Fourth of July in a suburb of San Francisco. A distant highway, even more distant fireworks. The local animals are already upset, and my neighbor has decided to tease one of the wild turkeys.

Barstow is on the old Santa Fe mainline through the Mojave Desert, and still has long freights coming through every few minutes. The old passenger depot is mostly boarded-up. Birds, especially crows, have taken up permanent residence. I eavesdropped on their conversations echoing through a breezeway.

A race of mechanical camels, Circus Circus Casino, Las Vegas

They say there are ghosts in the old buildings of the Amargosa Opera House and adjoining hotel near Death Valley... a child who wails in room 22 sometimes... No personal experience, but when the desert wind wails, the imagination can go into overdrive.

A walk among the tourists... A man chopping crabs plays his knives like drums... Hustlers yell to attract passersby, others quietly try to pull them into (overpriced) restaurants... Just another summer day down by the water...

9 AM, Jackson Square. A distant street musician poignantly plays "What A Wonderful World" for a few tourists. It prompts us to listen to the sweetness of the melody and the meaning of the lyrics, in this city starting to rebound from a near-death experience. Later in this track, two women washing the sidewalk talk about corruption; then a delivery truck unloads, and guys joke and jive as they handle the goods. Life goes on, thank God.

Ballarat is a ghost town southwest of Death Valley, still inhabited by a couple of people, one of whom keeps drinks in a (generator-powered) fridge for the occasional curious traveler willing to bump over miles of dirt road to get there.

There is an Internet cafe in the very back of one of the Vegas casinos. It's not one of the busiest ones; those can put the brain on total overload.

Sunday morning at a beautiful nature preserve in central Louisiana, filled with wild irises and birds. A woodpecker joins in at the end...

New Orleans has made a start at recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The devastation is so intense, yet the spirit of the people seems strong. Joy and anger and healthy amounts of sarcasm are apparent to a new visitor, depression certainly less so. The wild-side tourists are coming back and spending bucks; Bourbon Street is hopping, with at least 15 live bands in a 6-block stretch on a weeknight.