“Are you ready for the Brain Scramble?” an official at the Denver Auto Show asked me Thursday as I approached the Camp Jeep obstacle course inside the Colorado Convention Center.
“Excuse me?” I said, flinching.
I will admit that I am the most skittish car passenger I know (just ask my husband), but the 100,000-square-foot course, a first-time addition to the Denver Auto Show, looked relatively tame. While to me, the experience was akin to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, judge for yourself during the last day of the show from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.
I clicked the belt in the shotgun seat inside the “Detonator Yellow” Jeep Wrangler Rubicon alongside course pro Steve Lorton, who assured me that in the eight years he’s been driving at Camp Jeep, he’s yet to lose a passenger.
We rolled out and onto the suspension challenge, which bounced me on uneven logs with the kind of force that made me thankful I had skipped breakfast.
But the 30-degree sideways tilt ramp made me wish I had also skipped Wednesday’s dinner. I grabbed the open roof with fingernail fierceness while Lorton chatted about the vehicle’s roll bar.
After testing ground clearance and articulation, we stopped at the base of a 35-degree ascent on an 18-foot ramp.
“I can’t look!” I screeched as Lorton handily maneuvered the Jeep up the ramp.
“Then don’t,” he said.
I clamped my hands over my eyes until we reached the top.
“Are we going to let ‘er rip like a roller coaster?” I asked, dreading the descent.
“No, I push this button for the electronic hill descent,” he said, showing me how the vehicle kicks into low four-wheel drive and first gear to prevent a free-fall.
“Am I the biggest chicken you’ve ever had as a passenger?” I asked at the end, trying to regain a smidgen of dignity.
“I’m not even going to give you that title,” he said, chuckling.
Top dogs.
Law Week Colorado, a trade publication, has named its top 10 lawyers of the decade 2000 to 2010: Rich Baer, Qwest Communications; Michael Burg, Burg Simpson; Stacy Carpenter, Hensley Kim & Holzer; Steve Farber, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Cole Finegan, Hogan Lovells; Jim Lyons, Rothberger Johnson & Lyons; John Moye, Moye White; Jim Mulligan, Snell & Wilmer; Michael O’Donnell, Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell; and Denver probate court Judge C. Jean Stewart.
The selection panel consisted of Don McMichael, Bob Fullerton and Jim Bayer, past chairmen of the Denver Bar Association’s Seniors Committee.
Soopers spot.
King Soopers will anchor the long-awaited redevelopment of Kent Place, the 11.4-acre site at South University Boulevard and East Hampden Avenue that has stalled since the mixed-use project was announced in 2006.
Continuum Partners and Regency Centers are developing the site, which will break ground in June with a 30,000-square-foot King Soopers, an additional 20,000 square feet of retail space and a residential piece.
Avast, mateys!
Ten life-size pirate mannequins have invaded the Level Five baggage claim and Level Six ticketing areas at Denver International Airport, where they will stand fast through mid-August.
The installations are part of a publicity campaign for “Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship,” on display at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. More pirates are set to shiver the timbers of downtown Denver and Cherry Creek visitors.
Lynn let go.
Traffic reporter Lynn Carey, who for my money was the ray of sunshine in KCNC-Channel 4’s morning newscast, left the station recently. Her contract was not renewed.
“I’m looking for a replacement now and hope to be able to announce a new traffic reporter soon,” newsroom honcho Tim Wieland said.
EAVESDROPPING
A 40-something woman watching the Denver Nuggets Dancers:
“Look at that flat tummy. I bought one of those a few years ago. It lasted three months — until I went back to the Blue Bonnet.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Hear her on “Caplis & Silverman” between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-630 AM. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
