Jamie and I ventured off last weekend for a few days’ camping up Glacier Park.  It is just over 3 hours’ drive north of Missoula and there are various campsites and hiking trails throughout.  Below are a few photos of our adventure.  I may post more as time permits.

Jamie and I on a turnout off Going To The Sun Road from West Glacier

View from Going To The Sun Road (West Glacier) just after Weeping Wall

Our campsite in Rising Sun (Lake Mary - East Glacier).

Snow covered our day hike trail to Lake Otokomi (5.2 mi; 1900 ft elevation increase).  Plan for a 6-hour affair; it’s a long hike and bring plenty of food and water.

We undestimated the length of the hike and didn’t pack enough water.  Thankfully there were waterfalls and streams from the top of the mountain so we took our chances with one and replenished our supplies.

Jamie in a field of beargrass.  Many portions of our hike seemed like a “fantasy land”.  The hike alone was well worth it, including the workout.

Scenery during the drive to E. Glacier towards our campsite.

Goomzee “cameo”.  I have a few of these at various sites.  Shameless! 

This afternoon I hiked “the M” (Mount Sentinel) with a friend and his two dogs.  The University of Montana sits at the base of Mount Sentinel and along the Clark Fork River.  Just a few days ago I posted photos of a freak snowstorm but since Friday it’s been beautiful, mid to high 70-degree weather and sunny.  Below are some photos (panorama) of the Missoula valley.  Facing right while on the mountain is North and up Rattlesnake Creek.  As I pan left, you can see Interstate 90, the Clark Fork River and the bridges crossing the river heading downtown.  You can then see the valley which stretches approx 6-10 miles in each direction, surrounded by mountains on all sides.  To the left is the Bitterroot valley and Lolo peak.  Two main rivers converge in Missoula, the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers, each with other tributaries flowing into them, including Lolo Creek, Rattlesnake Creek, Blackfoot River and Rock Creek; world-renowned fly fishing.

Facing north looking up the Rattlesnake.

Interstate 90, Clark Fork River and Washington-Grizzly football stadium (UM Campus)

The University of Montana Campus, bridges crossing the Clark Fork to downtown Missoula.

Missoula valley with U of M campus at the base of Mount Sentinel (directly below)

Missoula Valley south looking toward the Bitterroot Valley and Lolo Peak.

Last week I had a flurry of business meetings in and around Washington DC.  I was in Virginia, Maryland and DC and managed to walk around downtown Washington near the White House for one afternoon.  Below are a couple photos of the Washington Monument and also standing in front of the gates of the White House.

The grounds were fenced off because some foreign dignitaries were in town.  I am across from the White House and the Washington Monument is in the background.

Standing in front of the grounds to the White House in Washington DC.  The weather was perfect and a couple hours later it was raining so I got the best Washington had to offer.

Jamie and I hung out with friends at their family ranch in Victor, MT.  It is about 30 minutes south of Missoula and the views were so cool I thought I’d share.

Jamie and I in Victor Montana at friend’s ranch.

This is how I roll!    Hanging with my entourage at Sharkbite; Turtle Cove Yacht Club.

In the bar/grill, Sharkbite, which is on the water in Turtle Cove, they have a cool paper-machee Shark. It’s no surprise that it’s made out of money; things aren’t exactly thrifty on the islands.

Here’s our crew: Front: Stefany, Jamie, Katrina / Back: Andrew, Myself, Adam, Jeff

Sunset on the Carribean. This was from dinner Thursday at The Orchid.

During the afternoon, Jeff, Stef, Jamie and I explored around and bought some things at local gift shops. One of the main areas for shops is called the Saltmill (above). Within and next to it are the main bars, all walking distance from our resort, the Sands at Grace Bay.

I got a kick out of this sign. Note their “best happy” [hour] on the island.

