February 22, 2005
Juan and his son Umberto finished the Spanish driveway at about six last night, just ahead of more rain. It was sprinkling in the dusky twilight as I paid them the final $200. All told I spent a little over $2,600 on the project. Kathy and I got up early this morning to go out and admire the rocky expanse.

Now I’m suffering from rock withdrawal! We went on a walk and I kept spotting all these great flat rocks along the roadway but I don't need them anymore.

We have just posted the Best of the West survey for 2005. You need to go there right now and vote for worthy Western people, places and stuff. Click here.

Speaking of voting, we just got our results from the latest True West Reader's Survey and a couple of the numbers make me very happy. When we bought the magazine back in 1999, our first reader survey (150 responses) pegged the average age of our readers at 68 and the split was 90% men, 10% women.

Over a thousand of you took the latest survey and it pegs the average age at 45 and the split at 64% men and 36% women. This makes me very hopeful.

"Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn't permanent."
—Jean Kerr