No. 5

Small Town Youth: Plagued by the same drama and apathy as youth anywhere, they just don't have a huge mall to act out in. When we passed through Ely (pronounced E-lee), Nevada, they were just out of school and swarming around an Arby's, an auto parts store and this town square. In this and every other small town we've rolled through so far, kids love the bus. It's a jarring entry into their daily parade of trucks and SUVs, so it encourages lots of pointing, waving and shirt tugging. Is that a spaceship, mom? No, that's just hippies. Don't encourage the hippies.

We're not hippies, by the way.