The time has come to say good-bye to a great friend and great car. It’s been right along side of me (then us) through every major event of the last 10 years, and holds a very special place in my heart through a deep connection with my brother.

The car turned 10 years and 1 month old as it hit Craigslist the other day. It’s special vibe got it sold in 3.5 hours from posting to drive to contract for purchase (it was actually just picked up yesterday by the new owner). There are some photos below of some of the crazy places and good things the car has been part of, but the memories and stories are countless and never ending. This may sound a lot more sad than a normal parting of ways with a car, and I suppose that it is…but that’s okay too.

Summer is finally officially gone (although the daytime temps around here might disagree) and fall is upon us. For those that aren’t used to a Colorado style autumn…it’s about 8 days and 13 hours long, and has some of the most beautiful leaf changes this side of Maine. The Aspen trees go from a green to a light green to a yellow to a burnt orange to the ground.

The trick is trying to time your open schedule with the few days that the Aspen leaves are featured in their majestic color. This year, we missed by a couple of days, but still managed to see plenty of stunning color on our drive into the mountains. We headed out for Kenosha Pass, a camping/hiking spot about 1.5 hours from the house…and a popular spot for taking in the Aspens. Luckily we arrived early (a good side-effect of Ezra waking early) and beat the monster crowds that had assembled by the time we were leaving.

We spent some time hiking around the area and exploring the trees….which these days mostly consists of hiking as far as Ezra wants, and at his pace – which at times is a full run, and at other times takes 10 minutes to walk 10 feet. We were up there for a little over an hour and enjoyed the cool air, the hiking around, and the beautiful sights.

The 2010 event was as good as ever. This year we partnered up with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to donate all of our registration fees to their efforts to support the families and firefighters that are staring directly at the results of working at Ground Zero for so many months. 343 brothers gave up their lives on the morning of Sept 11, but thousands more are in jeopardy of doing to same over the course of the next couple of decades. Over 200 have already been officially diagnosed with 9/11 related lung diseases, and more than 2000 more are in the monitoring program. All of the money that we were able to raise (along with climbs in Florida, Tennessee, Red Rocks, Breckenridge, California, Seattle, Oregon) are going to be earmarked for those efforts.

Back to this year’s climb….343 firefighters from 4 states joined us in the basement of the Qwest building in downtown Denver to remember the FDNY brothers that were killed. This year’s event filled up in just under 13 hours after the registration opened. It’s always an extremely emotional time when all of the firefighters are gathered together in the loading dock just before we start the climb – because it’s hard to understand the magnitude of the loss until you see what 343 firefighters look like. Then you start thinking about the number of spouses, parents, siblings, and children that those guys left behind – and it really hits you. Ahna and Ezra were able to join for us for the kick-off to the climb this year, because for the first time it was on a weekend.

The climb went very, very well…it’s getting a little easier each year as the climbers are getting in better and better shape, and understanding the flow of the event more directly. From start to finish, it took just about 3 hours. Each of the climbers was wearing full gear, a SCBA, and a hose pack or tool. They all did the 55 stories of the building twice – to total 110 stories, or the same height as the World Trade Center. Each firefighter is also given a photo of a FDNY firefighter to carry with them. We ask that following the climb, they contact the firefighter’s family for whom they climbed and let them know that we don’t forget. I have already heard several stories of contacts being made after this year’s climb, and it is perhaps the most rewarding part of the whole event.

It’s a great thing….maybe the best thing that I do as a member of the fire service. I am so proud to be part of it and honored to help organize it each year. Watching it grow across the country, with a goal of 50-100 similar climbs nationwide next year for the 10th anniversary, has been awesome.

Here are some photos of the climb. We had 4 professional photographers join us and donate their time, effort, and photographs to the climb (that’s me at the command board – I run Lobby Control/Accountability). These are some of the results (we have only gotten looks at photos from two of them at this point).

9 years…It sounds like a long time. It is a long time. Wow, that really is a long time. But somehow it’s still just yesterday morning. The emotion is still almost as raw as it was that very morning. The videos, stories, and photos are as difficult to watch today as they were then.

