the time i went to buc-ee's on public transit

this week i'm traveling with some family members to visit relatives in kentucky, and along the way we're stopping at the vast, fabled middle american gas station buc-ee's. it's my sibling's first time ever encountering this giant rodent-themed establishment - and i'm reminded of the first time i did, a few years ago, exclusively using public transit!

i documented it on my long-since-deleted twitter, but i'll do my best to recall the details for this post, along with some pictures i took during the adventure. .

i was in austin texas for about six days because i was volunteering at an amateur rocketry event a little ways outside the city. i took the amtrak texas eagle there from los angeles, and a friend picked me up from austin's small and strangely situated train station. we stayed in a rental house in the beautiful suburb of Hutto, and after two or three days of loud swooshing noises and trekking through humid stubble-fields to recover rockets, i realized that i had booked my return train two days later than i actually needed. i had assumed there would be multiple days of clean up work i would have to help with, but this turned out not to be so. the friends i had stayed with were leaving the rental house as soon as the event ended, so i booked a motel room for two nights and got a ride back into town.

it was intensely hot and humid even at the late hour i arrived. the motel's tiny office was locked and only serving guests out of a small walk-up window. they gave me a key card and i hauled my luggage over the warped pavement to my room. the lock accepted the card, but i couldn't open the door. i trudged back to the office window, with all my luggage, and asked them if it might be the wrong key. they said they would send a maintenance person to the room, so i trudged back and waited. at length, the maintenance person arrived and opened the door with ease. skill issue, i guess.

as i took a cramped but much needed shower, i started to plan what to do in the trapped time. i wanted to go to buc-ee's. i had wanted to for a long time due to its internet fame, and there was one in the small town of bastrop not too far away. maps was showing a transit itinerary. perfect! but i was very tired and didn't look too closely at it before going to bed. i woke up late the next morning.

day 1: trial and error

the motel was just off the freeway exit on rundberg lane. rundberg itself is a fairly tame 4-lane street occupied by a variety of gas stations, churches, taquerias and notaries. it has sidewalks and trees and a local bus. but to get there, i had to walk a few hundred feet along the freeway frontage road, which had no sidewalk. (i thought i remembered it having no sidewalk but looking at the map it seems it actually did.) with a large water bottle and phone charger in my bag, i walked along the edge of the grassy drainage ditch until i reached the start of the uneven sidewalk. i crossed to the far side of rundberg and purchased some gas station coffee.

the itinerary had me take the 801 lamar express bus from lamar/rundberg to the crestview red line station, the red line to plaza saltillo, and then the CARTS 1518 from a greyhound terminal that was supposed to be close to plaza saltillo station. this might not have been a particularly rational itinerary. maybe i had set the starting point to lamar/rundberg, not knowing about the rundberg bus. maybe i had set it to prefer trains, as i wanted to try the red line regardless of whether i actually needed it to get anywhere. maybe it was faster to walk than to wait for the rundberg bus. i don't recall.

i trudged uphill along rundberg lane towards lamar. the walk was a half-conscious miasma of heat, exertion, and still slowly waking up. but eventually i got to the intersection, heralded by a looming H-E-B supermarket. i crossed lamar and was delighted to find a nicely shaded bus stop, with benches and an e-ink screen displaying the next few 801 buses' arrival times. several people were already standing around it. we waited for about ten or fifteen minutes, before a new flyer bendy bus pulled up.

onboard there were overhead lcd screens that showed the bus's upcoming stops. before long, i had alighted at crestview red line station, in front of a large new five-over-one development. i walked up the long ramp to the station platform, between the development and an old warehouse. the fare machine was a small solar powered kiosk resembling a parking meter, and this one wasn't working properly. i struggled to buy a day pass for several minutes before asking one of the two or three other passengers on the platform how to do it. they recommended i just use the capmetro app.

i know i bought a day pass at some point, because i still have the iridescent print out and receipt in my scrapbook, but i don't recall when! anyways, i alighted the adorable little diesel train at plaza saltillo, which reminded me of downtown fullerton, with the stucco architecture and trellises covered in trained vines. i didn't spend long there as i was intent on getting to the CARTS terminal as soon as possible. the map showed it being just a couple blocks from the station. i walked up a hill past heavily stickered signposts. i heard a default slack notification sound echoing across the street from a five over one apartment.

