The family departs shortly after sunrise for Hayden Valley where we hope to encounter wildlife. Our timing could not have been better. With steam still rising off of the Yellowstone River we spot four Grizzly bears fighting over a bison carcass in the water. I have a full series of the brawl in which the strongest bear establishes his dominance and sole rights to gorge himself on the bison before the 2nd place bear takes his turn. Between my long lens, our spotting scope and binoculars we all enjoy a front row seat to the amazing spectacle.

We also spotted a bison fording the river, elk, and Nico was lucky enough to see wolves before they disappeared over a hilltop. Feeling quite fortunate we continue on to Canyon Village where we have breakfast and take in the Yellowstone Canyon before continuing on to Tower Falls.

The Lamar Valley is next on our circuit and here we see something like ten herds of bison numbering 2,000 beasts. For the first time I understand why this place is often referred to as the Serengeti of North America. Encountering far less traffic than we expected for this time of year we backtracked the valley and continued on to Mammoth Hot Springs for lunch and some ice cream.

Our last day at Heart Six included a ridge ride on which we paused for a family portrait which will in all likelihood be this year’s Christmas card photo. After returning, the boys and I decided we would like to finish our visit with some high speed loping (cantering). Our wrangler led us down to an open field where the horses could run without fear of injury. What a thrill. When a horse moves from trotting (very jarring on the body) to loping the ride smooths out considerably and you can just tell the horse is having fun. On our last run we really opened the throttle. In order to stay on the horse, Nico would grip the saddle with both of his hands leaving the reins loose. His horse easily reached 35 miles per hour and when it ran out of field, Nico had to release one hand to gather the reins and brake the horse. Absent a grip on that side, Nico flew off the horse when it decelerated and completed a rolling dismount which terminated with him standing upright. He would have received a perfect ten if he was competing at the Olympics. The whole thing was so funny that Kyle and I laughed uncontrollably for at least five minutes. After our wrangler realized that Nico was not injured and the color returned to her face, she also could not help but laugh along with us.

After checking out we drove up to Yellowstone stopping at Flagg Ranch for a hike along the Snake River. Kyle and Nico opted out and Maya drove a blistering pace on what proved to be a rather unrewarding trail. We completed our day’s journey at the Grant Village campground where we pitched our 6 person tent and home for the next two nights. The star field was simply amazing and Nico remained up to do some celestial photography while the rest of us chose to jump into our sleeping bags. The temperature dropped below freezing and Kyle (who had a sleeping bag not rated for this degree of cold) was none too happy (he traded with Nico for his warmer bag the next night).

Our Heart Six cabin could not offer a more magnificent view of the Grand Tetons. Each morning I rise before the sun to position myself for the golden hour when the quality of light is optimal for photography. This morning I did a series of landscapes with the Buffalo River in the foreground and the mountains in the background. I also encountered a couple of deer that were kind enough to pose for me.

Early each morning wranglers round up the horses from their pasture and drive them up to the ranch. Normally each rider is paired with a unique horse and is not permitted to switch over the course of the week. Toad, my first horse, was limping on the second day and I was given a new mount, Big Red. On our morning ride I discovered that Red had a problem with his back. Every time we went down hill he would start bucking. While this added a measure of excitement I had not bargained on, it was also extremely unsafe (see yesterday’s comments regarding rodeo riders). Our wrangler walked Red back to the ranch and I rode his horse.

During the afternoon the boys and I participated in paintball. In the first round Nico and I were on a 5 person team pit against Kyle, Sam (the wrangler in charge of the event who played weekly and was a hard core expert) and three others. Early in the round I covertly secured high ground and positioned myself to take out both Sam and Kyle. Neither one knew I was there and I had a perfect bead on them. I opened fire on Sam missing with at least 4 shots. He turned, located me and hit me with his first paintball. Sam, however, was no match for Nicolai who climbed a tree near our base and waited patiently until he was directly below him. Sam never knew what hit him and confessed later that he had been out maneuvered. In round two I was dispatched by Sam in the first minutes when I chose to hide behind a tree which was one size too small and left 1 inch of my backside exposed. Finally in the third round I redeemed myself as the last man standing with three tags including both Kyle and Maya. I shot Kyle in the hand just after he was also hit from behind (he cried foul but war is hell). I felt bad shooting Maya but she is a sharpshooter and pelted my hideout relentlessly and was advancing with her teammate in a 2 on 1 scenario. Fortunately I hit her gun and caused her no pain. Kyle had several bruises (one shown here) which demonstrate that getting shot can be very painful.

