#took this in 2015 or 16?? on a field visit to Central Park for some wetlands work

[lolana07]

#autumn #fall #september #october #leaves #trees #trails #hiking #nature #outdoors #wooden bridge #Central Park #Manhattan #took this in 2015 or 16?? on a field visit to Central Park for some wetlands work #lo07

[paulbenedictblog]

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Japan excels as World Cup host, must ride the rugby wave

TOKYO (AP) — Three years into his second stint living in Japan, Peter Musgrave takes his younger son to a park in central Tokyo and sees of us throwing round a rugby ball.

“It’s chalk and cheese to when I first lived right here,” the 40-year-passe Musgrave says.

Help in those days, from 2006-12, the financial institution worker from England barely seen rugby in the Japanese capital unless he “went out to a foreigner bar to notion a sport.” The Courageous Blossoms, as Japan’s national team is affectionately known as, were conceding nearly 100 aspects in games against the game’s predominant powers.

The regarded as an viewers of round 55 million — representing end to half the inhabitants — watching on TV as Japan won a rugby match with breathtaking talent to strength into the quarterfinals at a dwelling Rugby World Cup would like been consigned to the realms of tale.

But that’s what took keep on this 2019 world showpiece, the first Rugby World Cup to be held in Asia. It’s been an absolute blast, an stare-opener now now not honest for the estimated half-million touring fans from 19 other competing international locations however furthermore for the Japanese those which were such courteous and polite hosts.

There became once the scene of 15,000 of us turning as much as notion Wales’ first follow session of the match. Some arrived three hours sooner than follow, lining up for extra than a kilometer originate air Kitakyushu Stadium.

How about Oita, the land of sizzling springs in the most southwestern of Japan’s fundamental islands and a keep that would beneath no circumstances be described as a rugby hotbed, welcoming fans of France, England, Wales and Australia for one memorable quarterfinal weekend? Locals, merely passing by pubs and bars, joined in the revelry, some being lifted up fancy they were second-row forwards in a lineout.

From Fukuroi to Fukuoka, from Kamaishi to Kumamoto, lasting reminiscences like been made on this 6½-week match that has been 10 years in the planning however will design to a end Saturday when England plays South Africa in the final.

So when the World Cup circus leaves metropolis, what's going to be left in the support of? How does Japan encourage the rugby fever?

“I in actual fact like pretty apprehension, yes,” feeble Japan rugby captain Toshiaki Hirose instant The Connected Press. “Four years ago, we beat South Africa in the World Cup and a good deal of Japanese of us watched it. Now, I mediate Japanese of us perceive rugby as successfully, and appreciate the fervour.

“I mediate there would possibly perhaps be an ambiance the keep kids are attempting to originate up taking half in rugby however we must like this ambiance extra, now now not honest in the cities however furthermore in the nation-state.”

Rugby lags in the support of baseball, soccer and others in the list of the most well-liked sports right here. There are 92,000 registered rugby players — a 10th of the volume in soccer — and there would possibly perhaps be a participation charge amongst children of 1.5%, in step with the most modern white paper on sport in Japan . Rugby tied ninth amongst the most well-liked spectator sports in Japan and didn’t feature in the tip 10 of preferred sports watched on TV.

The nation has a 16-team domestic league, however simplest five High League games in the full lot of ultimate season attracted a crowd of extra than 5,000 spectators.

Japan has had a team, the Tokyo-primarily based mostly Sunwolves, taking half in in the main southern-hemisphere provincial competitors — Extensive Rugby — since 2015 against competitors from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina. However they're about to be disbanded, main to much uncertainty about their future.

In the meantime, at grassroots diploma, Hirose says most children can simplest resolve one sport wherein to specialize at faculty — and invariably that’s baseball or soccer. There is furthermore a scarcity of age-group facilities, high-class coaches and even grass fields, says Musgrave.

“Are attempting to be cautious,” says Andrew Fielder, a 41-year-passe IT worker who furthermore an expat in Tokyo. “Adolescence must like quality instructors otherwise they'd anguish themselves. I'll perhaps be timid. You’d are attempting to make certain they've the honest diploma of instruction, certification.”

Musgrave and his 6-year-passe son, Hugo, went along final week with Fielder and his 5-year-passe son, Theon, to a Rugby Introduction Day staged by the Japan Rugby Football Union and World Cup sponsor Land Rover to encourage a younger expertise to play the game in the wake of Japan’s unheard of bustle to the quarterfinals.

