"The dust devils of Mars are no tornadoes. They would barely stir your hair, were you standing there hatless... "

Nick

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No, I wouldn't stand there hatless, I'd wear a helmet.

One of your colleagues from JPL/CalTech did say during a press briefing that dust devils on Mars can get as powerfull as tornadoes on Earth. Mini-hurricanes he called them.

I wrote (and am now kicking myself because I knew better): It will get rockier between the rover and the hills. Hopefully the dust devils have helped in scattering some rocks. Easier for the rover to get around...

No, I do not believe that they can move boulder sized rocks. However, I do believe that Martian dust devils are capable of lifting topsoil, as most of us know. I still stand by my first sentence: It will get rockier between the rover and 'the hills'.

I hope the rover/geologists find valuable science results before they venture towards the hills. Maybe Spirit will make it as far as to the mouth of Ma'adim Vallis (long stretch of a wish).