looking at the map, the spot i walked to was on sixth street, between chicon street and robert j. martinez, jr. street. the address the terminal was supposed to be at was occupied by a vast, dark gray five-over-one. across the street was a townhome style development called the villas. i must have it wrong, i thought. i walked back to plaza saltillo station to look for a ticketing agent. but the station was completely uncrewed. i called the capmetro information helpline listed on a ticket vending machine. i was on hold for a little while, and then asked where the carts terminal was. i don't remember what they told me, but i then decided to walk back to the address on the map.

i asked the security guard of the gray five over one, who didn't know. i crossed the street, seeing a canopy and bench in front of the villas, thinking it might be a bus stop, but there was no route signage of any kind. i walked into the villas' rental office and asked the receptionist. she was very kind, offered me some water and a seat, did some googling at her desktop, and printed out directions to a transit center on cesar chavez street. she said it was a long walk, so i should rent an electric scooter.

i thanked her profusely and set off on my way again. i didn't want to download another app, already having downloaded apps for capmetro and carts, so instead of renting a scooter i walked up to chicon and 7th, where i caught the local 4 bus to the eastside transit center. it had a bunch of bus bays, each with little e-ink route info screens, and a ticket office in a circular building in the center. and there were route schedule brochures, and a ticketing agent in the office! finally, i'd found the place! greyhound passengers were queuing up for their coach outside. i picked up a paper schedule for the CARTS 1518 bastrop route. finally! digital navigation had led me astray, but humans and paper had me back on track. but the misdirection had lost me at least an hour, probably more.

looking at the 1518 schedule, i found that the next bus to bastrop would turn around and be the last bus back to austin for the day. i could not make it to buc-ee's and back today. but i had another full day before i had to check out and get ready for my train home, so i resolved to complete the quest tomorrow. but i also decided to ride the 1518 out and back, just for fun.

and it was fun! from the back seat of a minibus, i saw the airport, new prefab freeway ramps under construction, a plethora of farm stands, a giant golf ball, and the colorful billboards heralding the approach of the great beaver-themed establishment. one of the stops along the way was at the sprawling CARTS operations yard, which may have included a park and ride facility as well. bastrop had a quaint little waiting room, surrounded by some parked dial-a-ride vans and golf-cart-like vehicles.

CARTS describes some of its services as "interurban coaches" and i see why: the operations model connecting the city to surrounding rural towns with an infrequent but steady schedule throughout the day is quite reminiscent of the era of interurban streetcars. the bastrop waiting room resembles a lot of those old stations itself.

the bus turned around and i rode back to austin. while i was waiting for the 4 at the eastside transit center, an elderly lady with a lot of bags of belongings asked me if i could look up how to get to chicago. i obliged, showing her some amtrak, greyhound and flixbus prices. then she asked how to get to dallas. then how to get to the nearest dollar tree. then to the nearest kingdom hall. it was clear that she didn't have a cell phone, and this locked her out of many necessities in an ever-digitizing society. after several route 4 buses passed, i told her i had to leave and caught the next one.

i alighted the 4 at 7th and comal, and only then realized that i had hardly eaten all day. i inhaled some wonderful food at a taco stand on comal before returning to the red line station. i took the red line to crestview, the 801 to rundberg, walked back to the motel and fell asleep in short order. it may have been a very cheap room, but the housekeeping staff had made the bed and tucked my plush anomalocaris in!

day 2: the beaver's blessing

i arose earlier the next day. i knew how to get to buc-ee's and nothing would stop me now! i traced more or less the same route - walk to the 801, 801 to crestview, red line to plaza saltillo (my day pass from the day prior was still good), walk to the 4, 4 to eastside, and then boarded the 1518.

after i alighted at bastrop came the unknown part - walking across town to buc-ee's. i had looked at the walking route on a map on the way, and saw a long bridge over a river gorge that i would have to cross on foot. i asked on twitter whether it had a sidewalk - it was the only segment i wasn't sure about - and someone said it did. so i was fairly confident. impressively, there were sidewalks pretty much the entire way, even so far from the city. i also noticed that every crosswalk had the same auditory cues as they did in the city.

i got a burger and large iced tea at the whataburger across from the bus station: fuel for the long sweltering walk. i don't remember how long the walk took, but it was about two miles. i started heading east on chestnut street. the road bridge had adequate sidewalk, and although an older bridge parallel to it looked like it was being converted to pedestrian use, it was fenced and locked, with brush growing on its deck. down in the gorge, i saw some deer and what looked like a hiking trail.