We all say that. Yet somehow it doesn’t translate into what our lives look like on the 9/11 anniversary each year. By and large most people will think about it for a minute on their drive to play – when the weekend DJ mentions it on the radio. A lot of activities are actually scheduled to take place this weekend – on Sept 11 – and don’t have a single inclusion of any sort of memorial….see: Castle Rock ArtFest if you live here (and if you are going for some reason, tell the organizers).

There isn’t anything more to say about it than I already have. If you aren’t going to go and do something special to remember those lost, than I’m not going to convince you. What I do ask is that for those that are remembering, remind everyone else. Make it a priority to discuss around the campfire, or at church/temple, or at your BBQ, or at the ArtFest. Don’t let everyone else forget. And at the very least (if you’ve read this far in the post), look at the names below.

Each year I participate in a Stair Climb in Denver to remember the 343 firefighters that were killed. This will mark the 7th year and the first year that there are sites around the country doing it. We climb 110 flights of stairs in full gear – the same height as the World Trade Center buildings. If you can’t do something like that, at least do something.

As last year, I post this photo…a stunning capture in history (read story here). This is a photo of FDNY’s Ladder 118 responding to the WTC. None of them would survive the day. These guys knew what they were getting into, yet they didn’t hesitate.

Stop calling your college quarterback escaping from a sack heroic. This is the definition of heroism. Remember. NEVER FORGET.

The list of the 343 FDNY brothers that died:

