Day Four: What Could Be Better Than Missing the Bus?

When I missed the last express bus out of Salt Lake City by exactly one minute (I waved a sad goodbye to its tail lights two blocks away), I made use of McDonald’s wi-fi to figure out Utah’s confusing and not-very-well-marked public transportation system. I had flown into SLC an hour or so previously and had managed to catch a bus out of the airport and into downtown. Perhaps if I had spent more time checking my route and less time gaping at the undulating mountains painted in dusty snow, I wouldn’t have missed the express bus.

I bought a burger at Mickey D’s for a dollar (a kind stranger added two cents to my cause) and pulled out my laptop. Perhaps if I had spent more time exploring transportation options and less time stuffing my face full of preservative-packed meat-something, I wouldn’t have missed the light rail by one minute (I waved goodbye to it from, once again, two blocks away). Night was hovering in the clouds above the mountains, and the family I was slotted to meet in Provo at 7:45 was in for a sad surprise.

All I can say is, thank God for cell phones. I was able to let Melanie (the mom) know I’d be late, and I was able to get ahold of my oldest brother and the use of his iPhone. I hopped the next southbound light rail and decided to figure it out from there.

It turned out all right: I barely caught the 811 from the light rail station, and plopped down in a seat, panting and a little wet from the snow that spat down on me in my mad dash between the train and the bus. A guy sitting next to me— curly-haired, open-faced, and a sweet crooked smile— struck up a conversation, and I shared where I had been and where I was going, and he did the same. Dustin was his name. We exited the bus together and tromped through the swirling snow beneath wet-shining lamplights, and lo and behold, Melanie was waiting for me in a white van. I hugged Dustin goodbye and dashed into the van and the comfort of heat, warm smiles, and no more public transportation logistics.

Epic Trip Out West, Phase Two. Welcome to Utah.

~Lisa Shafter

Money spent today: $18.50 (express bus, regular bus, light rail and hamburger)

Leeway so far: $9.36