In the evening, we took another trail ride to dinner. The wranglers felt very bad that I had received two lame horses so I was given Rocket, the best horse on the ranch. He was powerful and responded perfectly to my commands and I felt lucky to ride him for the rest of our stay.

After dinner we rode back to the ranch and were treated to a magnificent sunset. I also captured a slow shutter speed image of a couple of horses on their way back to the pasture for the evening.

The family was up early this morning for a trail ride to breakfast alfresco overlooking the Teton range. Our horses spend each evening in a huge pasture and the wranglers coral them each day. This mother and foal have their own special pasture where they spend all day grazing and nursing.

The afternoon is spent floating down the Snake River in an inflatable raft.

We encountered four Bald Eagles and enjoyed a panoramic view of the mountains. Maya was given a chance to guide the raft and gained an appreciation for just how difficult this job is.

Another exquisite dinner is followed by an excursion to Jackson Hole for the rodeo. Our very own wrangler, Drew, is one of the bull riders. This is a sport for people who enjoy being injured. Virtually every rider limped out of the arena including Drew who was kicked in the leg after a very impressive ride and a high-flying angry bull.

Our day begins with a terrific breakfast in the Rustic Inn dining room. It becomes immediately apparent that sticking to my diet is going to be difficult in the face of such yummy food. Next I make a quick excursion back to the airport to rent a van which provides us ample room for our luggage and comfortable viewing of the breathtaking scenery every where. We spent the morning leisurely making our way into the Grand Teton National Park by way of Mormon’s Row (pictured above). Along the way we spotted Pronghorn and Bison as well as this burrowing ground squirrel.

By noon we arrive at the summit of Signal Mountain from where you can survey the entire park with exceptional views in all directions. Here butterflies and wildflowers abound adding to the serenity and beauty of this place. Next we move on to the Heart Six dude ranch where we will be spending the next three nights. We have a 3 room log cabin to ourselves and mingle with other guests during meals which are served in the main lodge dining room. Over the course of our stay we will get to know the three other families staying here very well.

Immediately after unpacking we make our way to the stables where we are introduced to our horses and set out on our first trail ride. Maya and Kyle have had riding lessons. Jeanine and Nico have been on a horse once or twice. For me it is the first time. Appropriately I am paired with a horse named Toad and Jeanine with Kermit. Our first ride takes us onto a ridge overlooking the Buffalo River and Teton range. This is one of the most spectacular vistas I have ever seen and I will be sure to return for some early morning photography and as a backdrop for a family portrait.

We return just in time for dinner and it becomes clear that food is going to be another highlight of our stay at the Heart Six. Much of the evening is spent playing cards or pool with Maya deciding she is going to learn to play the guitar. Kyle shows her a few chords and in no time she is able to play a few simple songs. The evening ends with a campfire and smores making for a very full first day.

Today the family flew from Boston to Jackson Hole, WY where we spent the night at the Rustic Inn, a collection of luxury log cabins adjacent to aspen-laden Flat Creek. After settling in we quickly made our way to the heated pool and hot tub. A very relaxing way to unwind after a day of travel.

Jeanine and I surprised Maya, arriving at her camp by way of kayak to great her this morning. The secluded camp is reached easily by water and the early morning paddle was most enjoyable featuring a close encounter with a family of loons. When we returned with the car, Maya introduced us to her many friends and counselors and then gave us a tour which included the new chicken coup she had helped to construct during her stay (smaller structure next to the barn). We also got to see her open air living quarters and were introduced to many of the domesticated animals. Tomorrow the family leaves for a ten day vacation to Wyoming and I will not have a chance to post again until we return.