Joseph Agnello, Lad.118 Lt. Brian Ahearn, Bat.13 Eric Allen, Sqd.18 (D) Richard Allen, Lad.15 Cpt. James Amato, Sqd.1 Calixto Anaya Jr., Eng.4 Joseph Agnello, Lad.118 Lt. Brian Ahearn, Bat.13 Eric Allen, Sqd.18 (D) Richard Allen, Lad.15 Cpt. James Amato, Sqd.1 Calixto Anaya Jr., Eng.4 Joseph Angelini, Res.1 (D) Joseph Angelini Jr., Lad.4 Faustino Apostol Jr., Bat.2 David Arce, Eng.33 Louis Arena, Lad.5 (D) Carl Asaro, Bat.9 Lt. Gregg Atlas, Eng.10 Gerald Atwood, Lad.21 Gerald Baptiste, Lad.9 A.C. Gerard Barbara, Cmd. Ctr. Matthew Barnes, Lad.25 Arthur Barry, Lad.15 Lt.Steven Bates, Eng.235 Carl Bedigian, Eng.214 Stephen Belson, Bat.7 John Bergin, Res.5 Paul Beyer, Eng.6 Peter Bielfeld, Lad.42 Brian Bilcher, Sqd.1 Carl Bini, Res.5 Christopher Blackwell, Res.3 Michael Bocchino, Bat.48 Frank Bonomo, Eng.230 Gary Box, Sqd.1 Michael Boyle, Eng.33 Kevin Bracken, Eng.40 Michael Brennan, Lad.4 Peter Brennan, Res.4 Cpt. Daniel Brethel, Lad.24 (D) Cpt. Patrick Brown, Lad.3 Andrew Brunn, Lad.5 (D) Cpt. Vincent Brunton, Lad.105 F.M. Ronald Bucca Greg Buck, Eng.201 Cpt. William Burke Jr., Eng.21 A.C. Donald Burns, Cmd. Ctr. John Burnside, Lad.20 Thomas Butler, Sqd.1 Patrick Byrne, Lad.101 George Cain, Lad.7 Salvatore Calabro, Lad.101 Cpt. Frank Callahan, Lad.35 Michael Cammarata, Lad.11 Brian Cannizzaro, Lad.101 Dennis Carey, Hmc.1 Michael Carlo, Eng.230 Michael Carroll, Lad.3 Peter Carroll, Sqd.1 (D) Thomas Casoria, Eng.22 Michael Cawley, Lad.136 Vernon Cherry, Lad.118 Nicholas Chiofalo, Eng.235 John Chipura, Eng.219 Michael Clarke, Lad.2 Steven Coakley, Eng.217 Tarel Coleman, Sqd.252 John Collins, Lad.25 Robert Cordice, Sqd.1 Ruben Correa, Eng.74 James Coyle, Lad.3 Robert Crawford, Safety Lt. John Crisci, H.M. B.C. Dennis Cross, Bat.57 (D) Thomas Cullen III, Sqd. 41 Robert Curatolo, Lad.16 (D) Lt. Edward D’Atri, Sqd.1 Michael D’Auria, Eng.40 Scott Davidson, Lad.118 Edward Day, Lad.11 B.C. Thomas DeAngelis, Bat. 8 Manuel Delvalle, Eng.5 Martin DeMeo, H.M. 1 David DeRubbio, Eng.226 Lt. Andrew Desperito, Eng.1 (D) B.C. Dennis Devlin, Bat.9 Gerard Dewan, Lad.3 George DiPasquale, Lad.2 Lt. Kevin Donnelly, Lad.3 Lt. Kevin Dowdell, Res.4 B.C. Raymond Downey, Soc. Gerard Duffy, Lad.21 Cpt. Martin Egan, Jr., Div.15 (D) Michael Elferis, Eng.22 Francis Esposito, Eng.235 Lt. Michael Esposito, Sqd.1 Robert Evans, Eng.33B.C. John Fanning, H.O. Cpt. Thomas Farino, Eng.26 Terrence Farrell, Res.4 Cpt. Joseph Farrelly, Div.1 Dep. Comm. William Feehan, (D) Lee Fehling, Eng.235 Alan Feinberg, Bat.9 Michael Fiore, Res.5 Lt. John Fischer, Lad.20 Andre Fletcher, Res.5 John Florio, Eng.214 Lt. Michael Fodor, Lad.21 Thomas Foley, Res.3 David Fontana, Sqd.1 Robert Foti, Lad.7 Andrew Fredericks, Sqd.18 Lt. Peter Freund, Eng.55 Thomas Gambino Jr., Res.3 Chief of Dept. Peter Ganci, Jr. (D) Lt. Charles Garbarini, Bat.9 Thomas Gardner, Hmc.1 Matthew Garvey, Sqd.1 Bruce Gary, Eng.40 Gary Geidel, Res.1 B.C. Edward Geraghty, Bat.9 Dennis Germain, Lad.2 Lt. Vincent Giammona, Lad.5 James Giberson, Lad.35 Ronnie Gies, Sqd.288 Paul Gill, Eng.54 Lt. John Ginley, Eng.40 Jeffrey Giordano, Lad.3 John Giordano, Hmc.1 Keith Glascoe, Lad.21 James Gray, Lad.20 B.C. Joseph Grzelak, Bat.48 Jose Guadalupe, Eng.54 Lt. Geoffrey Guja, Bat.43 Lt. Joseph Gullickson, Lad.101 David