Today was another big day of transit. Since I’m done with my contract at the ski resort, I’m crossing the Mojave desert to begin the next leg of this 3-month California journey.
Where to next? Well, you’ll have to read to find out! 😉
First I took the city bus to the main bus stop at the bright time of 7:20am. We’ve gotten a foot and a half of snow in Mammoth Lakes in just the last two days, and so I was worried that something would happen to the bus.
But at the same time, I know the driver and he rolled up perfectly on time.
From there I caught the southbound bus to Bishop. I was able to ride this one for free since I’m an employee- saved about $7, score!
Then we transferred in Bishop to the final bus that would take us to Lancaster. It was waiting for us when we got there and so I didn’t even have time to worry about it. The fare was $32.
We made a couple stops and the two bus journeys took about 5 hours in total to reach Lancaster. The bus dropped us off right at the train station, and since the station is so small, didn’t have to worry about losing my way. Since it’s earth day, I’m riding the train for free which is so nice, no pressure to buy a ticket and another $13 saved!
The train was very laid back, I love trains. It was moving backwards which was a little trippy but it was so nice to just look out the window as we traveled through the Mojave desert. So many times I’d see a cool rock formation that I just wanted to hop out of the train and climb. There are also tons of Joshua trees! I’ve wanted to see them for months and it was so exciting to spot hundreds of them growing in the middle of the desert.
They are the wackiest trees. They grow big and squiggly where nothing else seems to be able to grow.
What kind of tree chooses to grow in sand? A Joshua tree. And they’ve got these goofy little arms that stick out all over the place. Joshua trees officially win the WTB silly billy award.
Then I overheard that the train was stopping at a place that was WAY closer to my friends apartment than Union Station, so I scrambled off as fast as possible. I tried to order a Lyft over to her place but the Lyft drivers kept cancelling on me! As a result, I crossed the street back and forth like an absolute maniac with my spiffy and new but enormous moving-suitcase in tow.
Finally, Patrick picked me up and my day of transit across California was complete. The rest of the day was uneventful, I caught up with my friend and we got dinner at the California Fish Grill. It was a really tasty meal and made me excited for the upcoming weeks of even more seafood.
Stay tuned if you dare 😉