Day 15 - Four Corners - Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona

Barrelling through the Rockies was both exciting and terrifying, given the ever-changing slick weather conditions, and once I crossed the state line into Utah, I thought it would be smooth sailing. However, I was in for a surprise as eastern Utah was the most isolated place I had seen yet, and I hadn't been paying attention to my gas level. It was 10 p.m., very dark, and I noticed the light come on. There were only 3 towns in the first 45 minutes of my drive, and the first two had zero services. I knew that I would be cutting it close, or winding up alone in the pitch dark of the desert, with likely no cell service. Luckily, with about 10 more drivable miles in my tank, I found a Shell station and gassed up.

Of course, this wasn't my only obstacle for the night. No, the hits kept on coming. As I drove through Moab, I came to realize the second major point of importance I had ignored: Memorial Day Weekend. Not working in general makes you lose track of dates, and even moreso when you're on a trip like this not paying strict attention to a schedule. So long story short I drove all through Utah having no luck finding an available hotel.

An hour later I crossed back into Colorado on the way to Four Corners, and I found a small family-owned inn with vacancy. With all the white-knuckle driving and glimpses of terror I encountered in the past 6 hours, it was not a restful night for me.

The next day, I drove into Arizona and found my way to Four Corners, the only place in the United States where you can stand in one point and be in four states at once: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. I took some pictures and took the experience in, then took back into Arizona.

I was not feeling well at this point and the trip had been wearing on me. I was pretty thoroughly exhausted and dehydrated, not being used to the dry heat. Dizzy out of my mind, I had a good long chat with Catie and then took a personal day in Tuba City to recuperate.

After some medical research, the next few days would be filled with unreasonable amounts of gatorade and mineral water, as well as less-than-tasty energy bars. I needed to be in top shape for the Grand Canyon!