Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

We stopped by Cadillac Ranch on a hot, windy day. As we walked up to the 10 Cadillacs buried hood-first into the ground, their tail-fins silhouetted against the Panhandle sky, Paris asked, "Why are those cars stuck into the ground like that? It looks weird."

"It's art," I explained.

"No, that's not art," she countered.

I went into a long explanation on how art can be many things. "It isn't always a picture you draw on a piece of paper," I said. And then I told her about Texas millionaire Stanley Marsh 3, and how he hired the Ant Farm, a San Francisco-based design firm, to create something that's expressive of the American automobile. I told her that the cars are from different time periods and represent the evolution of the American automobile, mainly the rise and fall of the tail fin. Of course she quickly lost interest and started to chase her brother around one of the cars.

But she must have grasped the concept. When we were back in the car, Paris shredded a piece of paper and threw it over the back of my seat onto my head. "Mommy, this is art." she said. "I'm expressing how tired I am of being in the car."