Amongst the celebrity ex-players working the occasion were England World Cup winners Jonny Wilkinson and Lawrence Dallaglio, who like considered first-hand the original give a lift to for the Courageous Blossoms.

“It became once simplest a few World Cups ago that they were dropping by mighty scores,” Dallaglio said, seemingly recalling the 83-7 loss to New Zealand in 2011. “What they’ve done in the final eight years is out of the ordinary, so if they'll proceed that pattern … the following expertise with any luck will like been impressed by their heroes that they’ve witnessed out on the discipline.”

Japan, a so-known as Tier Two rugby nation, now now not steadily ever gets to play the likes of the All Blacks or England originate air of World Cups. Wilkinson says it is “crucial” that adjustments, with Dallaglio suggesting they'd even enter the fundamental southern or northern hemisphere international competitions.

“They like to proceed to introduce them to quality opposition,” Wilkinson said in a message to rugby’s powerbrokers.

The powerbrokers are listening. World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont instant a info conference in the wake of South Africa’s 32-12 fetch over England in the final that the game’s international governing physique became once working to salvage emerging teams extra fashioned salvage entry to and principal suits. He said negotiations were underway for Japan to play England and Ireland inside 12 months.

And he praised native organizers and fans, announcing “Japan 2019 will be remembered as possible the preferrred Rugby World Cup.”

“We’ve damaged records at every diploma: attendances, fan zones, broadcast, digital and social media,” he said. “The success of this match has been personified by the warmth and fervour of the Japanese of us.”

Diversified points coping with Japan is the different of its head coach, New Zealander Jamie Joseph, leaving and stalwart players fancy captain Michael Leitch having potentially played of their final World Cup. A original expertise of players desires to reach thru, without that carrot of a World Cup on dwelling soil.

Hirose doesn’t need the match’s success to be wasted. He has been round Japan, instructing kids the national anthems of the competing teams. He has considered the Japanese of us seize the Courageous Blossoms to their hearts — “they fancy their courage and discipline” — and expertise mixing with foreigners sooner than and after games, “ingesting, chatting, singing.”

They’ve witnessed visiting fans paint the Japanese flag — the “Hinomaru” — on their faces, and wear bandanas decked with the red-and-white colors of Japan.

World Rugby says its legacy purposes like introduced 1.8 million of us in Asia to the game.

“One of many reasons we came to Asia,” Beaumont says, “became once to primarily leave a legacy. What we now want to realize is raise on working so whenever you reach in two years’ time, the of us are talking about it.”

[photographerguide-blog]

2018: A Year in Photography

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2018: A Year in Photography

2018 was a pretty busy year for me. I set foot in 24 countries, visited a whopping 42 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and over 20 National Park Service Sites in the US.

On the photography front, I was named Photographer of the Year for a fourth time by the Central States chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers, won seven NATJA Awards, and was named Best Travel Photography Blog at the TBCAsia Awards in Sri Lanka.

You can also check out my year-end photo essays for 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

As always, I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did taking them!

Image at the top of the page is of the Jungfrau Express, Switzerland.

[1] My first trip of 2018 was to New York for the New York Times Travel Show, where I was a speaker. Whenever I visit New York I try to visit National Park Service sites in the area. This year I decided to visit St. Paul’s Church, which is a Revolutionary War Era church which is located just outside the city limits of New York. It is literally about 200m away from the last subway stop in the Bronx. Very few people know about this site, including most New Yorkers. I visited with my friend Seth Kugel and we recorded an episode for his YouTube Channel “Amigo Gringo” (FYI, it’s in Portuguese).

[2] In February I visited Montenegro, one of my favorite countries in Europe, and one that I firmly believe is one of the up and coming destinations over the next few years. Visiting in February gave me a totally different perspective than most people get who visit by cruise ship during the summer. When I visited the Old City of Kotor, it was basically empty. I saw no other tourists anywhere.

[3] I was able to explore parts of Montenegro which most visitors never see. Driving up the mountains above Kotor gave me a view of the entire Bay of Kotor. You could see all the way to Herceg Novi where I stayed during my trip. If you ever visit the Bay of Kotor, I highly recommend going up the mountains surrounding the bay for the best views.

[4] In my quest to visit world heritage sites, I had to visit one of the newer site, the Stecci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards. They are located all over the Balkans, with two of them in Montenegro. Getting there was quite the adventure as everything in the north of Montenegro was covered in snow, the road there wasn’t plowed, and there were no signs. However, I found the GPS coordinates and we managed to find it in the middle of a snow-covered field!