Well today Jamie and I had our bagel and cream cheese breakfast and lounged on the beach. I went snorkeling for a while and then just soaked up a little sun; my pale skin can only handle so much. No plans for the rest of the day and tomorrow Andrew’s going to take us around the islands on his boat. We head to Miami on Monday and return to Montana late Wednesday.

We have managed to unwind and enjoy ourselves here in Turks & Caicos.  We don’t plan much, aside from the scuba diving day trip, and just hang out and enjoy some great food (not common on the islands; great chefs here) and sun.  Some more people are arriving today and we have a group getting together this evening for some nightlife.

Here are some photos on the beach and of scuba diving.  Jamie took it easy w/ a spa day and Jeff, Stefany and I did the day scuba trip.  Enjoy the photos.  I also have video of the scuba as my digital camera has an underwater case so I snapped some good footage.  I’ll piece it together when I get home and upload a cool video.

King of the castle.  Grace Bay Beach - Provo - Turks & Caicos Islands

Me, Jeff and Stefany on the boat headed out to West Caicos and the reef where we’d be diving.

Jeff and I posing for the camera.

Ahhhh, look at the lovebirds. 

Reef scenery - pretty as a postcard and the camera doesn’t capture all the color.

Beautiful colors.  Ashamedly, I’m not sure if these are sea sponges or sea cucumbers.  We did swim with a variety of fish and I got pretty close to a huge barracuda and snapped a photo.  Some others in our party saw some dolphins but we missed them.  We made two dives during the day and they were both great, but not as much wildlife as I’ve seen on some of my other dives in other places.  Egypt was the best, the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) so far in that regards but I think it all matters day by day.

Enjoy my photos and I may post more later either here in Turks or later in Miami/South Beach.

Jamie and I met with Jeff and Stefany to visit our friend Andrew and enjoy Turks & Caicos Islands. He lives/works on Providenciales, the main inhabited island. Jamie and I stayed at a resort while Jeff and Stefany stayed with Andrew in his swank condo in Turtle Cove. I’m off for a day of scuba but here are a few photos so far. Enjoy!

Flying over you can see the transformation to the turquoise water. It has some of the most beautiful beaches and water we’ve seen. Our resort is on Grace Bay Beach and there are resorts and residences along its 12 mile stretch.

Sunset from our room overlooking the Caribbean and pool area.

Jamie walking out to pool area and Hemingway’s to meet with Jeff and Stefany.

Hanging out at Hemingways, a great restaurant w/ killer Grouper Fish Tacos. Myself, Stefany and Jamie (photo credit Jeff).

Jamie, Katrina, Andrew and Jeff at Andrew’s place on Turtle Cove.

Jamie and Stefany with sun setting behind looking over Turtle Cove - Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands.

Jamie strutting her stuff at “Club Andrew”. His place is pretty awesome and we hung out with a variety of new friends our first night; more than half them had English or Australian accents so I felt like I was back in London again.

Well that’s our trip so far. I have to get to the lobby for the scuba folks to pick me up and will be taking my underwater camera case/digital camera so hopefully snap some good shots I’ll share. Enjoy!

Bali Hai Golf Club - Las Vegas March 16, 2007

Go Marty - Ninja Turtle Style.

We had another trip to Las Vegas to attend Jeremy and Kim’s wedding.  It was a fun trip and we made some great new friends.  Given one of my buddies in Helsinki is planning his honeymoon in Las Vegas and San Francisco, I will post some photos of a few casinos and of course Jamie and my glam photo.    IStvan, enjoy and I’ll try to post more information or suggestions either here or via email.

Jamie and I standing on the walkway between Excaliber and New York, New York

Luxor hotel (can you guess the theme?)

Mandalay Bay Hotel - great pool, restaurants and shops

THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay (posh hotel suites, shops and restaurants)

Paris hotel - cool shops, creperie, dining and great view of Bellagio water, sound and light show across the street.

Rio hotel and Las Vegas Strip behind (view from Ghost Bar atop Palms Casino)

Las Vegas Strip from McCarran Airport.

Those are a few hotels/casinos on the strip and views of the strip.  I hope you enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.

