Dude ranch

Eitan and Madeleine await Charlie, Buckwheat, Nugget, Prailine and the other horses for a riding and carrot or apple feeding. Today, we drove to Walsenburg, CO, so Eitan and I could have a haircut, and then had lunch at the local diner. Sonnet is in New Mexico with her mom and aunts Robin and Martine so Grandpa Stan and I amuse the kids for three days. Activities include play-time at the La Veta park, where friends have been made with kids from Walsenburg, Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul, as well as La Veta. We also take advantage of the trailheads from Martine's house, but this met with considerable resistence ("Rattle snakes, Dad!"). A nice break is spent in front of the televisions watching Square Bob Spongepants and other incomprehensible characters before Stan makes dinner or the Dog Paw for burgers.

The Minnis ranch

Sonnet's aunt Martine and her husband Bill Minnis own a horse ranch in the middle of the Rockies (closest town: La Veta). They are surrounded by some of the most dramatic hillside I have ever seen. The mountains are volcanic, from a time when Colorado and the US were under an ocean. Of interest is the treeline, which stops sharply at 13,000 where there is not sufficient oxygen for them to grow (this can be seen in the photo on the right). The clouds roll in quickly in the afternoon bringing explosive thunderstorms and rain. The first snows arrive late October, I'm told. I had a difficult time chosing a blog photo as the vistas and constantly changing weather offer equally dramatic selection.

Log cabin

This photograph taken at Beecher Stanfill's summer cabin in Cuchara Colorado (pop. 30, if).

The altitude is 8,600 feet and I feel the lack of oxygen immediately, especially when clowing with the kids. Cuchara is located off Route 12, the Highway of Legends, and 10 miles from La Venta or the next nearest town with a drugstore and library. Cuchara looks like something from a Clint Eastwood Western, with a saloon called the 'Dog Paw' and general store selling awful (but strong) coffee. Next to Beecher's is the Dogetown creek, which is soothing for us and tempting for Eitan and Madeleine.

The gals

Sonnet, Mary, Sloan and Katie

We left the Sierras Monday following a long hike with Katie and Mary, who took us thru a number of Boston Consulting Group case studies which I failed horribly. I met Mary at Columbia, where she was a stand-out from day one. Prior to business school, Mary was a public school teacher in NYC, which is where she met her husband Amado. From business school, she was hired at BCG as a Consultant, and is now one of 30 female partners, a number she is trying to grow - equal opportunity remains a main motivation of her work (Nb Mary was one of two Consultants to be promoted Partner from her intake year of 20, and on occasion has received ovations from grateful corporate boards).

On the drive to Berkeley, everyone was a bit sad but excited to see Gracie and Moe and their cat "Sweetie Pie" with whom Madeleine has fallen in love.

3-4

This photo taken for Katie's __ birthday, at our home in Lauderdale Mansions, Maida Vale, W9 (29/9/02). Eitan is two years old.

Mr Klein

Rob and I met thru my sister Katie, who studied with him at Columbia's international affairs program (CIPA) following his work with Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. He also obtained an MBA, which is when we got to know each other. Today, Rob runs the Crecera Finance Company, which he founded three years ago in San Francisco. Crecera provides trade finance to Latin American growth companies, and has attracted $200M of equity and debt from leading global investors. Rob has gained first hand valuable experience of a pig farm, a slaughterhouse and other similarly intriguing businesses. In addition, he is a die-hard Ohio State fan with big expectations for '06 - the Buckeyes being ranked #1 by USA Today (Cal is twelth as at today).

Repose

Madeleine taken at in the late afternoon, next to our cabin. She stands on wood bracket protecting the water meter underneath. I asked her to pose for the camera and she was unusually obliging.

S'mores

The evening is spent roasting marsh-mellows and making s'mores. Etymology from the web: "S'more appears to be a contraction of the phrase, "some more", as in "Please, give me some more of that delicious treat." The informal nature of this term reflects the environment in which s'mores are traditionally served. Some have jokingly surmised that the name originated from people who were so busy eating the tasty dessert that they did not have time to speak in complete sentences, or alternately, that their enunciation was compromised by the fact that their mouth was still full of the aforementioned s'more. Any case, the expression dates to the 1927 Girl Scouts handbook.

Converse

The Big Trees Gang

The kids also enjoy a re-union - this their third visit together in the Sierras. From left to right: Jaimes (age 2), Devon n (7), Eitan (5), Simon (4), Maya (3), Sophie (5) and Madeleine (4). Photo taken after a candy-stop and lipsticking.

Rush hour

Eitan at dusk during our post-dinner walk to work-off any remaining energy from the day. Sonnet bakes a blueberry pie, which means everybody will be on sugar-boosters until eventual bedtime around 9:30PM (vs. 7:30 in London).

