As we were following the little blue dot on our phones during the last ten minutes of our cross-country trip trying to find Phil’s house, we both came to a realization about the journey. Four days of driving, 2100 miles and being alone with each other, 24 hours a day, somehow went too fast. We were a little sad as we pulled into the driveway, knowing that our little adventure across the country was over.

But, this is really getting too sappy, eh? EH!? Sorry, I never type eh. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier about our trip. Even though the goal was to just get us, our stuff and the car to California, we ended up having a lot of fun and I think it was the adventure that we hoped it would be. We made it safely to California, we are happily at Phil and Kristine’s house, and the beer and pizza last night made everything feel right with the world again. There are more adventures to be had, no need to wish the trip wasn’t over yet, right?

So, back to Salt Lake City. The Metropolitan Inn was not the snazziest place around, but it did its job. We spent very little time in Salt Lake City after leaving the Inn so we could get on the road. We had 11 hours of driving ahead of us and we wanted to get an early start. Well, what gets momentum going better than stopping? We stopped about 20 minutes out of the city and posed on rocks like high school seniors for their senior photo near the Great Salt Lake. By the way, the Great Salt Lake smelled… like poop.

Wells, NV was our next stop. We planned on getting lunch at the local grocery store, but decided against the sushi. I just had a feeling that it wouldn’t be that fresh. Sometimes, I have to trust my instincts. I went for the beef jerky instead. We were going to need the energy for our next adventure: The Metropolis Ghost Town. I will let Kent take the story about Metropolis from here  – I will just say that we both agree that that our little Metropolis adventure was our favorite of the trip.

After the two hour Metropolis detour, we tried to focus on the drive. We only made one stop between Wells and Linden – in good ‘ole Winnemucca, NV. Don’t ever go to Winnemucca. They believe in the combination of sexy-man-photo borders, sexy man posters and country decor in women’s restrooms, steaming their ribs and don’t know how to fry fries. Come on, can’t fry fries? I am judging all Winnemuccaians based on our experience at The Pig and plan on never, ever going to Winnemucca ever again.

The drive through California went fast and the scenery was stunningly beautiful.

This trip taught us a few things – that we didn’t get to experience nature enough in the city, that we love to spend time together, that leaving family and friends is really hard, and that Winnemucca doesn’t know a gosh darned thing about BBQ.