Stay, Stray, Play and Feast: Las Vegas to Los Angeles Road Trip: Scenic $2 Road Trip on Greyhound (Fun and Exciting LA Blog Series 1)

Las Vegas to Los Angeles Road Trip
Scenic $2 Road Trip on Greyhound
(Fun and Exciting LA Blog Series 1)

On our 5^th and last day in Las Vegas,
we took a taxi from Tropicana Hotel,

…that took us to the old downtown where

the Greyhound Bus terminal was located.

I earlier booked this trip on the net before leaving

the Philippines and I paid $3 for myself as the

main passenger and $2 each for my companions.

We spent $70 each on a LuxBus America

when we traveled to Las Vegas from Anaheim,

…and spending a total of $9 for all of us

was an unbelievable, HUGE BARGAIN.

The Las Vegas Greyhound Bus Terminal,

although moderately sized, was clean and tidy.

We took our seats at the middle part of the bus, and it
was surprisingly new, very spacious, and also very clean.

The seats were comfortable, it has a good

wi- fi, had a tidy toilet and the rear end,

…and wide panoramic windows that provide

awesome views of both sides of the road.

The bus slowly rolled out

of downtown Las Vegas,

…and cruised at the freeway where we

caught a last glimpse of the fabulous

hotels and resorts at the nearby strip.

As we traveled farther from the city, we were
treated to the sights and sounds of the
suburban desert communities of Nevada,

…then, the roadside scenery was replaced

by the view of the vast and arid desert,

…until we reached the Whiskey Pete Casino,

that welcomes Vegas tourists from California

on their way to the popular gambling city,

…and bids them goodbye on their way back.

Shortly later, we caught the sight of one of the
country’s biggest Solar Electric Power Plant,

that shone like a mirage in the middle of the dessert,

…and we also passed by at the mining facility

of a company, one of the largest in the world

that mines rare earth metals like zirconium.

What followed again was a long

stretch of arid and desolate desert,

... until we reached the Joshua Tree National Park,

a protected area where Joshua Trees grows in abundance.

The cactus like Joshua Trees provided some kind

of greenery to the otherwise parched Mojave Desert.

We then passed the by desert city of Primm,

…and what followed was the view of

the endless Mojave desert once more,

…until we arrived at the massive

California Border Inspection.

I was surprised as I did not see similar facility

on our way to Las Vegas almost a week ago,

and made me conclude that California is a lot

stricter than Nevada, its next door neighbor.

We then cruised on what seemed
to be an endless tract of desert,

...followed by the sight of series
of mid- sized bungalows

...until we arrived at the rustic

and historic Barstow Station.

We were all famished as we did not take

any breakfast when we left Las Vegas,

…we initially planned to have a full lunch at the

Panda Express but the queue was so kilometeric.

So we decided to dine at our all

time favorite, Dunkin Donuts-

Where I feasted on a yummy and

chewy Old Fashioned Donuts,

… my wife on a Croissant Donuts,

…and the two kids had the

classic Sugar Raised Donuts.

The Dunkin Donuts’ Coffee was a welcome

relief for the bitingly cold autumn weather.

My young son also marveled on what seem to
be an endless and very long train that passed by,

...and we also admired the classic car parked nearby.

We left Barstow after about 30 minutes,

...and what followed next is another endless
stretch of parched but very scenic desert.

We had a brief stop in another
desert town of Victorville.

Victorville is located at the southwestern

edge of the Mojave Desert, where the former

George Air Force Base (now closed) was located,

…and where the offices of the "Mojave Desert Branch"

of the San Bernardino County government are located.

It was a blessing in disguise that the bus had a stop in

Victorville as we have a chance to catch a glimpse of

this small desert city, which, I believe, we would never

get to visit in our lifetime had it not been for this trip.

The bus again cruised the modern desert highway,

…leading to San Bernardino.

San Bernardino is known as the Inland Empire and

serves as a county seat of San Bernardino County.

The very first McDonalds store was established here

and was turned into McDonald’s Museum, one of

the city’s main attractions worth visiting in the future.

Our next stop was Claremont, a popular college town east of

Los Angeles also known as “The City of Trees and PhDs” ,

…due to the popularity of the city’s numerous

educational institutions, and its tree lines streets.

Our penultimate stop was El Monte, known historically as
“The End of Sta. Fe Trail”, is now a modern and thriving
residential and commercial city on Los Angeles County.