Day One: Salt Lake to Albuquerque

Day one down of our moving road trip down!! 

We took the morning to do some last minute things that needed to be done before the real move on March 9th. Poor kitty Nova was so nervous when we took apart the bed.... when she gets stressed hiding there is her last resort and now she can't even do that.  This is Justin's goodbye to Utah, I'll be back but for him it may be a while.

This is a crazy thing we are doing but we are doing it!

Clear blue skies sent us on our way, thankfully. We drove to Moab and were stunned by the beauty of the snow on the red rocks with the blue skies for contrast. I haven’t been to Moab in years. It was very warm and we were fooled into thinking that would be the whole trip’s temperature. Ate lunch at an adorable Sweet Cravings Bakery and Bistro where I had a delicious quesadilla. Recommend. It had the kind of chatty and funny staff that people think small towns are like because of Gilmore Girls. But this is the real deal. Then we drove through the rest of southern Utah, which was remarkably snowy. It’s the elevation that gets ya. But truly stunning.

Drove through a bit of Colorado, past Four Corners, and into New Mexico. Snow still abounded, but the roads were perfectly clear. Kept track of the state license plates we saw, and are up to about twenty at last count. Saw a tiny town’s store that advertised “Groceries! Pinto beans!”   The only two things you would ever need.

New Mexico is the most boring state by far.  (Sorry if it's your fave I just.... don't understand you. ( It’s not a fun drive. I've driven it before and I don't anticipate a third visit. Only our podcasts sustained us…… small towns and then miles of dirt and sagebrush with not even another car in sight. Thank you Ira Glass and Jonathan Goldstein. There were several spots in New Mexico where we had to go on weird little highways and assumed that my phone was just maliciously luring us into the wilderness to never be found. The relief in my soul when we actually saw the lights of Albuquerque….. I was made for city living. But even here, the stoplights are sideways. Very strange. However the stars when we were in the middle of nowhere were gorgeous.

Ate a late dinner at a cute Route 66 diner where Justin was craving vegetables and I was craving grease because of course I was. We were going to take a cute picture at the Albuquerque sign but Justin’s phone was on law battery and so you will have to imagine it in your heart. Then back to the hotel to pass the heck out. (It was a sold out hotel and I was glad we had reserved ahead of time.)

Today’s moral: I would not live in New Mexico (even the light switches are sideways, because being flat is this state's whole thing). Also, cellphones with GPS and podcasts are the best inventions.