I attended the SEMA show with my friends/client, Clutch Masters, this year and it was a lot of fun. SEMA stands for Specialty Equipment Market Association (e.g. aftermarket products for automotive industry). I learned a lot more about the industry and met a lot of talented folks in the automotive industry including racers, publishers, manufacturers and marketers. Below are a couple highlight photos from the show:

E-Bay Motors had a booth set up, just like they did at CES Show for buying/selling except this one was dedicated to Autos. I also saw similar for Yahoo! - both these companies are very active at the tradeshows which is good to learn, especially for Internet technology companies that you wouldn’t expect.

Live editing booth for Speed Vision broadcasting.

Snapshot of one small section of the Central Hall

Another Central Hall snapshot.

As we were visiting Steve Oaks, Sr. of Oaks Racing, we managed to talk his model into posing in front of the Clutch Masters stickers on one of his race cars. Dozens of folks were snapping shots possibly for various magazines so likely some free press for Clutch Masters.

Michelin had a cool exhibit in the South Hall with the world’s fastest street legal cars including this one, the Bugati. Most cars were over $1 million each and a show stopper was also the McLaren F1 - a beautiful car that was suprisingly a 3-seater. The driver sits in the middle with the steering wheel and to the left and right, passengers can come along, slightly offset behind the driver - very cool!

McLaren F1 - Beautiful car and I loved the center cockpit with side passengers - I’ve never seen anything like that before.

What would a trip to Vegas be if I didn’t rub elbows with a few stars? Here I am with rapper/actor Ice-T. The second CD I ever owned (back in 1991) was actually one of his; pretty cool. Actually we ran into a lot and I even met the guys from Good Charlotte during a private party for C16 at Tao (see below) we were invited to.

Mopar booth in South Hall as we headed up escalators to the offroad section

C16 after party on Wednesday night at Tao Nightclub at the Venetian - we were invited to this private party with Good Charlotte guest dj-ing for the latter part of the night. The club had a lounge level, then dining level and the upper level where we were boasted a couple bars and massage room plus main dance area.

The main dance area had raised platforms with gogo dancers and a section that separated some VIP booths and 2 dance floors with a bathtub and throughout the night they had barely-dressed girls dancing in the tub.

On the main club level, you can go into the main dance area (prior picture) or to the massage room or back bar. This is the back bar, complete with statuettes filling the entire wall.

Ice sculpture in the back bar with the C16 logo.

Overlooking the front of Venetian and Strip. From the club, they have a balcony where you can go out (primarily for smokers I think) but we went out for some fresh air and couldn’t resist snapping a couple cool photos.

Good Charlotte was at the party and I met a couple guys. I have an autograph on the back of one of my business cards I may scan in and add to the post - we’ll see.

All-in-all, this was a very fun time and I learned a lot and got to meet with a lot of Clutch Masters’ top customers plus their race team.

Here is a video with a few clips taken during the C16 party at Tao Nightclub in Venetian - Las Vegas SEMA Show 2006. It features the gogo and bathtub dancers with what I felt was an appropriate song. I used MySpace to turn the video into Flash and host it, but used my Mac and iMovie HD to quickly throw together the video. Enjoy!

I will be attending the SEMA show in Las Vegas from Tuesday, 31 October through Thursday, 2 November. I will be available on my cell phone during this time.

I will be in Las Vegas January 7 - 11 for 2007 Consumer Electronics Show. My wife, Jamie, will also be attending. We are staying at Paris so if any friends will be there, be sure to call my cell. I’ll repost this before leaving as well.

Well tonight I’ll be meeting up with my “mates” for a last evening on the town. We have made leaps and bounds this week and made a lot of key decisions to progress things on the right path. Perhaps I’ll have some photos of some of the chaps from this evening to post, and then get a little sleep so I have time to do a little more shopping and fly out on Saturday. I’ll be back to Montana very late Saturday night and back online Sunday-Monday.

