On The Road Denver Edition: How About Some Football?

Dateline Denver, Colorado:  August 8, 2011



So last week this olelongrooffan was chatting it up with the land surveyor for the project in which I am engaged here in the Mile High City and the subject of the Denver Broncos arose. Seems his daughter is some big muckity muck within the Broncos organization and had obtained he and his wife VIP tickets to a Broncos practice session down at their practice field about 45 minutes south of here.

An idea popped in my head that this would not be a bad gig to attend so I pulled up the Broncos website and realized that on this past Saturday, the Broncos were holding a scrimmage at their game field, Invesco Field at the Mile High Stadium.

Well Counters, you know what this olelongrooffan did, don't ya? Yep, I finished up working round the "Port Royal" about 1, showered and headed the six blocks to Invesco Field to catch me some National Football League action.  Did I mention it was free admission to boot?



It was a pretty cool gig and, although I was seated facing the western sun, I enjoyed myself along with around 10,000 other folks that afternoon.



I had pretty decent seats and lots of room to spread out.  The opposite side of the field was mostly shady and packed.



After a series of field goal practice kicks, the blue and white teams sided up and commenced to getting at it.



It seems the Broncos are pretty strong on the passing plays but their running plays left something to be desired.



And let me tell you folks, pro football cheerleaders look alot older on the boob tube than they appear live and in the flesh.



And I have this to say about that. I was not at all impressed with young Tim Tebow. 24 plays, 3 interceptions, 4 sacks and ZERO first downs.  I imagine that kid's learning curve is pretty steep these days.



After watching those plays, this olelongrooffan decided to call it a Broncos day and headed on out. Just outside gate 4 the powers that be have installed a series of horseshoe pits open, free of charge, to the general public. Broncos...Horseshoes...Get it? Pretty clever this olelongrooffan thinks.



See that parking lot at the end of the walkway to Invesco Field.  As I arrived, the cops had the entrance to this not yet full parking lot blocked off and were directing us fans to a lot several blocks away.  I decided to head back to the main drag and try and find something a little closer. As I was turning onto Federal Road, I spotted a gap in the cable surrounding that parking lot and followed an Audi A4 through it into that just across the street parking lot. Yeah, this olelongrooffan is not known as "Create A Parking Spot John" for no reason. FTW.



So anyway, out in that walkway portion the Broncos have some pretty cool sculptures, all football related. Here is a mouthpiece that was about 15 feet long.



Here is a neckbrace...



A chinstrap...



Knee pads...



A section of a cleat...



And a tee used for place kicks...



And although there was not an oversized jockstrap in sight, this olelongrooffan did receive a Broncos keepsake on my way out that, even today, allows me to

Celebrate Life.

On The Road Denver Edition: The Mobile Taj Mahal

So, over the course of the past couple evenings, this olelongrooffan has had a few conversations with some east coast time (yeah, I miss it) friends of mine who have absolutely no idea what a Westfalia Vanagon is.



Well for those unknowing Counters, (of which there can only be the ones I spoke to recently) this is a 1980 Volkswagen Westfalia in all its glory.



It is a factory approved camper conversion of a basic Vanagon with a gas stove, refrigerator, slide out table with a seat that converts to a bed and a pop top that is also another sleeping area.



But, more important than that, Filmore, as it is affectionately named by its owners, is also the chosen home of this olelongrooffan for the duration of my stay here in the Mile High City. And this vehicle signifies the desired lifestyle of its owners. The above image captures it all on the day after my host's 30th birthday party.

Newly acquired, but unseen, first home behind the image taker of this picture: Check

Newly acquired blown up pool, inflated by the 45 dollar air compressor purchased to apply yet to be applied nails to the walls of this 1901 constructed home: Check

Large trash pile of food wastes accumulated while the urban trash collection schedule was decifered: Check

Even more recycle ready items: Check

Construction waste dumpster nearly filled to capacity (but thankfully without foodstuffs): Check

The Denver based minature Taj Mahal with the pop top in the background: Check

Legal here in Colorado cannibas in the foreground: Check

I am fairly confident that might explain to you the situation here in the Mile High City.

But know this Counters, my dad, TheGentleManFarmer, used to call this olelongrooffan JD, short for John David.



And if any of you are cruising I-70 near the Pecos Street exit in the Mile High City, stop in and enjoy a cool one with this olelongrooffan as Filmore and I continue to

Celebrate Life.

On The Road Denver Edition: What I Saw Today

Dateline Denver Colorado; July 30, 2011

Kind of a lounge around day today for the crowd this olelongrooffan is running with these days so I figured I would update those of you Counting Along With Me on some of the cool cars I have spotted around the Mile High City.

When I first arrived, I almost freaked out about the number of original older vehicles that could be seen around town.  It still seems as if there is an interesting vehicle parked in a driveway or out front every other block. It's pretty cool.



Check out this International Harvester Scout I saw the other day. (Seems to be a trend beginning here.) Its got a spare tire, spotlight and it's a 1/2 cab!



On the day I misdirected myself all over downtown Denver, this olelongrooffan sniffed up a late 70's Mustang II. Sweet and a still nice interior.



And while this olelongrooffan is done with BMW's for the time being, I certainly lusted after this very period correct BMW 2002.