[5] I was surpsied to find one of the most beautiful vistas I’ve seen in Europe in Montenegro. The Pavlova Strana Viewpoint is a spot which is perfectly aligned with the waters and island of Lake Skadar National Park. While it isn’t a place most people know about, it isn’t very hard to reach if you have a car.

[6] In February I traveled to Lousiana to attend my first ever Mardi Gras. Unlike most people, I was able to experience Mardi Gras in Lafayette and parts of rural Louisiana, not New Orleans. One of the highlights of the trip was attending a boucherie, which is a community festival where they butcher a pig and eat every single part of it. There was sausage, cracklings, and even headcheese. This photo was of one of the butchers who was waiting for the food to finish cooking.

[7] The Courir de Mardi Gras is the rural celebration of Mardi Gras on the actual day. It is a long parade which consists of lots of costumes, floats with porta pottys, alcohol, and occasionally chasing a chicken.

[8] Floats during the Mardi Gras parade in Lafayette are all created by “crews” who are clubs or organizations who get together to create their floats. As with the rural version of the parade, there is lots of alcohol and plastic beads.

[9] Prior to 2018 I hadn’t spent a lot of time in Louisiana. I had been there before, but this was the first opportunity I had to spend significant time in the state. In addition to the Mardi Gras festivities, I was also able to see some other sites, including canoing in Lake Martin. It is an incredibly photogenic area.

[10] In early March I went north up to Churchill, Manitoba to see the northern lights. I had been up to Churchill back in 2016 to photograph polar bears and it is one of my favorite places in Canada. I’d never pass up an opportunity to visit Churchill. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any luck with the northernlights, but we did have an amazing meal in Fort Prince of Wales, and I was able to go dog sledding again.

[11] In May I was scheduled to attend the big IPW travel show in Denver. I had some time, so I figured I’d drive there and visit some national parks along the way. One of the spots I visited was the northern section of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. I had been to the park before, but only the southern section which is located on Interstate 94. The northern section gets fewer visitors and in many ways has more dramatic scenery.

[12] After Denver, I headed west to visit some more parks in Colorado and Utah. One of the most surprising places was Colorado National Monument, which is just outside of Grand Junction. It easily could be upgraded to full national park status at some point in the future. I had never been in the northwestern part of Colorado before and it was interesting to see how it different it was from the rest of the state.

[13] Another surprising site was Dinosaur National Monument, which is located right on the Colorado/Utah border. There is an entire wall of rock with in-situ bones of dinosaurs which you can see. It is perhaps the best palentology site I’ve visited in the world, and I have visited several of them.

[14] I finally got to Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really paying attention to the calendar, and I wound up there on Memorial Day Weekend. The park was very busy and hotels in Moab were incredibly expensive. I’d love to return in the winter when the crowds are gone and there is snow on the ground.

[15] About 20 miles away from Arches is Canyonlands National Park. Even though they are in close proximity of each other, Canyonlands gets significantly fewer visitors than Arches does. Oddly enough, I found Canyonlands to be the better park. There are some dirt roads you can drive in the park, but they require a four-wheel drive vehicle and more time than I had. I’d love to return to Canyonlands to photograph the park away from the main road.

[16] Capitol Reef was the fifth and final of the Utah National Parks that I visited. It is unually busy considering that I thought it was the least interesting of the 5 Utah parks. However, it is also the closest park to Salt Lake City, which probably explains the attendence. The park has a very odd shape, and like Canyonlands, most of it can only be explored off-road.

[17] Going back into Colorado, I made a visit to Mesa Verde National Park. This was my second time in Mesa Verde and this visit really was too short. Again, because of Memorial Day, I was very lucky to get a hotel room. I think I got the last available room in Cortez just because someone else canceled.

[18] From Colorado I drove through New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas where I was speaking the Central States Chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers. The Texas Panhandle is often overlooked as a destination, which is too bad because I’ve enjoyed my trips there the last two years. Carhenge is one of the most photographed attractions in Amarillo and it is located off the interstate just west of town.

[19] On the way back home I visited more national park service sites, including one that I’ve wanted to visit for several years: Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. I love the prairies and there isn’t much of it left anymore as most of it was plowed under.