at the end of the bridge, i saw old-western-looking wooden buildings. i was surprised to find out that bastrop was not just some exurb but had historic sites and a downtown! i continued east along chestnut, crossing an andy griffith looking main street crowded with cars, passing a dilapidated mid century gas station and a municipal building with a 9/11 memorial sculpture, glimpsing some sort of preserved giant stationary engine from afar. then i turned south on MLK street. the sidewalk became inconsistent but there was so little traffic that it wasn't a problem. there were big, dry trees and brush growing in the front yards of the old houses.

i turned easterly on emile street, and suddenly i saw, looming on the horizon, a great glowing circular sign, the graven image of a beaming beaver in a baseball cap. i was nearly there! i quickened my pace in excitement, despite my tiredness and profuse sweat. i crossed jackson street at its intersection with the on-ramps to the 71 highway, and climbed the grassy slope from the street corner to the vast parking lot. i had made it!

the blast of air conditioning shocked me as i entered the walmart-sized sanctum. merchandise emblazoned with the face of the radiant rodent surrounded me. first i needed some essentials - water and some sort of sports drink. i then filled a basket with various snacks i might want on the train home. i wandered a labyrinth of kitschy home decor. i texted friends and family members, asking what souvenirs they wanted. and finally i got a perfect paper cone of hot glazed pecans. i ran up a frankly ridiculous bill at the checkout register, i'm ashamed to admit.

laden with bright red and yellow shopping bags i returned to the bus station. i don't remember this walk quite as well. it was still very hot, i drank and evaporated the water and sports drink pretty quickly. i sat down on the wooden bench outside the bus station, with another iced tea from whataburger. a lady who may have been the station attendant asked if i needed help or needed a ride; i just told her i was waiting for the bus back to austin. she was closing and locking up the indoor waiting room, and said she wished she could offer me a place to sit out of the heat. i thanked her but insisted i was ok waiting for the bus here.

i remember little of the ride back to austin. maybe i fell asleep. it was like the step in the hero's journey where the hero is magically transported back to the known world. i had faced unknown trials (walking in heat and humidity) and i had obtained the great boon (snacks and souvenirs) and now, i would return home forever changed.

on the 4 bus, i decided i didn't want to buy another red line ticket, so i instead stayed on the 4 well into downtown, where it was just a short walk to catch the 801 back to lamar/rundberg. it was so much more convenient than the train. i should've done this all along.

conclusion

in terms of practical transit observations, i think i took two main things away from this odyssey. first, a growing wariness of digital wayfinding, and optimistic faith in people and paper. a large, well known navigation app had directed me to a bus terminal that no longer existed, on a circuitous and slow train. but the receptionist's print-out, the eastside transit center ticket office, the CARTS schedule pamphlets, they all steered me the right direction. second, i think it bolstered my interest in the possibilities of buses. a rapid express! an interurban coach! i hadn't seen routes like those in my neck of the socal suburbs!

CARTS still fascinates me as a transit system and i hope to go back and explore those interurban coach routes more someday. when transit enthusiasts talk about austin, it's usually the red line or the planned light rail system. fixed guideways are always a lightning rod for interest and local controversy, but austin's seem fairly standard for a midsize american city. the region's bus systems, though, are a lot more unique in the services they provide. even the capmetro city buses, i think, deserve some more attention. and, unlike the light rail system, they already exist and have for many years!

i doubt that bastrop's is the only transit-accessible buc-ee's in the country, but CARTS makes it part of the exception and not the norm in that regard. buc-ee's stores are inspired by truck stops and they are sited accordingly, usually in empty, far-flung townships and always along major cross-country freeways. it's certainly rare and impressive for a transit system to get you even an hour's walk from such a place.

we went to the smith grove, kentucky buc-es's the other day. we had flown into nashville earlier that afternoon and driven a rental car thence on our way to visit relatives in the lexington area. i got glazed pecans and a brisket sandwich. my sibling got me a large plush beaver and a fleece blanket. it was amusing, but the whole experience felt a bit hollow. there was no sense of achievement in it. the lavish excess was unalloyed by the adventure of a transit or pedestrian odyssey. we were ambling from an air conditioned car into an air conditioned store and back. we were experiencing buc-ee's the way it was intended to be experienced, and where's the fun in that?