Just down the street from Big J and Ellie's condo there is a high rise assisted living facility and this is always parked out front.  When I finally quit slacking and stopped to gather some images of it, an older gentleman who had been sitting on a park bench under a nearby shade tree ambled on over to chat it up with me. If memory serves this olelongrooffan correctly, it is a 1972 Mercury Montego with 50,000 one owner miles on it.

These cars and trucks, among plenty of others I have seen, have a certain panache this olelongrooffan enjoys and it provides me great joy to share these sightings with all y'all.

However, a couple of vehicles I have seen recently require a bit more of an explanation as I was reminded of a great memory when I saw these two.



Like the vehicle I spotted that had this original AAA sticker affixed to its trunk lid.



And that trunk lid was attached to a mid 60's Mercury Montclair 4 door post sedan.



Judging by the condition of this rare beauty, those AAA privleges have probably been utilized to the max during the life of this car.



The Club is a nice touch.



Yeah, this thing has been used and no exception was taken when something got in the way of this beast.



"That's what I'm talking about Willis."



The passenger side rear window was broken out and that sunscreen was the only protection for the interior from the torrential rains we were having here in the Mile High City that week.



This model, however much it is beaten up it is pretty cool, well to this olelongrooffan anyway,  in that the rear window is retractable just like the rear window on a station wagon tailgate. It was supposed to provide an offset breeze while on Eisenhower's Highway System.



And like the hubcap hanging on the front door of the Taj Mahal, the grille on this old sweety pie possessed a profile of the god Mercury. Nice.

I spotted that Mercury while out one day with Big J and we were checking out a local Big Lots store in the suburbs.

So, a few days later I am downtown checking out some more of the sights and Lo and Behold, I spotted this almost pristine mid 60's Mercury Montclair rag top that I absolutely had to stop and get some images of.



It was parked in a pay by the day lot in downtown Denver. It was in nice condition but did have some rust in front of the rear wheels.



I thought that the location of the rust was in an interesting place as my experience with that in snowy climates was the rear of the rear tires rusted the worst. Oh well. Still a nice car and about 20 feet long.



No car, no matter how nice and desirable, parks for free though.



It was really surprising to me to have seen, what to me is a rare model vehicle, then to see two different versions over the span of just a few days was pretty interesting and enjoyable for this olelongrooffan.



Seeing these two vehicles reminded me of my dad, TheGentlemanFarmer, who owned a 66 Pontiac Bonneville convertible as well as a 66 Pontiac Catalina 4 door post sedan at the same time back in the day.



And any things that remind this olelongrooffan of my Pop will always allow me to

Celebrate Life.

On The Road Denver Edition: The Birthday Edition

Dateline Denver, Colorado; July 29, 2011

So, this olelongrooffan is still in the Mile High City and working on my buddy's "John Lee" house.  The past couple days I have been trying to source a unique sized window for placement in the kitchen so as to allow the upper cabinets desired by the new owners of this home.



And, of course, while out and about finding this window, this olelongrooffan spotted this uber cool old International Harvester step van and just had to gather an image of it for those of you Counting Along With Me.



Now, on to the Birthday Edition.  Today Big J turned thirty years old. To me it's pretty cool as I bought my first home at 30 and that is when Big J, then Little J, and I met.  I was mowing the lawn of that first home of mine and absolutely hating it. Mowing Sucks and that's all there is to it.  Anyway, as I turned the corner of yet another row of grass to be mowed, I spotted this nine year old kid standing on the sidewalk watching me. In typical Tom Sawyer fashion, I stopped that mower and extolled the virtues of mowing grass to Little J and offered him ten bucks to complete the job.

He took me up on that offer and we have been friends ever since. Twenty one years and on going. It is fun to be here with him and a dinner out hosted by his partner Ellie is forthcoming. I am sure we will Celebrate Life.



In an effort to clean up our jobsite for this inprompto party site, the tools got shuffled off to a location near some discarded stove pipe.  After this blog is posted, this olelongrooffan is going to move those tools to their proper resting place.



And what birthday is complete without the carbonated beverages of choice. Unlike at the Taj Mahal ( I miss that place), here the canned beverage of choice is either Pabst Blue Ribbon or locally produced Coors Light.



This is a window I raised in the kitchen to clear the cabinets and backsplash upon their installation. Vinyl and double insulated, definitely worth reusing.



This past week after installing that slightly dropped ceiling in the kitchen, this olelongrooffan installed some insulated flexible duct work. Ready for wiring and drywall to be installed.



And the window sitting on the floor is the one I have been searching for this past couple days it was located just after seeing that International Harvester step van. I am pretty sure karma was involved there.



More ductwork, this time in the living room ceiling heading to the guest bedroom and the master bedroom upstairs.



And with those former kitchen cabinets now located out of the way in the living room, we have a place for all of the odds and ends to settle. And yes, jeepjunkie, that is a gen-u-ine Goodyear air hose this olelongrooffan scored at Harbor Freight for a mere twenty bucks. Murican Made.



I also framed out this wall in the laundry room on the rear porch area. Big J balked at the twenty bucks for the recessed washer box but this olelongrooffan insisted and here it is.



Well Counters, that does it for a project update. Ellie is summoning me to join them as we all head out to Big J's birthday dinner and to

Celebrate Life.