[20] In June I was back in Louisiana, this time to New Orleans. Believe it or not, this was my first ever visit to New Orleans. I was speaking at the annual travel convention for the Public Relations Society of America. This shot was taken at the Chalmette Battlefield, which was the location of the famous Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

[21] My summer trip to Europe began in Eastern Europe. I was there to travel on a trip with G Adventures through the Baltic Countries. I arrived early, however, because I wanted to visit Belarus. Belarus offers a 5-day visa on arrival for anyone who arrives at the Minks Airport. I took the very short flight from Vilnius to Minks and spent several days visiting some of the world heritage sites in Belarus. This is a photo of Mir Castle, a 15th-century construction and one of the most popular attractions in the country.

[22] My G Adventures tour of the Baltic States began in Vilnius. I found Vilnius to be the most artistic and countercultural of the 3 Baltic capitals. This street art is a good example of that attitude.

[23] Vilnius is also the location of the Republic of Uzupio, which is a ficticious country in the middle of a bohemian section of the city. The “republic” has their own constitution which consists of 38 articles which is printed on metal plates in 23 languages.

[24] Just outside of Vilnius is the town of Trakai and Trakai Castle. It is located in the middle of a lake and gets a far amount of local visitors in the summer from Vilnius. It is a beautiful area with many cafes and restaurants on the shore of the lake. The castle itself is open to the public and is worth a visit.

[25] The next stop in Lithuania was the Curonian Spit, which is a large sand spit which is in the Baltic Sea, and is shared between Lithuania and Russia. We stayed in the town on Nida which was only 2km from the Russian border. We did a 20km bike trip, which wasn’t bad but was also something I haven’t done in a long, long time. Needless to say, my butt was very sore that day.

[26] Riga really showed the differences between the Baltic countries. Even though they are often thought of as a group, they have very different liguistically and culturally. Lithuania is predominantely Catholic, for example, where as Latvia and Estonica are Protestant. Riga, being a port on the Baltic, had a much more international feel than Vilnius did.

[27] In Estonia, our first stop was on the island of Saaremaa, which is the largest island in Estonia. While Tallinn gets most of the international visitors, Saaremaa seemed to be more of a destination for locals. The isalnd was pretty laid back and we saw Kuressaare Castle and one of the best preserved impact craters in Europe.

[28] Tallinn, was probably my favorite of the Baltic capitals, even though it is also the most visited. It gets many visitors from the cruise ships which stop there, as well as from people making the short ferry trip from Helsinki. Estonia was the most Nordic of the Baltic states, which makes sense given its location.

[29] As with my trip to Belarus, I took advantage of the visa rules to finally visit Russia. You can get a 72-hour visa if you visit St. Petersburg by ship. I took the ferry from Helsinki. Overall, the experience wasn’t really great. It was cold and raining, and I barely had 6-hours in the city before I had to get back on the ferry. I couldn’t even get into the Hermitage because the lines were so long. A longer, proper trip to Russia is still on order for me at some point in the future.

[30] From Helsinki, I flew to London and took the train down to Portsmouth where I crossed the English Channel to Normandy where I traveled along the Liberation Route, following the path of the Allied forces during WWII. While I was in Normandy I visited all of the landing beaches as well as most of the museums and cemeteries of the region.

[31] Driving up from Normandy I visited the town of Bastogne, which was made famous during the Battle of the Bulge in WWII. The museum here was surprisingly good, and the collection of WWII military equipment they had was outstanding. So much of the equipment that the United States manufactured for the war was left in Europe. Much of that today is in the hands of the various WWII museums. The military equipment museum in Bastogne, located in the old military barracks, in one of the best in Europe.

[32] One of the most inspiring moments I had in 2018 was doing the Sunset March across the bridge in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The bridge was the location of action during Operation Market Garden where 48 Allied soldiers lost their lives taking a bridge across the Waal River. In 2013, a new bridge was constructed with 48 pairs of street lights which turn on at sunset to represent the 48 men who lost their lives. Since its opening, every evening at sunset a march across the bridge is lead by military veterans. Veterans from all countries are invited to take part and everyone is welcome to march with the veterans. The march itself takes about 12 minutes, not including the time requires to talk back across the bridge after it is completed.

[33] On my way to Berlin I stopped at the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe outside of Kassel, Germany. It is a giant hillside waterworks which was built in the 18th Century. They only run the water 2 days a week (Wednesday and Sunday) in the summer and I was lucky to be there on a Wednesday. There are huge crowds which gather to see the water flow down the hill as well as the fountains and waterfalls along the way.