Myself, Mohammed (a.k.a. ‘The Count’), Dan and his co-workers out on the town.

Walking around the city at night, I thought this building was worth capturing a photo of. I like the mix of old and new throughout.

A sign while walking back to my hotel from Old Street Station. Mind the shakiness but I though it actually applied with this photo. This makes you wonder where Old Street got its name doesn’t it?

This evening I attended the play, Mama Mia, in London’s Prince of Wales theater. It was a remarkable show and I was amazed at how simple the set, yet how functional it was merely by piviting a couple walls or raising a section of floor could be. Furthermore, the intertwining of ABBA songs into the actual story was amazing on how applicable they were.

I would highly recommend taking in this show as it’s great entertainment and a great story. You’ll laugh and find yourself singing and clapping along and the finale is very energetic. I think when I return to the states, Jamie and I will have to attend a Mama Mia show either in New York or if possible, San Francisco. It would fun to see the differences “across the pond”.

View from my seat at Prince of Wales Theater in London. We couldn’t take photos during the production so I snapped a quick photo of the stage. It was a great show.

If I find time amongst my hectic schedule, I’ll try to also attend Chicago. I saw on the marquis that Ashlee Simpson is starring in the production here in London and that would be a treat to see - keep y’all posted if I make time for that before returning to the states this weekend.

Well thank goodness I’m not in Italy right now, or my flight may not be able to return to the United States. If you haven’t heard, the temporary passenger information sharing between the US and EU has expired and EU nations are hesitant to renew or agree for longer terms. UK has issued a temporary waiver to airlines on legal privacy suit claims as things are worked out so I’m sure I’ll have no problem flying back.

I arrived yesterday (Saturday) and of course connected first, purchased a phone and prepaid minutes and loaded all my local contacts. I took a nap for a spell and then forced myself to stay awake to get used to UK hours. My old stomping ground was in the Westminster Borough (both north and south of Thames) so I learned the local bus routes to get me to Tottingham Court Road, walking distance to SOHO and Leceister Square. Here are a couple photos I took last night while wandering around, eating kebab and stopping for a pint of Guiness at my favorite Irish pub, Waxy O’ Conner.

Where I’m staying in relation to the city:

Where I’m staying. Cheesy but actually I’m posting this so when I don’t have Internet access, I can get my bearings. Thanks Google for the great map service. google.co.uk here.

Small single room at Thistle City Barbicon. The hotel I usually stay at was booked but rooms are much smaller in most European and Asian hotels. I’m still gaining my bearing on where I’m at for efficient travel, walking and taking bus to SOHO last night, then walking and taking “the tube” (London Underground) back.

Waxy O’ Conner is famous for its many rooms and levels, plus the tree in the middle. My first night ever in London (2002) I met with a colleague who took me here. It’s been my staple venue each visit and whenever showing people around.

There are always “hen parties” and “stag parties” (bachelor/bachelorette) on the weekends so you see people in crazy dress. Darin claims it boasts one of the best pints of Guiness he’s had (saying a lot when you hear how much he brags up Sean Kelly’s in Missoula).

Leiceister Square is a tourist trap and boasts theaters on every corner. It is very central to venture off to SOHO, Picadilly Circus and museums and Trafalgar Square (next pic). The Empire theater (on the left) is often where movie premiers occur in London. Back when I lived here it was not uncommon to see the red carpet rolled out and movie stars signing autographs for crazed fans.

Trafalgar Square London by night. I also walked along the Thames and saw my old flat near the London Eye. I jumped on Embankment tube station, connected at Monument and took the Northern Line to Old Street which was a few minutes’ walk from my hotel. I went in about every wrong direction upon exiting the station but finally figured out which direction I was heading.

I’m off to do some shopping today (Sunday) and get a little Goomzee and LeadsByCell work finished and prepare for my work tomorrow. I’ll be working at Audrey House on Ely Place:

Where I will be working this week while in London. I also have meetings in the area and of course, some dinner/drinks and spreading Montana cheer throughout England.