Halderman, Sqd.18 Lt. Vincent Halloran, Lad.8 Robert Hamilton, Sqd.41 Sean Hanley, Lad.20 (D) Thomas Hannafin, Lad.5 Dana Hannon, Eng.26 Daniel Harlin, Lad.2 Lt. Harvey Harrell, Res.5 Lt. Stephen Harrell, Bat.7 Cpt. Thomas Haskell, Jr., Div.15 Timothy Haskell, Sqd.18 (D) Cpt. Terence Hatton, Res.1 Michael Haub, Lad.4 Lt. Michael Healey, Sqd.41 John Hefferman, Lad.11 Ronnie Henderson, Eng.279 Joseph Henry, Lad.21 William Henry, Res.1 (D) Thomas Hetzel, Lad.13 Cpt. Brian Hickey, Res.4 Lt. Timothy Higgins, S.O.C. Jonathan Hohmann, Hmc.1 Thomas Holohan, Eng.6 Joseph Hunter, Sqd.288 Cpt. Walter Hynes, Lad.13 (D)Jonathan Ielpi, Sqd.288 Cpt. Frederick Ill Jr., Lad.2 William Johnston, Eng.6 Andrew Jordan, Lad.132 Karl Joseph, Eng.207 Lt. Anthony Jovic, Bat.47 Angel Juarbe Jr., Lad.12 Mychal Judge, Chaplain (D) Vincent Kane, Eng.22 B.C. Charles Kasper, S.O.C. Paul Keating, Lad.5 Richard Kelly Jr., Lad.11 Thomas R. Kelly, Lad.15 Thomas W. Kelly, Lad.105 Thomas Kennedy, Lad.101 Lt. Ronald Kerwin, Sqd.288 Michael Kiefer, Lad.132 Robert King Jr., Eng.33 Scott Kopytko, Lad.15 William Krukowski, Lad.21 Kenneth Kumpel, Lad.25 Thomas Kuveikis, Sqd.252 David LaForge, Lad.20 William Lake, Res.2 Robert Lane, Eng.55 Peter Langone, Sqd.252 Scott Larsen, Lad.15 Lt. Joseph Leavey, Lad.15 Neil Leavy, Eng.217 Daniel Libretti, Res.2 Carlos Lillo, Paramedic Robert Linnane, Lad.20 Michael Lynch, Eng.40 Michael Lynch, Lad.4 Michael Lyons, Sqd.41 Patrick Lyons, Sqd.252 Joseph Maffeo, Lad.101 William Mahoney, Res 4 Joseph Maloney, Lad.3 (D) B.C. Joseph Marchbanks Jr, Bat.12 Lt. Charles Margiotta, Bat.22 Kenneth Marino, Res.1 John Marshall, Eng.23 Lt. Peter Martin, Res.2 Lt. Paul Martini, Eng.23 Joseph Mascali, T.S.U. 2 Keithroy Maynard, Eng.33 Brian McAleese, Eng.226 John McAvoy, Lad.3 Thomas McCann, Bat.8 Lt. William McGinn, Sqd.18 B.C. William McGovern, Bat.2 (D) Dennis McHugh, Lad.13 Robert McMahon, Lad.20 Robert McPadden, Eng.23 Terence McShane, Lad.101 Timothy McSweeney, Lad.3 Martin McWilliams, Eng.22 (D) Raymond Meisenheimer, Res.3 Charles Mendez, Lad.7 Steve Mercado, Eng.40 Douglas Miller, Res.5 Henry Miller Jr, Lad.105 Robert Minara, Lad.25 Thomas Mingione, Lad.132 Lt. Paul Mitchell, Bat.1 Capt. Louis Modafferi, Res.5 Lt. Dennis Mojica, Res.1 (D) Manuel Mojica, Sqd.18 (D) Carl Molinaro, Lad.2 Michael Montesi, Res.1 Capt. Thomas Moody, Div.1 B.C. John Moran, Bat.49 Vincent Morello, Lad.35 Christopher Mozzillo, Eng.55 Richard Muldowney Jr, Lad.07 Michael Mullan, Lad.12 Dennis Mulligan, Lad.2 Lt. Raymond Murphy, Lad.16 Lt. Robert Nagel, Eng.58 John Napolitano, Res.2 Peter Nelson, Res.4 Gerard Nevins, Res.1 Dennis O’Berg, Lad.105 Lt. Daniel O’Callaghan, Lad.4 Douglas Oelschlager, Lad.15 Joseph Ogren, Lad.3 Lt. Thomas O’Hagan, Bat.4 Samuel Oitice, Lad.4 Patrick O’Keefe, Res.1 Capt. William O’Keefe, Div.15 (D) Eric Olsen, Lad.15 Jeffery Olsen, Eng.10 Steven Olson, Lad.3 Kevin O’Rourke, Res.2 Michael Otten, Lad.35 Jeffery Palazzo, Res.5 B.C. Orio Palmer, Bat.7 Frank Palombo, Lad.105 Paul Pansini, Eng.10 B.C. John Paolillo, Bat.11 James Pappageorge, Eng.23 Robert Parro, Eng.8 Durrell Pearsall, Res.4 Lt. Glenn Perry, Bat.12 Lt. Philip Petti, Bat.7 Lt. Kevin Pfeifer, Eng. 33 Lt. Kenneth Phelan, Bat.32 Christopher Pickford, Eng.201 Shawn Powell, Eng.207 