Amalgam

The imaginary but perfect small town Bill Bryson is searching for. He soon comes to realize that he won't find this town but that he can use pieces of towns to create it.

Des Moines, Iowa

Where Bill Bryson lives as a child.

Pella

The town based on a Dutch heritage near the beginning of Bryson's trip. He notes that there are windmills in many yards and an annual event around the tulips that grow there. Over the course of the story, Bryson compares many things to the excitement of seeing the little windmills in Pella. It's also where Wyatt Earp is from.

Carbondale

The Illinois town where Bryson stays in a Heritage Motor Inn and has dinner at Pizza Hut. He notes that the town has no downtown, and surmises that it was "eaten by shopping malls."

Columbus

A town in Mississippi where Bryson discovers and...