[34] After Germany, I began a trip to visit all of the World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic which I hadn’t previously visited. One of the highlights was the town of Kuta Hora. Prague seems to get all of the attention in the Czech Republic, and towns like Kuta Hora are often ignored by foreign visitors. That is too bad because while Prague is great, there is a lot which the Czech Republic has to offer if you just get out of the city.

[35] Another World Heritage town in the Czech Republic which I enjoyed was Telc. The town square is what it is most famous for, but the entire area surrounding the town is captivating as well. Again, it is well known amongst Czechs, but not as much with the rest of the world.

[36] The column in Olomouc was high on my list of places to visit for one major reason: this is the smallest world hertiage site on Earth. Just as a test, I timed myself and it took me 54 seconds to walk around the column at a leislury pace. It was originally built as a thanks for surviving the black death.

[37] I ended my trip in the Czech Republic in Ostrava where I spoke at TBEX Europe. The event was held in a converted industrial facility. It was really an interesting place to hold a conference. The main stage was actually built inside and old fuel tank.

[38] From the Czech Republic I flew to Zurich where I started a trip where I visited all of the World Heritage Sites in Switzerland. The first site I visited was the Serdona Tectonic Area. High up in the Apls, it is a popualr hiking area. You can get a vantage point where you can see the entire country of Liechtenstein! During my day hiking here, my Fitbit told me I had climbed the equivalent of a 226 story building….and that is only the uphill part.

[39] I’d been to Switzerland before, but I had only visited the German-speaking areas around Zurich, Basel, and Bern. This trip I was able to explore most of the country including the Italian, French, and Romanch speaking regions. I fell in love with the Italian speaking city of Bellinzona and the entire canton of Ticino. The world heritage site was the three castles in Bellinzona, but everything in the region was amazing.

[40] Prior to this trip, the site I was looking forward to visiting the least was the watching making town of La Chaux-de-Fonds. I left Switzerland thinking that this was the most interesting world heritage site in the country. I was really unaware of the history of Swiss watching making and just how much of it was centered around this community. Every major watch manufacturer I’ve ever heard of has offices and/or a factory here. The museum of watchmaking museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds was fascinating and I could have spent several hours more there.

[41] In September I flew down to Barbados for the SATW annual convention where I was a speaker. I had been to Barbados previously, but it was a short trip and I didn’t get to see Bridgetown properly. This time I was able to do a proper tour and learn more about why Barbados was so central to British colonial efforts in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

[42] In October I drove down to Chicago for the Visit Europe Media Exchange where I met with several European destinations. I was also able to do a bit of exploring and took a boat tour on the Chicago River, something which I had never done before. In my opinion, Chicago has the best architecture in the United States, easily beating New York. I also visited the Pullman National Monument in Chicago, which is one of the newer additions to the National Park Service.

[43] I made a last minute decision to drive to St Louis rather than go directly back home. That took me through Springfield which was the home of Abraham Lincoln and the location of the other National Park Service Site in Illinois. In addition to Lincoln’s Home, I also visited his tomb, which is where is photo was taken.

[44] I hadn’t visited the St. Louis Arch in almost 20 years, so I wanted to return so I could photograph it. The arch had been closed for renovation and when it reopened, it was also renamed Gateway Arch National Park; the newest and smallest national park in the United States. The new visitor center under the arch is well done and it is a worth place to visit, even if I don’t think it should be called a national park.

[45] I was invited to speak at a blogging event in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Having never been to Sri Lanka, I jumped at the chance to go. I was able to visit the region around the central Sri Lankan city of Kandy. This is the entranct to the Temple of the Tooth, a temple which is believed to hold a tooth of the Buddha.

[46] The central region of Sri Lanka is very moutntainous, which can make getting from place to place rather time consuming. However, it also makes for beautiful landscapes. This photo was taken in the Knuckles Mountain Range, which is one the 8 World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka.

[47] In Kandy, we visted the Royal Botanical Gardens which had an excellent collection of trees and flowers from Sri Lanka. It also had quite a few monkeys, some of which took the time to pose for the camera.

[48] Considering how far I had to come to get to Sri Lanka, I figured I might as well go to the Maldives while I was there. It is only a 90-minute flight from Colombo. I stayed at a Cinimon Hotels Resort on the island of Ellaidhoo. I was able to play with my drone, read, and relax. It was the closest thing I had to a vaction all year (traveling is not necessarily a vacation).

