Favorite travel fantasies come in many forms -- not everyone dreams of a deserted white-sand beach on Maui.

Mine was driving down a long, straight road through the American West, with the speedometer needle leaning far right. The reason should be obvious: The desert is everything that crowded, noisy, dirty Tokyo is not (unless you count sand storms as "dirt").

For a long time I thought that this fantasy would involve more schlepping and spending than the beach on Maui. Then I received an invitation to a film conference in Tucson, Arizona and discovered how easy it is.