Solihull Society – Denver, Colorado

A Solihull Society meeting was held on June 6th, 2009 at El Señor Sol Restaurant in Denver.  The meeting was called to order by our club president Karen Kreutzer.  Turnout was excellent with 33 people including several new members and a few guests.

Rally Status: Chris Doty announced that rally plans are nearing completion.  Details include:

Staging Area for our morning muster will be the same as in 2005, in the “I Love Leadville” area known as Poverty Flats.  Permission was kindly granted by the owner, with no fee.  The suggestion has been made is that we invite him to our banquet as a guest.  The club is to provide him with a case of beer and proof of insurance, indemnifying the owner against all claims.  As there are no facilities, the club will provide 2 port-a-potties.

Vendor Night will be in the Ice Palace Park behind the Leadville mining museum. Permission has been granted with no fee.  The park will be available from noon to 10pm. Please note that this is a public park, it cannot be completely shut off to the public.  Requirements: A donation should be made to the Lake County Recreation Department.  Club is to supply 2 additional port-a-potties placed next to the bathrooms. In case it is requested we will have a copy of insurance on hand.

Free Camping: Permission has been granted for camping with no fee. Located 15 miles south of Leadville, this open space allows for primitive camping, with no water, electricity or toilets.

The club will provide 2 port-a-potties appropriate to the population.  We have been asked to have each camper complete a land use survey.  The owner is a developer and wants to use the info to further his causes.  In case it is requested, we will have a copy of our insurance available.

Dogs are welcome, but with caution. This is ranch property, which means “rancher rules” apply: any dog harassing cattle or causing harm to cattle could be exterminated and its owner held liable.  Bottom line: keep your dog contained.

Directions to camping area: 15 miles south of Leadville on Highway 24 South.  Take Highway (or Road) 82 for approximately half of a mile, across two cattle crossings, pick the north crossing at the “Sawatch Range Realty” sign.

We hope to have the area marked before the rally begins.  A club camping coordinator will need to be appointed.

The suggestion was made that we invite owner to our banquet as a guest.  This will provide an opportunity to extend our thanks and turn in the survey sheets.

Thanks to Rob Colombin, JC Crouse and Mile Pomponio for providing details from their recent Leadville recon trip.

Volunteers are needed to handle rally tasks other than trail leading.  So far Jesse Adams and Mike Jablonski have offered to help.  If you would like to help with this, please advise Chris Doty or Paul Donohue.

Trail Leaders’ get together is scheduled for July 25.  For details please contact Chris Doty and/or Jim Hall.

Summer BBQ Picnic: Wendy Vaughn reports that plans have been finalized.  Location is Pioneer Park in Arvada, near Ralston Road & Garrison Street, on August 30, 2009 from 2:00 to 6:00 PM. The club will provide meats and soft drinks.  So that we don’t all bring the same side dishes, Wendy has signed us up at:  http://www.luckypotluck.com/potluck/SolihullSocietysSummerPicnic

Graham Jackson made a short presentation on guidelines and rules for convoy.  His version is much different than my old copy of convoy rules which includes armored escorts and Huey gunships overhead.

The meeting concluded followed by the traditional small gatherings around various Land Rovers in the parking lot.

Submitted by Paul Donohue Club Secretary

A Solihull Society club meeting was held on April 14, 2009 at El Señor Sol Restaurant in Denver.

An executive meeting preceded the general meeting to deal with administrative matters.

The meeting was called to order by our club president Karen Kreutzer.

In order to provide adequate means of preparing the club newsletter, we agreed to update the club computer and software.

Content is needed for our newsletter.  Please contact Tate Crumbley with any interesting stories you might have, past or present.

Content is also  needed for our website Photo gallery. Instructions are needed on how to upload pictures.

Transfer of Club Treasurer responsibilities and materials was accomplished from Jenny Burris, our outgoing treasurer, turning things over to Graham Jackson, our new treasurer.

We resolved that Trail Leaders’ area and Calendar on our website need to be updated.  If a volunteer is interested in helping the club with these tasks, please contact Karen.

Volunteers for Trail Leading need to sign up with Jim Hall.

Trail leader training was discussed, questioning the need and/or availbility for a Bill Burke class this year.  At minimum, our current trial leaders will have a get together before the rally to “refresh” our memories about what we are trying to accomplish.

John Crouse announced that the Stay the Trail organization will be at our rally in July.

We will renew our membership in Tread Lightly and continue to abide by their responsible guidelines.

Wendy is working on the plans for our Summer BBQ but was unable to attend due to an unauthorized illness.  Stay tuned for the announcement!

Meeting turnout was excellent with 34 people including several new members and a few guests.

We were treated to an outstanding slide and video presentation by Graham and Connie Jackson from their overland adventure from London to Capetown by Land Rover.

The crew at El Señor Sol likes to close by 9:00. In the future we must keep to a tighter schedule. If the weather permits, we can adjourn to the parking lot as was done in years past.

