OK, Santa, we're officially ready --

frosty white covering and all!

Back on the Slopes !

Benjamin and I have officially started our second season of snow-boarding. Our local resort, Eldora, opened this past week with only 3 runs -- but we only need one! We're working on reaching the threshold of snowboarding's steep learning curve any day now!

Beijing or Bust!

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Institution for Population Research at Peking University in Beijing. Several Chinese scholars working on the the associations between urbanization and environment presented their research at a symposium, co-sponsored by IIASA. The topics are so important, the trip was fascinating and I even had time for a visit to the Summer Palace!

The Whittier Sun-Devils have been unstoppable this year! (Benjamin and Spencer here in a "congrats" chest slam!) The combined force of ever-so-experienced (by one more year) 4th graders and wanting-to-learn 3rd graders has proven a winning combination. Coach Digger has really pulled the vagabond group together into a champion force! Thanks Digger!

In Search of Saguaro

The extraordinary Sonoran Desert is featured at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix (http://www.dbg.org/) and I had the good fortune of spending the day there learning of the desert's wonders. The desert is a land of many contrasts. It's bright red while also being deep green. It's bleak while being incredibly inspirational. It's hostile while inviting, and stark but beyond stunning.

The Saguaro Cactus is a centerpiece of the Sonoran and truly a miracle -- did you know that it has wooden "ribs" (see picture) that expand and contract as needed to hold water? The ribs act like slow-moving bellows. Unbelievable Mother Nature.

In addition to the natural wonders, the architecture of the Southwest is so warm and comforting. Neutral colors, earthy buildings, indoor/outdoor spaces, and secret spots of water -- all these elements combine to create calm spaces with the effect intensified by the region's hot dry air.

This was my first trip to Arizona and I thank the Center for Population Dynamics (CePoD) at Arizona State University for supporting my visit. I was in their lovely state for just 2 days and I hope to return. I have faith that on my next visit I will also find the Saguaro safe, sound, and still ever-so-stately in their homeland, the Sonoran landscape.

Summer's Last Highway

Benjamin and I just returned from another glorious roadtrip -- this time 8 days in southern Colorado with a mountain-bike theme.

We first stopped at Joyful Journey Hot Springs in the amazing San Luis Valley. Here we used the desert landscape as biking warm up terrain, followed by long soaks in mineral baths. All in preparation for the adventures that lay ahead ......

... first at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, absolutely one of our most favorite places. The Dunes are a well-kept secret, an extraordinary landscape, and just loads of fun. We camped at the base, climbed to the very top (Star Dune), then laughed loudly as we tumbled down cushioned by 500 feet of soft sand. We then followed the Mendano Creek until it was absorbed into the sandy surrounds, rode our mountain bikes up as far as possible on a 4WD trail (until it just got too soft!), and slept under the stars at the meteor shower's peak.

(photos are from others -- our camera ran out of batteries!)


The Sand Dunes truly are stunning.

We then moved on to the Inn at the Rio Grande, in Alamosa, otherwise labeled by Benjamin as the "Fancy Motel." It gets his top 5-star rating due to the availability of ping pong and billiard tables as well as the indoor water park. I even braved the 2-story slide, with intense coaching provided by my ever-so-wise-and-expert 9-year old companion. We also rode our mountain bikes along Alamosa's "ranch trails" again for warm up ....

... for our extreme wilderness mountain adventure in beautiful Telluride. Nestled amidst the high peaks of the southern San Juan mountains, Telluride is a lovely mountain community famous for winter skiing -- but those mountain slopes offer amazing biking opportunities "off-season!"


In addition to the scenery and the fun, the classic mining town and Victorian architecture is a tremendous draw for me -- and because of the town's relative inaccessibility, it's not as overrun by tourists as many of the charming historic mining communities/resorts.

We camped in the "Town Park" in a riverside spot tucked into the willows yet 3 blocks from top-notch cafes, bakeries, and restaurants. Now, that's civilized !

Our mountain biking adventures included mostly novice trails just outside of town, but we then ventured with bikes on the gondola to try our hands (and feet, legs, and lungs) at some mountain-top trails. We muddled our way through about a mile of single-track intermediate when we returned to the novice trails -- but with a strong determination to boost our skills and tackle the trails again next season!

The ride home was top down, open air,

favorite music playing,

faces in the wind and sun.

(A truly candid shot)


Thank you summer.

Welcome home to Colorado.

The "Wee House" Starts to Take Shape

The "wee" house is starting to look like I always knew it could ..... it's been a long journey (3 years thus far), a lot of sweat equity, emotional toil, and of course, real money! This year, I've been able to finally garden and am pleased with the colors and textures that are emerging in my little landscape.

Another week in Paradise

Summer is in full swing in beautiful Boulder. Complete with Slip N' Slide. My son, Benjamin, and I escaped last week's heat by road-tripping up the Poudre Canyon.

The Canyon highway goes north of Rocky Mountain National Park and we eventually found a great camping spot on Willow Creek, to the west of the Continental Divide. We drove the whole way with the top down on "Violet," my much-loved VW Cabrio --Benjamin and I were sufficiently cooled off to wear sweatshirts -- and Durango (our canine companion) didn't jump out -- all good!

Our camping spot had an amazing private stretch of water where we built dams and all sorts of canals with river rocks. Engineering feats extraordinare. Benjamin also built a raft out of two logs although we decided it really needed three to support his weight and, if Durango and I wanted to ride along, well, it would take far more logs than we could move!

The trip back to Boulder through Rocky Mountain National Park was absolutely breathtaking (as it is each time we make the journey) -- we drove up/over Trail Ridge Road, Ipod tunes cranked, sun in our faces and wind in our hair. It really just can't get much better than this.