We were up with the sun (5:30AM) this morning for the start of an ambitious travel day. Our first destination was Custer State Park where we were lucky to spot pronghorn antelope, wild burros and had to share the road with a herd of bison. My craving for pancakes was more than satisfied at the Blue Bell Lodge which we happened upon just as hunger was surpassing my interest in photography (not something that happens often). After breakfast we followed the Needles Scenic Highway through the “Eye of the Needle,” a very narrow tunnel carved through one of the granite spires (the so-called needles).

Surrounded by magnificent rock formations, Sylvan Lake was our next stop as we made our way to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This massive mountain carving, is a tribute to all Native Americans and will dwarf Mount Rushmore in scale when it is completed. At this time only the head of Crazy Horse has been completed and that took more than half a century. Pictured below is a scale model of the sculpture with progress on the actual mountain shown in the background.

Our final destination in South Dakota for the day was the Wind Cave National Park where we took a 90 minute tour of the most complex cave in the world which includes some 140 miles of explored passage ways. Each year an average of 4 miles is added to this total, the result of ongoing exploration. The cave is notable for its displays of the calcite formation known as boxwork. Approximately 95 percent of the world’s discovered boxwork formations are found in Wind Cave.

Fortified by pancakes, I was determined to make it to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming in time for golden light. The effort was worth it and I could not be more pleased with the images I made there.

Jeanine and I arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota in the wee hours of the morning sans our checked baggage thanks to major thunderstorms over the Denver airport which forced all ground personnel at the airport to take cover. Adding insult to injury was a mix up at the hotel which placed us in a smoking room. With the new day, however, came the opportunity to explore the Black Hills. Our first stop was Mount Rushmore, a must see destination for anyone visiting the area. We returned to the airport to collect our recovered bags and then headed east towards Badlands National Park. On the way we paused for lunch at Wall Drug, famous for their marketing efforts to lure travelers from all over the world to their now greatly expanded enterprise. After our meal Jeanine corralled a giant Jackalope for a quick ride.

We entered the Badlands from the northeast entrance and drove west to the other side where we camped at Sage Creek. The ubiquitous prairie dog was a constant source of entertainment.

Today’s photos are courtesy of Maya who took her camera with her while tandem paragliding in France. This is something I have never done and from her description it is certainly an activity I will be adding to my bucket list.

Jeanine returned from a three-day writer’s retreat with her sister Susan this evening. The siblings enjoyed peace and quiet and the beauty of Sebasco Bay, Maine where they worked on their respective writing projects. I venture to say that the writing in this blog would benefit from such surroundings. On that note, Jeanine and I have decided to get away for the weekend and are off to South Dakota where I have business next week. We plan to do some camping while visiting the state’s national parks. Probably will not post again until next Thursday.

Driving in Cambridge and Somerville is a real challenge. You must constantly be aware of pedestrians with little regard for street crossing etiquette, potholes large enough to swallow small mopeds, and cyclist who think that traffic laws do not apply to them. I consider it a good commute when I only collide with one of the three. Occasionally one encounters bikes that stand out from the rest and although this one was resting at the time, I particularly liked the selective use of yellow paint to enhance curb appeal.

I enjoy the fact that I am frequently called upon at MarkForged to make photographs for work purposes. My effort today was not up to my standards, however. This particular part was wet so I had to get the shot quickly before it saturated the paper background on which it was lying. Because the part was so dark, I missed the fact that I did not get the full depth of field focus until I looked at it on my large monitor at home. Although my artistic skills have a long way to go, I generally feel like my technical skills are right up there. Very humbling when you fail to get a simple shot like this right. The fact that it is a very dark image was intentional and thankfully that masks the focus error.

I encountered this fountain during a lunchtime stroll. I decided it best to wait till the flock of children playing in it took a break, even though it would have been a better photograph with them frolicking in the water. Parents these days, perhaps understandably, can become very concerned when someone photographs their children in a park. Sad it has come to this, but I have learned to be thoughtful of those concerns.

Nicolai turns 21 next Wednesday. This afternoon we had a small advanced celebration with his girlfriend Karuna and her parents at the Beehive in Boston’s South End. The Beehive is a cool little bistro cum jazz club buzzing with daily live entertainment. Featuring both an outdoor patio and a bi-level cabaret stage, it is equal parts theater and speakeasy. The food and music were outstanding but the highlight of our brunch was the opportunity to meet and get to know Karuna’s parents who are positively delightful. It is easy to see where she gets her great intellect, charm and beauty.

For the last twelve years, our family has attended the Metzold’s Fourth of July party. Tom Metzold was my high school wrestling partner and we have remained great friends ever since. After 15 years, however, Karen announced that this would be the last one. Tom seemed less committed to that decision and I for one will show up next year regardless. As usual, the food was fantastic and the company entertaining (I ran into the referee from my match last week and was shocked to learn he had 9 children). Also true to form, Jeanine’s desert was the first to disappear, this year a No-bake Strawberry Ice-Box Cake.

Last night for the first time in a very long time I stayed up all night. I had an idea for a new printer head design and once I started the 3D model for it I could not stop. Finally, at 7 am I went to bed. I was up again at 10 am and spent most of the day continuing with the work. I paused only for food and a nap and finally took a break to watch some tennis with Nicolai who is still taking it easy after having his wisdom teeth extracted earlier this week. The photo is of the Sudbury River which I took last night shortly after sunset on my return commute.

Thus far in my career, I have had minimal exposure to material science. At MarkForged we are into this in a big way. Every day the team is cooking up and testing new materials to improve the strength and utility of the parts we print. Pictured here are some of the guys, including founder and CEO, Greg Mark (on the left), after a successful experiment with an exciting new material.

Maya left today for a three week vacation in the French Alps near the border with Italy. There, she and her best friends Sarinnagh and Emma, will spend time with Emma’s  family helping to restore an old French chalet. They took advantage of a brief layover in Dublin for a quick tour of the city before heading on to Barcelona to visit family.

Motivated by the failure of my plywood prototype bike rack carrier bracket yesterday, I completed a design for a bracket that I hope to print at work when time permits. It looks nothing like my prototype because I wanted a design that would not require a left and right version and also one that would accommodate a wide range of bicycle handlebar grips. Only time will tell if the new design fares better than the wood model.

Very pleased with the bike carrier I created for my car, I decided to take my bike into work with me today for a noon ride. Less than 2 minutes into my commute, one of the two handlebar grip brackets failed catastrophically. The plywood I used to build the holders delaminated along a plane containing a wood knot. Fortunately, I had the foresight to add a safety strap to my design which prevented my bike from spilling into traffic. It was my plan all along to replace the rather crude looking prototype wood blocks with an elegant 3D printed part from a MarkForged printer. Looks like I will need to do that sooner rather than later paying particular attention to part strength which is clearly going to be an issue.