[49] Late November brought me to Spain. I have been to Spain many times before, but this trip took me to Extremadura, a region which is west of Madrid and north of Andalucia. It doesn’t get nearly as many visitors as other parts of Spain, but it is one of the richest regions in terms of culture, history, and food. My first stop there was the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria of Guadalupe. I took this photo of the monastery from the balcony of my hotel at night.

[50] I didn’t know much about the city of Merida before I had arrived, other than it was one of the world heritage sites in Spain. I left thinking it was one of the best sites for Roman ruins and history in the world. It is on a par with other Roman towns you can visit today such as Jerash, Ostia Antica, and Pompeii. The museum of Roman history in Merida might be the best museum of Roman artifacts I have ever visited.

[51] The town of Trujillo is not a world heritage site, but perhaps it should be. It was one of the important centers of early Spanish colonization and the home to many of the first Spanish Conquistadors.

[52] My 2018 travels ended in a place I was not expecting to visit: Saudi Arabia. I was invited to attend the inaugural Formula E race which was held in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has been a notoriously difficult country to visit in the past because they never offered tourist visas. They have just started offering tourists visas and opening up the country to the rest of the world. We took a side trip to the north of the country to visit Madin Saleh, a site I never thought I’d actually be able to visit. It is a site built by the Nabateans, which are the same people who built Petra in Jordan.

Source

https://everything-everywhere.com/2018-a-year-in-photography/

[itsworn]

Optima’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car at Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) was one of several ovals that came online in the late 1990s. It was a time when NASCAR was at its zenith with Winston Cup, Busch Grand National, and Craftsman Truck Series races scattered all over the country, while CART and the IRL were running competing open wheel series. All that racing meant there wasn’t a 500-square-mile patch of this country that someone wasn’t eyeing up for a new racetrack they hoped would lure in one or more of those big touring series. PPIR managed to snag a few IRL races and some Busch and Truck races before the bottom fell out. And while other tracks have permanently closed their doors, PPIR has carved out a niche attracting grassroots series like Optima’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car, presented by Advance Auto Parts to their mile-high facility.

In addition to the one-mile oval, PPIR can also be configured as a “roval,” which combines portions of the oval with an infield road course. Throw in massive expanses of paved tarmac and a geographically centralized location and it makes Fountain, Colorado, an ideal and popular destination for these street car competitors. This is the fourth season the Optima competitors have converged on PPIR, and as the series crossed the midway point of the regular season, the action heated up both on the track and in the parking lot used for the PowerStop Speed Stop Challenge.

Chevys swept the podium in the QA1 GTV class for pre-1990 cars and trucks. They also held prominent finishing positions across most of the other five classes, including the GTE class for electric vehicles, where Vernon Jolley captured an invitation to the 2018 SEMA Show and Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational (OUSCI) in a Chevy Spark.

Since invitations to the OUSCI are handed out to the top finisher in each class—who has not already received an invitation at a previous event—and Nick Relampagos’ QA1 GTV class-winning ’70 Camaro already punched its ticket, as well as runner-up Chad Ryker’s ’68 Camaro, the invite went to Michael Erickson’s ’67 Chevelle. The same thing happened in the Recaro GTS class, where Jeremy Swenson’s ’11 Corvette ZR1 grabbed an invite from the runner-up spot. In the Holley EFI GTL class, where the top four finishers all had captured invitations earlier in the season, fifth-place finisher Logan Palmer’s ’11 Vette got the invite to Vegas.

Holley EFI GTL class winner Mike Dusold posted a strong win in his ’67 Camaro, but he still trails class leader and reigning OUSCI champion Ken Thwaits’ Mitsubishi Evo by 90 points in the season-long points chase, due to his struggles at the season opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The class championship and likely the overall series title is well within his reach, though, and Mike knows he needs to post a score of 484 or better at his next event to pass Thwaits’ current total. His past two events have yielded totals of 495 and 496 points respectively, so the door is open, but others are looking to enter into the fray as well.

Four-time OUSCI champion Danny Popp posted a 494-point finish in his first event this season at NCM Motorsports Park, which puts him squarely in the mix, even though he didn’t run at PPIR. With three events remaining, literally anyone else capable of running with these top contenders has math in their corner.

