[img_assist|fid=1045|thumb=1|alt=Anne, Chuck, and Marta on top of Mammoth Mountain|caption=You can be a little short of breath at >11,000 feet!|width=100|height=75]

View from the top of Mammoth Mountain, CA. At >11,000 feet it is easy to see the huge volcanic caldera that encompasses the area from an eruption that occurred about 750,000 years ago.

As many of us are getting older and considering retirement, I thought I would pass on this article from the NYT on a new breed of retirement community. From the title I thought it would be about communities of birders; but I was mistaken. there are so many possible communities presented here that I could envision Patty and I joining, it would be hard to narrow it down to just one. Read the article and start planning!!!!

Birds of a Feather"

We have been somewhat incommunicado, but are now blessed with both cell phone and internet access for at least a few days. We have traveled far since our last message.

We arrived in Las Vegas and found it big and gaudy but also welcoming. Our reunions with Chuck’s nephew and his cousin were wonderful. One treasures family and seeing those with whom you share a common thread.

We camped at Sam’s Town RV Park, cruised the big city, and visited surrounding “birdy areas” including Red Rock Canyon, Mohave National Preserve and Desert National Wildlife Range. On our last evening we walked part of the famous Las Vegas strip. Caesars’ Palace is grand, the Bellagio has fountains, and thousands of tourists stream beneath the bright lights.

Just so you don't worry, the donations show up at least four days after they are given (on my runner's website). The first ones are up now.

Thanks!

Dear Family,

Some of you already know that for the past few months, I have been training for the Boston Marathon. Surprised? I was too when I realized I wanted to sign up. I’ve never been a serious athlete but found myself looking for a challenge last fall. I wanted to push myself physically and mentally. And what better way to do that then to join the President’s Marathon Challenge team at Tufts?

My journey to the 26.2 mile course has not been an easy one. Throughout my training I’ve struggled with cold weather, a bad knee and general frustrations. But I know that the hard work will be worth it, because while I’m running towards the finish line on April 16, 2007 (only 2 weeks away!), I’ll be thinking of all the rewards to come from this experience. Not only will I be proud of myself, but I’ll be thankful for the support my friends and family have given me. Even if you can’t come to Boston to watch the race, you can show your support by sponsoring me.

Early afternoon. We have lunched and I just turned on the air conditioning. The temperature will be in the 90s again this afternoon. Cooler tomorrow and we are heading north toward Las Vegas on Wednesday. Last week may become our hottest of the year!

Yuma is a border town in more ways than one. Mexico is not far south and California is just west across the Colorado River. It is around Yuma that the great river is sucked dry. Some of the water is conveyed by a flume, the "All American Canal" to Mexico. Most of the balance is similarly transported to the farmlands that now comer its former floodplain in Arizona and California. With daily sunshine and usually warm weather, the desert becomes a vegetable factory.

We are enjoying a pleasant evening in a desert campground on the west shore of Lake Mojave, a reservoir on the Colorado River south of Las Vegas. We drove here from Yuma on this beautiful spring day. After a week of temperatures in the 90s and 100s, a little cold wave has brought back enough cool air to balance the southwestern sunshine. It is now about 70 degrees and we'll have the comforter ready tonight.

Before dawn we will drive west into California and the Mojave Desert National Preserve where we'll look for thrashers and the juniper titmouse. We'll definintely find "the largest Joshua Tree forest in the world" and lots of interesting volcanic geology.

Late Sunday afternoon in Ajo. The temperature is 86 degrees, down from 90. We awoke to the alarm at 5:00 a.m. and made our traditional sausage and eggs Sunday breakfast in the dark. Then with a bit of daylight showing on the eastern horizon we drove south to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. On this our second visit we planned to walk trails near and through the campground, to drive the Ajo Mountains Road, and to hike the “high elevation” Bulls pasture trail.

We passed the border patrol checkpoint at dawn and arrived at the campground as the sun appeared. Still 50 degrees we left our jackets on. The trail passed through desert flatland and a bushy wash. The vegetation and land here, as everywhere in western Arizona is dry. Winter rains did not come this year. The spring bloom is a bust. Birds are few and far between. Another couple reports that two years ago in March they saw this desert wet and in bloom. The park literature unobtrusively suggests that a spring bloom happens only every second or third year.