Jeanine and I made the three hour drive to Plymouth, Vermont where Maya has been attending Farm & Wilderness Camp for the last three weeks. Our first stop was at the Coolidge State Park where we took advantage of day light to setup our tent before completing our journey. We could hardly wait to see Maya and the reunion was wonderful. She was full of exuberance and stories about her adventures and her new and old friends.

The day is structured around a fair which starts at noon and goes until dusk featuring many fun activities (water flume, hand build Ferris wheel, zip line, pie throwing, music, food, and arts and crafts. A camp tradition involves cracking a confetti filled egg over the head of your parents and friends. Jeanine gave as good as she got.

Campers will spend one last night together before they are gathered by parents tomorrow. Jeanine and I enjoyed an intimate dinner at a slow food restaurant in Woodstock followed by an outdoor concert and fire dancing.

There are few things I enjoy more at work than designing team building events. I have done close to a dozen over my career and today’s was one of the best for sure. The challenge involved building boats out of cardboard and duct tape and then racing them to determine a grand champion. The rules governing the competition were designed to focus the teams on designing for durability and robustness (characteristics we are seeking to improve in our products). The winning boat would have to complete, in the least time, a total a six 100 yard laps with six different paddlers in head to head rowing. The weather could not have been more perfect and the Abe Bashara Boathouse in Lowell proved the perfect venue. Construction of nine boats took the entire morning with racing and debriefing occupying the balance of the day. More than half the boats finished all six laps with at least one photo finish and a few highly entertaining capsizes.

Feedback from the team was extremely positive and I am confident that the lessons learned about robust design will not soon be forgotten.

I rarely get attached to a piece of technology but when I discovered that my HD camcorder was no longer working properly I must admit to a tinge of sadness. This is the unit I used to record Nicolai’s coming of age adventure on Kilimanjaro. It produced all of the original content for the documentary about our climb which we got to see projected on the big screen at several film festivals. It earned me my first film credits. Normally I am quite unhappy when such a device fails. In this case, however, I feel like it has left us with irreplaceable memories and performed admirably under extremely harsh conditions.For the time being I am not going to replace it since all of my still cameras are also capable of shooting HD video (although not as seamlessly). It will probably go up on eBay where it still has value as a replacement parts donor. The biggest problem is that I will need to re-shoot both Kyle and Nicolai’s most recent birthday videos which did not come out. Getting the original interviews was like extracting teeth. I can only imagine the resistance I will get on a second round “of the same dumb questions”.

Today I am missing Maya more than ever. It has been 24,480 minutes since she left and life around the house is just not the same without her. I think the boys are even starting to miss her. I can hardly wait until the weekend when Jeanine and I will leave for Vermont to retrieve her. Her letters indicate that she is having a fantastic time with not the slightest hint of homesickness. I wonder if there is such a thing as childmissingsickness? It is nice having both boys here but they are in and out with the wind so I hardly see them either. Perhaps I can coax Jeanine into making another baby (her current position is that we can have another child as long as it does not come out of her body).

I stepped out to enjoy the early morning light today and ran across this little fellow. He was quite content to let me photograph him and even waited while I returned with Jeanine who helped me by holding a sheet of white paper up as a reflector to create some additional fill lighting. On the back end of the day I took in the sunset while escorting Nala on a 3 mile walk.

Today it rained for the better part of the morning and most of the afternoon. I drove to Fort Devens where my soccer tournament was being held well in advance of the 9AM start to ensure a good warm up. It became immediately apparent, however, that my quad was not going to hold up. I played for 15 minutes before tweaking it again, thus ending my day on the field. It was painful watching my team lose that match 0-3 while I sat idled. We went on to win the final match for a final tournament record of 3-1. I spent the afternoon recuperating before enjoying a date night with Jeanine. We saw the new Harry Potter film which we both enjoyed.

Jeanine completed a 22 mile bike ride today using my GPS tracker allowing me to create this plot of her journey. Meanwhile I played in the opening two matches of a soccer tournament being held this weekend. We won our first game 2-0 and the second 3-0 in which I scored two goals. Unfortunately I re-injured my right quadracep and I am not sure if I will be able to play tomorrow. My mother turned 83 today and the boys and I called to wish her well. Naturally she has plans to go out dancing with friends later this evening.