The bigger they come, the harder they fall.

Willow Creek, California, up in the rugged forested region east of Eureka. Bigfoot's a big deal up there. Whether a real animal or just a legend, the Sasquatch is a tourist attraction, and here is his statue.

Southern California trip. We hit a lot of beaches, but this is probably Orange County.

On the beach, waiting for something to happen. It never did.

In 1984 the annual Rainbow Gathering was held in Modoc County in the remote northeast corner of California.

The Rainbow Gathering is put on every year in a different National Forest in the U.S. (Not to be confused with various gay events that call themselves "Rainbow," this is something else.) It's a mass campout of alternative-minded people that preserves the values developed in the late '60s counterculture. It's sort of a hippie convention in the woods. It skews young, but there are people of all ages, and families as well as singles. The original organizers are now well into middle age. It's sort of like Woodstock without the music and most of the drugs, and alcohol use is discouraged as well.

Philosophically, it's mainly a blend of New Age mysticism, New Age "Jesus People"-type Christianity, Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, and Native American spirituality.

A friend invited me to go up with a group from Sacramento. The setting was magnificent, and the people very kind, but to me they seemed to be lacking in verbal facility, and I found this frustrating. Maybe it's my own tendency toward isolation, but I couldn't easily communicate with them. By the end of the week, I was pretty disgruntled, so that's why I labeled my temporary shelter "Walt's Bah! Humbug!"

That's not me in the foreground—I'm taking the picture.

The Northern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Black Point Forest, near Novato in Marin county, California.

My wife likes men in tights. Not being stupid, I give her what she wants.

In 1986 I visited my friend Ron Lutz and his wife Renate in Oxford, Mississippi, where he was studying for his doctorate in psychology. I took the bus (a grueling way to travel, but it gives you a closer look at the land than flying) and on the way camped a few days at the Grand Canyon. Here I am at the South Rim.

1986 bus trip. San Antonio. Remember this old mission. Texans do. I enjoyed Texas, and Texans, and don't hold the ineptitude of George W. Bush against them.

The giant geodesic dome ("Spaceship Earth"), somewhat resembling a giant golf ball, that is the symbol and most prominent structure at Epcot, (which originally was named "The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow").

The Morocco Pavilion at World Showcase, Epcot. Architecturally, this was my favorite.

Cypress Gardens, Florida. Here are some good specimens of the bald cypress.

Cypress Gardens, Florida. Beautiful place, as you can see. It's a shame this venerable tourist attraction closed a few years ago.

Vehicle Assembly Building, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

This is where Saturn V's were assembled. I rememeber the VAB being touted as having the world's largest single interior space of any building. It's roughly cubical, and over five hundred feet on a side.

Gator parks with giant gators for entrances. Kitsch GONE WILD!

Steve Irwin has nothing on me. Of course it helps that it's cement.