Submitted by Paul Donohue, Club Secretary

Online Registration is now available for the 2009 National Rally.
http://www.landrovernationalrally.org/login.php

For information and news about the rally, go to http://www.landrovernationalrally.org

If you don’t have an email address or don’t wish to register online, you can download the pdf registration form

We are looking forward to seeing you in Leadville this summer!

The list of summer trails is now up in the forum. Please volunteer to lead one. The dates can be changed to Sunday if the leader would like, just ask me, Jimfoo. It looks like this year will be far better than last as we haven’t been hammered by so much snow. Trails are mostly every other week, with more towards the end of the year. Trails and dates may change, so please check before you go, and post in the forum so the trail leader knows you are going, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, let them know if you were signed up and decide to cancel so they aren’t waiting for someone who isn’t going to show. I hope you enjoy this year’s trails!!

Trails were posted in chronological order, but may get out of order as people post, and that trail moves to the top. I will try to keep the upcoming trail on top.

The first trail of the year is Chinaman Gulch, by Buena Vista on March 21st. This trail looked to be clear of snow the last time I drove by the area.

Minutes 1/27/09

A Solihull Society club meeting was held on January 27, 2009 at Pints Pub in Denver.

The meeting was called to order by Karen Kreutzer, club president and chief cat herder.

Topics discussed included:

The treasurer position remains open. If any member is interested in helping the club fill this vital office, please contact Karen.

We agreed that the club needs to locate and employ a CPA to assist with the club’s books and make sure all reporting is done correctly and on time.

A volunteer has been found to take over the position of newsletter editor, Tate Crumbley.

Our new secretary is Paul Donohue who will also handle membership.

Dates for future meetings are being identified, and will be posted on the club website.

The 2009 Rally will be held in and around Leadville from July 28 to August 2.

Chris Doty has volunteered for the vital position of Rally Coordinator.

Mike McUne will be assisting by handling Rally registrations.

Jim Hall will be coordinating trails.

Wendy Vaughn has offered to work on permits for the rally and coordinate the annual BBQ.  Date and location are still to be determined.

We still need a volunteer to handle supplies, like t-shirts and gear for the rally.  John Crouse has offered to help with this task.

The suggestion was made that CPR classes for trail leaders would be a good idea.  Neal Haver offered to look into this matter and report back to us.

EAS Conversion Tech Article

After talking to many fellow roverholics (Yes, I mean you Paul!), I decided to take the leap and get an old Range to use as a heavy trail rig. My goal was just to find a truck in good condition and running for the most part. After look around, mainly on the west coast, I did find some very worthy trucks. After working out the details of the purchase with my wife, I decided to by a 93’ LWB. Initially, I did not believe I was going to buy anything that still had the stock suspension in it. Amazingly enough, the truck still had the working EAS system in it. The bags did not look replaced as they were very worn. Read More;

All photos are of Rattle Snake and the Colorado National Monument

On the weekend of June 23-24 several club members met to pre run some trails in the Grand Junction area. Jim (66 Series IIa) and Pete (70 Series IIa) linked up on I70 outside of Denver and drove over the ‘hill’ to Grand Junction. After dinner they met up with Neil (96 Disco) near the Bangs Canyon trail head. The three discovered that overnight camping was not allowed at the trail head so followed the Billings Canyon trail about a mile and a have until they found a good spot to set up for the night.
In the morning the three went to Starbucks to meet up with anyone else that wanted to run some trails. Gem (2002 D-II) arrived and after waiting for a while to ensure that no one else was coming the four trucks made their way towards the Colorado National Monument and the mornings first trail.

After crossing the bridge over the CO River there are plenty of signs marking the way to the Monument. At the first turn there is a gas station that had the lowest priced gas/diesel in town. They also have a quarter operated air pump. This is also on the way to the Bangs Canyon OHV area.
The entrance to the CO National Monument is just a few miles further down the road. At the Ranger Station you need to pay $10 per vehicle if you are going to be stopping in the park, but it’s free if you are passing straight through. We just went straight through but for the Rally we will be stopping at all of the scenic overlooks. On the far side of the park is West Glade road, two lane gravel. A short distance down this is the entrance to the trail with a sign Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Area. Turn right here.

There is a large parking area with a map board explaining about the area, this is a good spot to air down a little, 20-25psi should be fine. There are a few areas on the trail that have some small rocks and a couple loose gravel climbs. Airing down isn’t really needed for these areas, but it does help to smooth out the bumps. The signs posted here explain how the canyon is two different trails. One that follows the rim prior to August 15th and the second follows the canyon after August 15th. So we had to take the upper trail, while for the Rally we will be using the lower. The lower is going to be the more difficult of the two, but still only rates a 4 and is passable by any stock Rover.
When the upper and lower trails meet back together you are now at the beginning of Rattle Snake Canyon trail itself. The trail follows on a finger point of land sticking out into the canyon. About half way down the trail there is a pull off on the right. As long as everyone parks tight there will be enough room to get a dozen trucks off the main trail. This pull off is on the canyon rim and has some great views. Read More;