HW 4

Beloved Route 4, an east-west highway, begins in Hercules, Calif. at the I-80 junction as part of John Muir Parkway. The road is an expressway from its starting point until it approaches Martinez, at which point it becomes a full freeway (the California Delta Highway) passing Concord, Pittsburg and Antioch. After Antioch, the freeway turns northward to become State Route 60, and Route 4 separates to become a suburban and rural road passing through the Bay Area's outermost eastern suburbs (Oakley and Brentwood). Route 4 continues to Stockton, where it briefly joins I-5 and then enters a separate freeway routing almost directly through downtown Stockton. The route then multiplexes with State Route 99 before running eastward into the Sierra through Angels Camp and Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The route runs through the 8,050 ft. (2,454 m) Pacific Grade Summit on its way up to the 8,730 ft. (2,661 m) Ebbetts Pass and ends at State Route 89 ten miles west of Topaz Laek, on the California–Nevada border. The portion from Arnold to its terminus is designated the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway.
Through the mountains, Route 4 is not suitable for large trucks, buses, or RVs, as it becomes very steep and narrow (sometimes with no center dividing line), with tight twists and turns. This portion is also often closed in the winter due to snowstorms and snowpack. Additionally, the segment between Bear Valley Mountain Resort to Monitor Pass near Markleeville is completely shut down through the winter, until the snowmelt. (from Wikipedia)

Redwoods

It is hard to appreciate the magnifisense of these gentle giants unless standing directly underneath one. The trunks, exceeding in some instances 30 feet in diameter, stretch upwards to 150 feet or more before branching and then topping out at 250 to 300 feet. They instantly compare to a whale or 747 and seem friendly somehow. Their earthy pine smell is perfume to the forrest, and happily they have been protected since 1932 from logging or otherwise.

Stick

Photo taken during a hike thru the giant Redwoods. This afternoon Eitan takes hold of my digital camera and instantly falls in love. He snaps away at our ankles, mid-sections, rocks and tree trunks "look dad! Your feet!" staring at the viewfinder image. Of course tensions rise when Madeleine wants her turn, and the solution is to share time to the minute.

Fire

Chas

Chas and I met in Providence, Rhode Island, in '87 and spent two summers painting the exteriors of some 100 houses in Barrington and Providence for CollegePro Painters. I owned the local franchise while at Brown. Our second summer, with Chas the Production Manager, saw our business net over $250K while I was selected "Manager of the Year" from a pool of 105. The stress and general absurdity of CollegePro (or any job for that matter presenting similar responsibility to college-going kids) is now re-lived whenever Chas and I, and the other members of the Providence outlet are together. These stories fyi I consider some of my most cherished treasures taken forward into middle age.

Lake Alpine II

Madeleine explores the shoreline of the reservoir-created lake, which today is stocked with trout and salmon presenting a prime recreational spot for the odd angler or (rare) camper at Ebett's pass. At the bottom of the lake (depth 15o feet or so) rests an old saw mill, abandoned when logging became restricted in Alpine County in the late 19th century. Here Madeleine shows off a digging apparatus, as she merrily constructs squirrel huts, water traps and beaver dams.

Eagle One

The Eagle One from 1974's Space: 1999.

Vital statistics
Mass: 31,551 KG
Size: 34 meters
Thrust main: 990 kN
Thrust hover: 495 kN

I still wonder the outcome of the Eagle One versus a Tie-Figher, though believe the latter would have proven superior given its greater maneuverability and canon. Plus Luke loaded R2-D2 in for added sensory feedback and performance while the Eagle's computer systems would struggle with 'pong.'

Chas!

Kate and Chas in Big Trees, where our families spend the weekend together. On Friday, Kate's company Real Girls Media attracts $6M in her series A round with Walden and 3i the institutional limited partners. Kate is an hold-hand in the start-up game having founded and sold Lot21 in 2002, then the leading online advertising agency. The Thorps have three kids and a dog, live in Northern California and generally lead the good live in our sun-baked, sunshine culture. This photo taken on the stump of Old Sherman (diameter: 28 feet), chopped down in 1853 by Pacific Sierra Logging; Conner in the background.

Chas and I met in college when we painted houses together in Providence. During those miserable summers I contracted and he became my production manner, freeing me up to do what I enjoyed or was good at - selling the business. Chas concentrated on keeping the workers stocked up with paints, brushes, Kodiak and Marbreds. He also planned out the summer's schedule which we maintained in the "action room" of his top flooer flat - pictured a wall of calanders mapped by house and crew. Because of Chas, the summer was butter and we painted 52 houses, if I recall correctly. We also received various recognitions while our summer business made >$200,000 in two and a half months.

Mr Macho

A self-photo I like. How quickly I revert to California. In London, which is way more formal, I am confined to professional attire and certainly would not consider facial hair for God's sake. When I founded my internet company in '99, I was tempted to throw out my suits & ties, but fortunately Sonnet prevailed and I kept several which I now use when travelling or with clients. I must believe that our Act III will be played out on the Pacific Coast.