Sunday 3/9 AZ report

Good evening,

Hope you are all oriented to DST. We don't leap forward in AZ, so stay on MST.

Congrats to Tim on having his Nader letter selected as on OpEd selection. Sure that many of us will be interested in any feedback it prompts. While don't have a daily paper here, we have the various news channels and haven't caught sight of any Nader press. With all the other candidate news, perhaps his candidacy just won't elicit much media coverage.

Went to mass this morning at the San Xavier del Bac "White Dove of the Desert" mission church. In all the times we've visited this is the first time we attended mass. There was a good crowd, many probably there for an all day Tohono O'odham (formerly Papago) Native American celebration, which we didn't plan to attend. We had been part of one at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument a number of years ago, so went "home" for breakfast--a distance of about 9 miles.

After breakfast we drove north to Saguaro West NP for a hike to see the spring flowers. All reports are that they are and are to be the best since 1998 because of winter rains. Saw a lot of flowers after a stop at the VC to view a new video on the park. Not too many birds that time of day, but a great hour hike.

Mid afternoon we headed for Ann and Ed's "home" in Green Valley to
have dinner with them. Took a ABC salad and two pies--rhubarb/strawberry and apple. Had some wine and pre-prandials on their patio with a great view of the late afternoon sun on the Santa Rita Mountains the home of Madera Canyon.

Focus going great. Averaging over 30 mpg since we left home, so the
freeway speeds must have cleaned out all the gunk! Gas prices all less than when we left home--2.97 today with one stop in NM about 2.88.