Vincent Princiotta, Lad.7 Kevin Prior, Sqd.252 B.C. Richard Prunty, Bat.2 (D) Lincoln Quappe, Res.2 Lt. Michael Quilty, Lad.11 Ricardo Quinn, Paramedic Leonard Ragaglia, Eng.54 Michael Ragusa, Eng.279 Edward Rall, Res.2 Adam Rand, Sqd.288 Donald Regan, Res.3 Lt. Robert Regan, Lad.118 Christian Regenhard, Lad.131 Kevin Reilly, Eng.207 Lt. Vernon Richard, Lad.7 James Riches, Eng.4 Joseph Rivelli, Lad.25 Michael Roberts, Eng.214 Michael E. Roberts, Lad.35 Anthony Rodriguez, Eng.279 Matthew Rogan, Lad.11 Nicholas Rossomando, Res.5 Paul Ruback, Lad.25 Stephen Russell, Eng.55 Lt. Michael Russo, S.O.C. B.C. Matthew Ryan, Bat.1 Thomas Sabella, Lad.13 Christopher Santora, Eng.54 John Santore, Lad.5 (D) Gregory Saucedo, Lad.5 Dennis Scauso, H.M. 1 John Schardt, Eng.201 B.C. Fred Scheffold, Bat.12 Thomas Schoales, Eng.4 Gerard Schrang, Res.3 (D) Gregory Sikorsky, Sqd.41 Stephen Siller, Sqd.1 Stanley Smagala Jr, Eng.226 Kevin Smith, H.M. 1 Leon Smith Jr, Lad 118 Robert Spear Jr, Eng.26 Joseph Spor, Res.3 B.C. Lawrence Stack, Bat.50 Cpt. Timothy Stackpole, Div.11 (D) Gregory Stajk, Lad.13 Jeffery Stark, Eng.230 Benjamin Suarez, Lad.21 Daniel Suhr, Eng.216 (D) Lt. Christopher Sullivan, Lad.111 Brian Sweeney, Res.1 Sean Tallon, Lad.10 Allan Tarasiewicz, Res.5 Paul Tegtmeier, Eng.4 John Tierney, Lad.9 John Tipping II, Lad.4 Hector Tirado Jr, Eng.23 Richard Vanhine, Sqd.41 Peter Vega, Lad.118 Lawrence Veling, Eng.235 John Vigiano II, Lad.132 Sergio Villanueva, Lad.132 Lawrence Virgilio, Sqd.18 (D) Lt. Robert Wallace, Eng.205 Jeffery Walz, Lad. 9 Lt. Michael Warchola, Lad.5 (D) Capt. Patrick Waters, S.O.C. Kenneth Watson, Eng.214 Michael Weinberg, Eng.1 (D) David Weiss, Res.1 Timothy Welty, Sqd.288 Eugene Whelan, Eng.230 Edward White, Eng.230 Mark Whitford, Eng.23 Lt. Glenn Wilkinson, Eng.238 (D) B.C. John Williamson, Bat.6 (D) Capt. David Wooley, Lad.4 Raymond York, Eng.285 (D)

These made their way to Facebook as well, but thought that I would post these here in case you don’t check your Facebook accounts (Mom and Dad plus lots others).

Headed down to Colorado Springs and the Garden of the Gods for a sunrise photo shoot. I left CR at 515 with clear skies, but by the time I made it down to Monument, the clouds where socked in and I was bummed. Since all of the effort was made to get up early, drive 45 miles, and take a few hours away from home – I decided to hike to the spot anyway and see what happened. After running into a few deer on the hike, I set up and started experimenting since the lighting wasn’t very good. Luckily I played around long enough for a small break in the clouds to present the sun – for about 30 seconds. Thus these keeper photos.

A little storage hack….and a way to get our car-top box out of the way when it isn’t on the car itself. The other really cool part? When I want to put it on one of the cars, it will lower right onto the rack system with the car parked underneath it.

It’s pretty simple and took me about an hour to get it all installed and done. Things you need: a garage, a car, a car-top box, 2 x 10′ pieces of rope, 2 x carabiners, and a bike storage kit from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Total cost of the project (not including the car or car-top box) is right at $30.00.