One person who the math is getting tougher for is three-time Franklin Road Apparel GT class champion Bryan Johnson and his ’13 Camaro. Johnson was scheduled to run earlier in the season, but still hasn’t made an appearance. While he plans to run at the next event at Barber Motorsports Park and the regular season finale at Road America, he’ll also need to make the event at Auto Club Speedway if he hopes to accumulate enough points to stay on the GT throne (point totals come from the best three finishes). The Camaros of Eric Sheely and Jason Chinn are making runs at the GT class title, but they’re surrounded by Mustangs. Chad Langley’s ZL1 could also make a run at the top spot, but with an OUSCI invite sewn up at NOLA Motorsports Park, he may not make another appearance during the regular season.

The series now takes a turn back East, as it makes its first-ever visit to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on August 4th and 5th. Spectator admission is free, so if you’re in the area be sure to check it out. If that’s too long of a haul for you, watch the TV series every weekend on MAVTV, starting Friday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Several Chevelles run in the series, but they are typically of the two-door variety. An extra set of entry points didn’t hamper Michael Erickson at all, as his Third-place finish earned him a spot at the OUSCI.

Mike Dusold’s ’67 Camaro continues its rampage through the Holley EFI GTL class, grabbing another win at PPIR over Ken Thwaits’ Evo. Dusold has his sights now squarely set on the achieving the first-ever trifecta: a regular-season class championship, the overall series championship, and the OUSCI title.

How tough is the Holley EFI GTL class? The top four finishers already have invitations to the SEMA show and OUSCI. That meant Fifth-place finisher Logan Palmer’s ’11 Corvette made the big show.

Jeremy Swenson’s runner-up finish in the Recaro GTS class in his ’11 ZR1 locks up his third-straight appearance at the OUSCI

While the series doesn’t hand out any special awards for vehicles that were driven (not trailered) to and from the event, we wanted to make sure folks knew cars like Bryce Hungerford’s ’08 Corvette do see plenty of street miles. In Bryce’s case, the drive down from Lethbridge Alberta, Canada, to Fountain, Colorado, is more than 1,000 miles.

What do you do when your Mustang stops working? Get a Chevy! That’s what Vernon Jolley did, and he has now earned the first-ever invitation to the OUSCI for an EV Chevy!

How close was the competition in the Franklin Road Apparel GT class? Eric Sheely’s ’18 ZL1 1LE tied Jonathan Blevins’ Mustang. Unfortunately for Eric, the tiebreaker was the Lingenfelter Performance Design & Engineering score, which gave the class win to Blevins.

The top-finishing first-timer at every event in this series wins their entry fee back courtesy of Total Cost Involved. At PPIR, Austin Robison’s ’69 Camaro ran for free!

In a field stacked with incredibly built and detailed cars, it was Glen Barnhouse’s ’12 Corvette that once again took home the top overall spot in the Lingenfelter Performance Design & Engineering Challenge.

Pikes Peak Results

QA1 GTV Class (pre-1990, 3,200+ pounds) 1. Nick Relampagos, 1970 Camaro 2. Chad Ryker, 1968 Camaro 3. Michael Erickson, 1967 Chevelle

Recaro GTS Class (post-1989, 3,200+ pounds, two-seaters and AWD vehicles) 1. Austin Barnes, 2010 Dodge Viper 2. Jeremy Swenson, 2011 Corvette 3. Jordan Priestley, 2017 Corvette

Holley EFI GTL Class (non-compacts under 3,200 pounds) 1. Mike Dusold, 1967 Camaro 2. Ken Thwaits, 2006 Mitsubishi Evo 3. Rich Willhoff, 2006 Corvette

GTE Class (BEV electric vehicles) 1. Matthew Scott, 2017 Hyundai Ioniq 2. Vernon Jolley, 2015 Spark

GTC Class (two-wheel drive compacts, 107-inch wheelbase or less) 1. Thomas Litton, 1997 Mazda Miata 2. Angela Barnhouse, 2005 Honda S2000 3. Josh Vedder, 2018 Hyundai Veloster

Franklin Road Apparel GT Class (post-1989, 3,200+ pounds, 2wd sedans, four-seater coupes, trucks, etc.) 1. Jonathan Blevins, 2008 Ford Mustang 2. Eric Sheely, 2018 Camaro 3. Cliff Elliott, 2016 Ford Mustang

Spectre Performance Spirit of the Event Award: Michael Cuthbertson, 1968 Camaro

Remaining 2018 Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car Schedule

Barber Motorsports Park: August 4-5 Auto Club Speedway: September 15-16 Road America: October 6-7 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational November 3-4

The post Optima’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car at Pikes Peak appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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[intellectualth0t]

So I was doing my laundry today

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a very special- almost emotional- attachment to nearly every piece of clothing I own. A shirt is more than just  a shirt to me, especially when it was a significant story or memory behind it. I don’t see clothes as just clothes. I see them not only as a medium of expressing my personality, but also as objects that capture and preserve time- much like photographs.

