Medano Creek doesn't run far, from its source in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. With the sand constantly sluffing into its course, it runs wide and appears at time to be running "upstream". My two paternal uncles (both have passed away) where journalist. One an excellent reporter for various newspapers in the west and the other a radio then television newcaster in Denver, for decades. He loved Colorado, its natural beauty and its history. He made an award winning documentary film on the Great Sand Dunes and I talked to the folks at the National Park Service there about trying to find my VHS copy of the film, to see if they want a copy for their archives. More post road trip "to dos". Medano is Spanish for "sand dune". I found a great place to camp as I left Utah and entered Colorado. It was called the Lower Piedra River campground. It was a mile dirt road trip up the river off a two lane asphalt highway. Peace and tranquility under the pines, next to the river, and just a mile off the "beaten path". My plans were to drive to Colorado's Great Sand Dune park, camp there and hike there in the evening and early in the morning. I took my time making the drive over to the sand dunes. Stopped in Monte Vista, Colorado to read my Mind of the Raven book, while i did laundry (hoping I wouldn't screw up the job, and have to confess to my wife, why I now owned a pair of pink blue jeans). Things changed at the Great Sand Dunes. A strong wind storm came up; there were more tourists than I could imagine; the campground was full early; and the only camping available required high clearance four wheel drive travel and I had O.D.'d on rough dirt road travel at Nine Mile Canyon in Utah. So, I took some photos at the Great Sand Dunes and promptly bailed out. I chose a route that I had never traveled before (always a strong draw for me), called Cuchara Pass in S.E. Colorado. The road started at La Veta, Colorado and ended up over at Trinidad, Colorado. I had plenty of daylight and the map showed LOTS (yeah right), of campgrounds along Cuchara Pass (Colorado highway 12).. Well the drive was spectacular but campground were closed and I just didn't end up stopping. The campground at Trinidad (state park), was a joke in deplorable condition, so I drove well into the night to Raton, New Mexico. Here I found an "overflow" (their campground was full too) camp, at Sugarite. It was a cold windy night but I slept well. With me predilection for visiting historic places and driving back road highways (especially those I have never before driven) - - I decided to head for Folsom, New Mexico. Why? Because in college I remember studying the Folsom points and Clovis points of ancient man in North America, so I wanted to see where they found some of these points. Trouble is I woke up long before dawn and since "breaking camp" consisted of shifting from my bed in the back of the pickup truck to the driver's seat, that is what I did. I headed toward Folsom, New Mexico under the stars. Nevada says their highway 50 is the "loneliest road in America". They are wrong. Highway 72 between Raton and Folsom, New Mexico is the loneliest road. The only vehicle(s) I would see was like a segment out of the Twilight Zone. Three big rigs (cattle haulers), were parked on a high plateau, with their engines running, stopped in the highway, with all their tractor and trailer lights on. They were in the oncoming lane, and I thought I was coming upon a UFO, parked for the night in the outback of New Mexico. Well folks (this story is almost done), I got into Folsom, New Mexico - - just before sunrise (it was pretty darned dark actually). Oh how I would have liked to of walked the streets and take photos in the early morning light, but God gave me no patience, so I hopped out of my pickup truck and took some eerie photos of the old abandoned (half in town fitted that description) buildings in Folsom. What seemed even more surreal, is that there were several homes (no lights on) around the main street, and it must have been odd to see a pickup truck with Washington plates, parked in town, engine running, while some odd old guy with a camera, ran around town taking flash photos. Not one light came on. Not one dog barked. Got to go see Folsom, New Mexico another day (and see what highway 72 looks like in the light of day). Dawn came and hundreds of pronghorn antelope stared at me as I drove toward Texas. OldManTravels - Road Trip May 9 -21, 2009 Washington-Idaho-Montana-Wyoming-Utah-Colorado-New Mexico-Texas Oklahoma-Kansas-Nebraska-Wyoming-Montana-Idaho-Washington WA: Palouse Falls - Starbuck. ID: Lolo Pass. MT: Gallatin River. WY: Yellowstone National Park - Jackson Hole - Togwotee Pass - Wind River - Popo Agie River - Sinks Canyon - South Pass. UT: Green River & Flaming Geyser dam - Myton to Wellington [Nine Mile Canyon petroglyph] - Arches National Park [Double “O”

The Jaguar XK120, introduced at the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show, was a sensation and revolutionised the world's sports car market. A journalist in attendance commented "all preconceived notions as to what was a series-production sports car disapeared overnight". William Lyons, never one to miss a commercial opportunity, recognised the potential of the XK120, commissioned tooling and -at the same time- started thinking about competition. The XK120 design was fresh and pure with gracefully flowing curves, paired with a most modern chassis, providing excellent handling, which instantly captured the enthusiasm of the amateur sports car owners. It was not long before the potential was turned into serious competition plans, and indeed the XK120 did extremely well in 1950 and 1951, and was very much the basis for the C-Type which was to become even more famous. This particular car, XK120 Roadster 1951 Chassis Number 660449 registered AEN 546, is a highly unique car as it is one of only five XK120 ever to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Delivered by the Jaguar works on February 7th 1951, privateer Bob Lawrie instantly entered the car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans (with co-driver Ivan Waller) with race number 21, in sequence with the three Jaguar C-Type works cars. Behind the victorious Jaguar Works C-Type of Walker/Whitehead, AEN546 finished in a sensational 11th position overall against very tough competition. This was the highest finishing placing for an XK120 at Le Mans, averaging over 130 Km/H for the race distance, which was only slightly slower than the Aston Martin DB2 of Nigel Mann and the Ferrari 340 America of Luigi Chinetti. In 1974, Robert S.Kerr of Luss Scotland found AEN 546 in a sorry state in Scotland, recognised its importance and made plans to restore this XK120 Roadster 660449 to its original Le Mans specification. While chassis and some mechanical components were present, unfortunately body and interior had gone missing. Robert S. Kerr spent several years to restore the car to is original Le Mans specification, down to the last details, including the Le Mans racing screens and cowl, Le Mans fuel tank with quick-release cap, the original Marchal spot lamps, the Le Mans kph/mph speedometer, the C-Type engine specification revolution counter and the period competition seats. Noted Jaguar authority Jeremy Broad, with son Guy Broad, had been aware for many years of the existence of this very important car and had tried to purchase it from Herbert Proctor, Blairgowrie, Scotland ever since the early Eighties. It was not until mid-Nineties that the Broad family finally became the owner of AEN 546. A highly respectable 3rd overall (and 3rd on index of performance) at the 2002 Le Mans Classic and a 2nd place at the 2004 Oulton Park 50th Anniversary Gold Cup Race encourgaed the Broad family to restore the car to absolute perfection from 2005-2006. The restoration included a further uprating of engine, gearbox (5-speed close-ratio), suspension, clutch, brakes, fuel cell, etc.), in order to make the car highly competitive for historic racing. The condition of the car is superb in every respect. The car comes with FIA papers and is the perfect entrant for all major historic car events, including -of course- the Le Mans Classic whre it has already once done so well. Chassis: N°660449 UK registration number: AEN 546 (original as raced at Le Mans in 1951) Engine: 6-cylinder 3442cc with 230 HP Gearbox: 5-speed close-ratio Steering: RHD Colour: Pastel Green Metallic, Suede Green/Tan interior Documentation: British V5, FIA doc, full restoration documentation