I will be in London from this Friday to next Saturday (29 Sept - 7 Oct). I’ll be available on email and my get a temporary SIM card from Vodafone for local calls while I’m in town. If you’re in the area, drop me a line.

AMMENDED: email me for my UK phone number if you haven’t received it already.

Cheers,

Mike

Last weekend Jamie and I visited some friends in Seattle, saw the sights and did a little networking with some IT folks. We also took the opportunity to visit a restaurant called Wild Ginger which was featured on the Food Network and it definitely lived up to the expectations. Here are a few highlights (touristy pics) of our trip and I may post some individual pics of specific locales later.

Seattle skyline from park overlook (Queen Anne)

Standing in front of The Space Needle (a.k.a. ‘The Needle’) at Seattle Center

Seattle skyline from Lake Union

Seaplane taking off from the water in Lake Union with Seattle skyline in the background

Jamie with her cup of Starbucks coffee from the first ever Starbucks store checking out Pike’s Place Market. Jeff has a place on Western just a couple blocks walk from The Market. We were able to walk to most destinations including the Seattle Center and Pike’s Place and Taiphoon, a great Thai restaurant we ate at on Friday.

It was a very fun and productive trip and I’m pleased to say that the new Jetta, even with 4 mountain passes and averaging between 70-80 mph still only sipped the fuel giving us over 40mpg and less than a single tank each way for the 500 mile trek from Missoula to Seattle.

On Saturday we visited my uncle’s house in Green Lake near Woodland Park Zoo and also visited The Locks and checked out the fish ladders and some cool Yachts. We ate fish and chips and later took the Duck Tour on an old WW2 amphibious craft with a city tour and then water tour combined. Our Duck broke down which actually added to the excitement and we switched Ducks and completed our tour.

My uncle’s house near Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

The Locks in Seattle - packing in as many vessels as possible before closing the rear gate and filling it with water to allow the ships to enter the channel to Lake Washington.

Jamie and I sitting aboard The Duck embarking on our tour.

Lame Duck - the vessel in the background, not Jeff Our Duck blew a transfer case in the middle of downtown so we had to deboard it and hop on another to complete our tour.

Some of the skyline photos above were taken while floating around Lake Union aboard The Duck.

Great trip!

I thought I had lost my photos from living in London and finally found them on an unmarked recordable CD. I thought I would post some missing team photos for my buddies back at BT to enjoy.

I am top-left, along with my client counterpart, Julian. We managed the delivery and migration of a major portal. It’s so great to find this photo because even though I don’t remember all the names, I remember the personalities of every single one - what a great bunch of people.

The onshore delivery team after a long night - Steve and I sponsored dinner and we celebrated a successful launch. I managed the overall delivery of the project, overseeing nearly 70 people from 6 companies on 2 continents - we had plenty of reason to celbrate as it was an uphill battle all the way.

I enjoyed getting in the trenches and working with the delivery teams out at Stockley Park (near Heathrow). It was the one place I didn’t have to wear a suit. I spent at least 3 days per week out there while development was underway then spent the rest with the business or at Accenture’s Old Bailey office near St. Paul’s. The commutes were crazy, 2 trains, a bus and walk 1/4 mile (each way) so often I didn’t return home until after midnight. Unfortunately my diet many evenings were a diet coke and twix bar I picked up at the train station.

Some of the Accenture UK office folk out at our dodgy Irish pub next to the Old Bailey office.

Here are some more of the Accenture UK crew, along with who else, Darin Archer. I’m proud to say that his first ever stamp in the old passport was joining me on my return trip from London, staying a week and hitting the town.

In 2005, I actually contracted some of the offshore resources to work on one of my own projects. It was great to work with such a dedicated bunch of folks and I now continue to source work both in India and Europe, usually managing 2-3 projects simultaneously at any given time.

Below is some information that I found about Montana that I thought might be useful. It includes census data, useful contact information and more.

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