It’s difficult for me to respond to a compliment on my clothes without me going into deep, almost unnecessary detail of where I bought it, how much it cost, how my life was going the day I bought it, who I was with, etc. I recall once, a friend of mine stating that “Mariah has a story behind every piece of clothing she owns”. I couldn’t agree more.

I have a solid black sports bra with the Victoria’s Secret sub-brand PINK logo adorned repetitively on the elastic band. While folding and putting away laundry earlier this morning, I stopped & took a moment to recollect when I bought this sports bra.

It was almost 2 years ago, summer of 2015, which I might say was one of the greatest points in my life. It was the summer between sophomore and junior year, which meant that it was the exact center point of high school. I was 16. I was a few months past ending an incredibly awful, toxic relationship that I felt was a waste of my time sophomore year, and I was content with being boy-free. I didn’t have a job like a lot of other kids my age. As much as earning my own money would’ve been nice, I was happy without a busy schedule. With my former dance team director, we didn’t have summer practices so I’d sleep in every morning and stay up late every night. I’d spend my days stretching and dancing and working on skill either outside in my backyard or indoors in my extremely convenient dance-room. With all this self-inflicted practice, I was noticing a lot of drastic improvement that I was satisfied with. If I wasn’t dancing, I was lounging around in my room on my phone or computer listening to the newly released Kintsugi album by Death Cab on repeat while communicating with my many internet-friends. As for my IRL friends, I hung out with them a lot too.

I didn’t have my license yet, but my best friend Kait did & with her official independence, we would hang out a lot and go on “adventures” without feeling the burden of our parents having to drag us around. We could drive around on our own, listening to music with explicit lyrics and talking about boys- and other things girls talk about in private- without adults nearby to lecture us and make us feel uncomfortable.

Some “adventures” of our included climbing around a playground and skipping through a grassy field in the park of a neighborhood we didn’t even live near, driving through a newly-built neighborhood just to admire the pretty houses, going to Target without the intent of buying anything and leaving with $40+ dollars worth of stuff we never thought we needed, sleepovers where we’d walk down the street late at night to “stalk” the cute neighbor boys, skimming the pages of multiple books at a nearby bookstore, and the quintessential pastime of all teenage girls- going to the mall.

Going to the mall without depending on our parents for transportation was such a relief because we didn’t feel limited on time. We could stay shopping around as long as we’d like without having to worry about making the “hi, we’re done and ready to be picked up” phone call.

It was a really hot day, like any summer day in central Texas. The air conditioning of the indoors was extremely relieving. The soles of our sandals clicked & flopped against the cool tile as we migrated from store to store. And there were quite a number of stores we visited. I don’t remember exactly everything I bought, but I know I restricted myself to a tight budget because I had become too accustomed to thrift shopping; I trained myself to think that anything above $10 was too expensive.

A few stores later, we were in Victoria’s Secret/PINK for the purpose of browsing around since both us were running low on spending money. It was here were I found the sports bra. Aside from the PINK logo on the elastic band, there wasn’t anything special about it. It was solid black and racerback-style, like any other uncomplicated sports bra. I liked its simplicity. I saw it as potentially useful, especially for dance since a majority of auditions/classes require all-black attire. Compared to everything else in the store, it’s the $18 on its price tag wasn’t too intimidating. So I went ahead and bought it.

I wore it a lot. I wore it when I practiced in my dance room during the day, I wore it underneath loose-fitting tank tops, I wore it to sleep. It became a staple of my wardrobe. And even almost two years later, it still is. Like most of my clothes as I mentioned, I’ve grown a special attachment to it since it reminds me of the great point in my life when I bought it. It’s more than just a black sports bra to me- it’s a preservation of lighthearted memories from a specific frame of time when life was at it’s best.

Of course this isn’t the only piece of clothing that has a meaning behind it that’s special to me. Hell, I could write an entire novel full of the details surrounding the day I bought every single thing hanging in my closet. I just had an impulsive need to reminisce on this particular memory & write it all out after stumbling upon this sports bra in a stack of clean, folded laundry just moments ago.