Barstow (Sunday)

It’s a tragedy! The fast food chains are killing off the the American diner! Well, that is what it looks like to me. Like weeds these fast food chains are moving in and squeezing the traditional diners out. How sad.

When I chose to stop off at Barstow I saw it as a small dot on the map at the edge of the Mojave desert, thinking it would be an interesting place to look at. I don’t really know what I was expecting. Perhaps cactus trees, rolly polley bushes, giddy-up hitching rails, spittoons, swinging doors but no, none of that. It’s all petrol stations, fast-food chains, hotels and shopping malls! The town does have history but none of the character that comes from a colourful past is visible to me, in this part of town anyway. I did find a bar, Molly’s Bar, but wasn’t impressed. The Guinness tasted unusual. I understand that Barstow used to be a service town for the many silver mines throughout the Mojave Desert. Today the silver is gone (I can confirm that, I kicked a few stones and didn’t find any) and now it seems to be a service town for the cars and travelers passing through. The workforce seems very transient. When ever I asked about the local area the response was usually ‘Oh, I’m not from here, sorry I don’t know’.

I spend the late afternoon looking over the town from a hill. The air is very hot and dry and my camera is warm to hold (what’s that doing to the little pixels?). There are dry thunderstorms about and the setting sun lights up the surrounding hills beautifully. A major busy freeway passes across the dry Mojave River and through town. Las Vegas is only a couple of hours away. A multi-track railway line streams through town and it has been serious with freight the whole time I have been here.

Anyway, despite the towns lack of colour, the surrounding hills are pretty. There is supposed to be an Army base here and a did see some army uniforms walking out of the local Starbucks. Apparently you can do a tour of the base, but not on a Sunday!

Off to Las Vegas tomorrow!