Barstow is the California destination of the bus journey Dick arranges for himself and Perry after their stay in Mexico City becomes financially untenable. In the narrative, it is less a developed setting than a threshold: the point where the pair’s ride ends and their return to the road begins.

A Destination Chosen Under Pressure

After Dick sells the car, nearly all the proceeds disappear within three days. His brief attempt to find work in Mexico convinces him that the wages available will not support them, and he insists they must leave. The next day, borrowing money from his wealthier fiancée, a banker’s widow, he buys tickets that will take them by way of San Diego as far as Barstow. His plan for what comes after is stark: they will walk.

From Bus Journey to Desert Road

The trip carries them from Mexico City to Barstow on a bus ride lasting fifty hours. Afterward, they trek across the Mojave Desert and appear on Route 66, dusty and bearded, with their belongings reduced to one bulging straw suitcase. The evidence places Barstow at the changeover between long-distance travel and travel on foot; it does not describe the town itself or any stop the pair makes there.

The Road as a Return to Their Scheme

In the desert, Dick and Perry wait beside the highway for a lone traveler in a respectable car who appears to have money. They intend to rob and strangle such a driver, then leave the body in the desert. A truck driver offers them a ride toward Needles, but Dick refuses because it is not the kind of opportunity they want. When a blue Dodge sedan slows for them and then speeds away, Dick calls after its driver that he is lucky. Barstow’s narrative significance lies in this transition: the destination of their hurried escape from Mexico becomes the starting point for a renewed search for a victim on the open road.