This trip was to visit two friends, Diana and John. They were married in September. I met Diana in the fall of 2003 and I met John ten years later. After Diana and I met, the next day we both told a mutual friend that we felt like we had met someone we had known all our lives. Only person with whom I have shared that mutual feeling. Thus, an immediate (or renewed!) friendship.

After I met John last year in their summer condo in the White Mountains, he invited me to visit them at their winter apartment in Tucson. This trip was taking him up on that offer. All I had to do was show up and John drove the three of us (or sometimes five when their two dogs tagged along) over three hundred miles around Tucson and points south, including Nogales (to see The Wall) and Tombstone. John has lived for over 25 years in Tucson and attended University of Arizona there.

TUCSON: This city feels like a small city that is very large (just at 1 million people in the cIty). Yet
the downtown area looks small with very few tall buildings. No professional sports teams are here. The
airport, though large in footprint, has hardly anyone there. The road system is very extensive and covers
a lot of ground (including the suburbs) but only one interstate runs through the town.
And, of course, the city has the flavor of Spanish/Mexican architecture surrounded by desert.

South of TUCSON: The terrain kept changing as we drove through the loop of Tucson to Nogales to
Tombstone and back to Tucson. Cactus (or saguaro, as they called them there) and mountains and
forest and scrub brush and grassy areas and forests. Only Texas can rival Arizona for having most all
types of terrain possible in North America.

MISSED VISITING:
-- nothng, since I was only there to see what John and Diana wanted to show me

OBSERVATIONS: See above

The Bests:

1. Seeing Diana and John
2. Seeing the very nice new place of Diana and John that they just moved into two days before I arrived
3. Finally seeing all parts of the entire state of Arizona exceot for the extreme four corners of the state
4. Getting to see Mexico "live"

The Worsts:

1. Actually seeing the wall and the unfortunate situation that we must do to our neighbors
2. My losing and breaking things, and, packing things in a bag I did not intend to bring on the trip

The Totals:

• Miles Driven: 300-plus (John drove, I rode)
• Flying: 6 hours
• Driving: zero, John drove
• States: 1 -- Arizona
• National Park: 1 -- Saguaro
• Pictures Taken: 140 (and deleted 10 of them)