Sunday Morning Dog Show with Cars in Color (Getting Away from Gray)

The second monthly Sunday morning session of Fuelfed's Boulder Coffee and Classics kicked off at 8 AM on Sunday, May 31 under sunny, warm conditions that prompted many fans of the free event to bring their dogs...

...and many of the participants to bring some colorful cars. The organizers seem to have arranged many of these specimens along Pearl Street with a special eye for color. Anyone tired of of the current fashion for institutional gray cars would have enjoyed our new friend Tim's bright aquamarine De Tomaso Pantera from the early 70s.   

Maybe because blue is one of 2 colors that dogs see well (yellow is the other, a clue about why they chase that tennis ball), these pooches seemed to enjoy camping out near the sky blue Ferrari in the background.

Indeed, the 812 GTS, made from 2017-24, proved worth a second look. The front-engined V12 was a series-produced open version of the 812 Superfast coupe, designed at Ferrari's own styling center rather than at Pininfarina like the preceding 550, 575 and 599 models.  

Porsche's 964 version of the air-cooled 911 was made from 1989-94, featuring standard antilock brakes, power steering and a 3.6 liter flat six. The vibrant magenta color on this one was available on special order.  

The yellow Ferrari Testarossa (named for the red cam covers on its flat-12 engne) completes a lineup of primary and not-so -primary colors. 

A blue Ferrari Dino 246 with 4-cam V6 from the late Sixties keeps a white Lamborghini Gallardo V10 company as an Alfa Romeo GTV from the '64-'67 period approaches.

This XK120 made from 1948 through 1954 gets points for being the only Jaguar at the show. The Jag looks better without its bumpers, which never offered much in the way of protection anyway.

This bright yellow 1993 Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 1 sits proudly behind the red HF insignia that reminds you the Integrale won 6 consecutive World Rally Constructors' Championships from 1987 to 1992, based upon 46 WRC victories.  It wins our unofficial award for the show's coolest car you could actually drive every day of a Colorado year.

Power goes to all four wheels from a 16-valve, turbocharged inline four of 2 liters mounted transversely...

The owner of this 1966 Mercedes 230SL brought a retriever friend with matching cream-colored coat.

The owners of the McLaren below could not bring a furry friend in anything like a matching color.  But we're glad they brought the car... 

Across 8th St. from the orange McLaren we found a Ford GT, one of just over 4,000 produced from mid-2004 through 2006 in the style of the mid-engined GT40 endurance racer from 1964-67.  The original GT40, named for its height in inches, was also V8 powered, but only 105 of these were built, including 7 of the Mk. III version civilized for road use, which could be considered the precursor of the 2005-06 Ford GT.

The neighbor of the Ford GT is a McLaren MP4-12c featured in our April 30 post. Like the newer orange McLaren across the street, it's powered by a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged V8. 

After grumping about the popularity of gray on modern cars, the author admits guiltily that he brought one of the few gray cars to Sunday's show. The 1970 Lancia Flavia 2000 Pininfarina coupe (at least it has a red and black interior) is powered by a 2-liter, aluminum flat four driving the front wheels, and sits next to Kevin Roberts' cheerful green Citroen DS21, a hydro-pneumatically suspended, front-drive car we've featured before.

A friendly pooch across the street near Spruce Confections wins our award for best doggie name at the show. She's Maple, after the most famous product of her home country...

Other pooches came over to play and enjoy the shade and the music at Spruce Confections...

On warm enough Sundays, the cheery sound of live bluegrass-inflected music fills the Spruce courtyard at the 8th and Pearl intersection, overlapping the show of dogs and cars, which officially runs from 8 to 10, but often spills over limits of time and space, like music does.

Photo Credits:

All photos are by the author.

Roadside Attraction: Trident Booksellers and Café in Boulder, CO

Trident Booksellers and Café at 940 Pearl Street is such a popular hangout for so wide a swath of Boulder that it feels like it's always been here.  And it has been here a good while, the bookstore having been founded by James Gimian and Hudson Shotwell in June 1980, adjacent to a yarn and fabric shop.  Books have been on offer here since the beginning, but it was a surprise to find out that Gimian and Shotwell, two members of a Buddhist circle, offered locals what turned out to be Colorado's first espresso bar in 1981, when they moved the café into space vacated by that fabric shop.

Today, baristas like cheery, quick-witted Anita serve all kinds of coffee drinks, teas, Italian sodas, and seasonal items like hot chocolate and lemonade, along with tasty croissants and cheese Danii (that's the plural of Danish)... 

And through the wide portal that connects the espresso bar and seating area with the bookstore, you'll find a collection of classic vinyl albums to go with new and used books, notebooks and cards. 

These days the Trident is a bustling place, so busy that unless you arrive early or late in the daily schedule (it's open 7 AM to 9 PM every day) it may be hard to find a table.  It was only recently that it dawned on this writer that there are at least two good reasons for this, and that both are connected to the Covid-19 pandemic...

The first motivation for increased customer visits happened all around us; it was the trend toward working at home that began when many offices were shuttered. That led to more people seeking the community (or alternatively, the quiet space) they lacked at home by taking their laptops to coffee shops. The second thing was something that originated with Peter, the Trident's General Manager, and it may have been even more essential to success.  He suggested the idea of the Trident becoming an employee-owned business, with the option of any employee with a year of Trident experience having the option of buying a share. About 6 months after the pandemic's first impact on Boulder, 8 Trident employees bought a third of the business.  It is now 100% employee-owned, and having voting power as well as a share of the profits provides employees with a sense of involvement as well as an incentive to do their best. 

Among the physical changes Trident's managers made to weather the Covid-19 pandemic was to move the rear (south) fence to expand the outdoor garden seating area, and when weather demands, to hang a plastic curtain under the edge of the roof over the sheltered outdoor space.  Along with the provision of a heating unit, this allowed the roofed area to be employed as conditioned space when needed. 

It also provides an expanded space for poetry readings, musical performances, and book signings.  In January of this year, it was warm enough out here to host a talk by a favorite essayist and novelist, Rachel Kushner...

And over the years, the Trident's garden space has also provided a venue for man's best friends to get the attention they deserve. One of these was Watson, the world's best dog, who visited the Trident in just about every one of the 66 seasons I spent with him.  That's another reason I still like to spend time in the Trident's garden.

Photo Credits:

All photos are by the author.