Hey all. After a long break I'm back.
First let me say thanks to everyone for the tips on places in the Southwest. We hit a lot of places. 5 states, 1800 miles, 7 national parks, 1 State Park, 2 National Monuments, 2 tribal parks and 2 national recreations areas. Loved it all. Particularly liked Calf Creek Falls (thanks for the tip) and Canyonlands. All the other places were great as well but those two stood out because they had the fewest other people around. In addition to all the great scenery I ended up losing about 10 pounds and cutting my caffeine consumption in half.
As to the NBA, well, it sure looks to me like the gap between the top teams from th past few years (Spurs, Pistons, Pacers) and everybody else is awfully wide. Of course it's early so and I haven't had a chance to watch enough games year so a lot of that could change. We'll see what happens in Miami and whether hot early starters like the Cavs and Mavs can keep up the pace.
As to the Wolves I haven't even been able to see much of them. Right now it seems to me like they are good enough to hit the playoffs but not much else. Honestly it's not that I think they are particularly good, it's that the West is not what it used to be. A few years ago a team of the Wolves caliber would have been out of the race well before seasons end. Now, however, they have a shot.