Does California's future lie in the high desert? Palmdale and Victorville may sound like unlikely locales for the state's next big thing, but Zócalo columnist Joe Mathews says a series of planned links between the two cities -- roads, rail, energy and biking -- represent the kind of forward thinking California needs in the 21st Century. The bridges between Palmdale and Victorville would help connect to two important trade routes, Interstates 5 and 15, advance high-speed rail and economic integration and help relieve traffic in the LA Basin. The question now is how to pay for it.