The first part of what was intended to be a three-part experimental travelog for Nelson's home state of California, this film covers the Mexican border, Death Valley, and Hollywood/Los Angeles. Nelson mixes literal historical information with re-enactment, landscape meditations, and satirical observations, infused with a deep humor and intelligence. The objective and subjective intermingle, as Nelson employs creative shooting, editing, and even subtitling in a masterful construction that suggests how much a place is defined by who is experiencing it.

“...a funky odyssey into both Nelson’s personal history and that of his state. It has a quality of playfulness as Nelson experiments with varying juxtapositions of sounds and images. It is a carefully structured, painstaking work of much beauty and emotional impact that reaffirms Robert Nelson’s gifts as a very personal, very venturesome filmmaker.” (Kevin Thomas)