting for 200,000 miles.

people, Cleveland Browns Football (I’m not sure if “enjoy” is the appropriate term, but I went to my first game when I was 6 years old so it’s in my blood I guess). I try to attend a home game once a year no matter where I live.

I am happy to be member of this club!

Mark Stolte - Vice President TLC4X4 in Van Nuys, Calif., sells mechanically restored Land Cruisers with imperfect bodies for Mark chose to give me a photo and no bio so as little as $12,000. this is what I know of Mark.

Since old Land Rovers and Land Cruisers lack modern options and provide an old-fashioned, bumpy ride, buyers sometimes install power steering, air-conditioning and an undercoating to reduce vibration, noise and rust. But many think the quirks are part of the charm.

Mark is a nice guy, I mean a really nice guy, unless you are spotting him and he hears any sort of metalic sound and then he turns into Frankenstein with a bad attitude [sorry Mark].

He loves his car almost as much as he loves his wife and daughter. Mark drives a White 1997 “There are more belches, wheezes and bumps that Defender 90 Hard top which is in pristine condition because he washes it constantly and make noise in the night with this vehicle,” said keeps it immaculate [a good buy if he ever Greg Carrot, 52, a Chicago management consultant who is gradually restoring his 1969 2a. wants to sell it]. If you ever wnat to have a drink with a nice guy then mark is your man.

“But all that stuff grows on you.”

Committee Bios Pam Haigh - Treasurer A lot of you already know who I am. But for those of you who don’t.....

My name is Pam Haigh. I was born in Ohio (Go Browns!!), and after a move to Virginia met and married my husband Charlie. From ther we moved to Vermont, had 10 great years there with Rovers North, then got a job offer and came to Colorado. We’ve been here 4 years now. Charlie works at Land Rover Flatirons. We are a 4 Rover family. I have for the last 5 years driven a “Home-built” Defender 90 (with a 300 TDI), and just recently have acquired a 95 LWB Range Rover (my Big Girl car!).

As for my personal life, I have 3 great kids (a jack russell, a black lab, and a little black cat). I am a Veterinary Assistant at a place called the “ANIMALHOUSE”. I enjoy Rovers and Rover

Solihull Society 2003 Events Please visit www.4x4trails.net or Charles Wells Trail Books for info on trails and ratings.

Please contact the trail leader before the trail ride dates to let them know you are going.

If you are interested in leading trails that are TBD, contact Ali Vali at avali@mho.com Date 04-08-03 04-13-03 04-24-03 – 04-27-03 05-18-03 05-24-03 06-08-03 06-10-03 06-14-03 06-15-03 06-28-03 to 06-29-03 06-29-03 07-9-03 to 07-11-03 07-19-03 07-19-03 - 07-20-03 07-26-03 to 07-27-03 08-02-03 08-10-03 08-08-03 to 08-10-03 08-12-03 08-16-03 08-30-03 09-11-03- 09-14-03 10-14-03 12-06-03

Description Contact Info. / Trail Leader Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave. Chinaman’s Gulch Trail near Buena Vista Mark Handlovitch Trail is rated moderate to difficult. gonewheeln@attbi.com Spring Trip- Moab Utah Pat Bickford Trails are rated moderate to difficult. pbickford@ai-colorado.com Carnage Canyon near Boulder Hans Schulze Trail is rated difficult. zxblade@msn.com TBD Pending trail openings (snow) TBD Spring Creek Trail near Downieville Trail is rated difficult and very rocky.

TBD Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave. Twin Cone Peak Trail - Summit of Kenosha Pass Ali Vali Trail is rated moderate to difficult. avali@mho.com Bill Moore Lake Trail near Empire Trail is rated moderate and short.

TBD Battlement Mesa near Parachute Larry Grubbs Difficult Trail. Overnight camping lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com Wheeler lake Trail near Alma Ali Vali Trail is rated moderate to difficult. avali@mho.com Rubicon Trail near Truckee California Norman Hall Very Difficult trail. norman_p_hall@hotmail.com McCallister Gulch Trail near Camp Hale Tim Clair Trail is rated moderate and very scenic. tclair@gowebway.com Holy Cross Camping Trip near Leadville Larry Grubbs Difficult trail, damage possible, lockers lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com Blanca Peak near the sand dunes Hans Schulze Trail is rated most difficult, lockers required. zxblade@msn.com Club BBQ and Swap Meet Tim Clair More information TBA tclair@gowebway.com Trail Run, Jenny Creek near Rollinsville Doug Davis Trail is rated Moderate and short.

96discovery@eazy.net Crested Butte to Aspen via Taylor Pass Ali Vali Camping Friday and Saturday night near Reno Divide. Moderate 4-wheeling, scenic avali@mho.com Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave. Summit County-Georgia Pass, Middle Fork Ali Vali of Swan, St. Johns Trails are rated as easy to moderate avali@mho.com Iron Chest Trail near Buena Vista Larry Grubbs Trail is rated difficult. Rock sliders and clearance is recommended. lwgrubbs@us.ibm.com National Rally Moab, UT Pat Bickford More information will be posted. pbickford@ai-colorado.com Club Meeting - 7:30 PM Zangs Brewery, Denver I-25 and 23RD Ave. Holiday Party Mt. Vernon Country club