We'll leave the figuring to those we pass on our way out of town...

Well folks, here's the last installment of Kelly and Kassie's Magical Roadtrip Adventure. Amazing how quickly time flies when you're having fun, isn't it? We are in Albuquerque, New Mexico right now and tomorrow marks the end of our adventure. The last few days have been spent mostly with family in California. Driving through the Mojave Desert, Arizona, and New Mexico has been hot, hot, hot but it's been really fun to see the tumbleweeds and dust tornadoes sweeping over the highway. Today we couldn't find anything for lunch in Albuquerque so we drove 50 miles north to Santa Fe...which seems to be a way cooler city anyway! Getting ready to venture on our separate paths tomorrow, we wanted to tie up our blog with a little conclusion:

We've driven through parts of twelve states from Wisconsin to Washington, to Southern California, to New Mexico. Our car has gained over 4,500 highway miles! Big cities, small towns, ice cold snowy mountains, grassy plains, HOT deserts, and wild animals from prairie dogs to seals only begin to characterize the wide variety of landscapes that have significantly expanded our narrow understandings of what the United States is truly like. Our Midwestern "accents" (we don't have accents!!) have made us stand out on multiple occasions and the lack of cheese in all other states besides Wisconsin has made us appreciate our roots.

 

Along the way, we've also picked up a few other bits of wisdom:

Prairie Dogs are friendly if you feed them

Late May does not equal the end of winter in much of South Dakota and Wyoming 

Some big cities (San Diego) are way easier to drive in than others (San Francisco)

You're not allowed to pump your own gas in Oregon

We don't need a psychic 'cause we don't really like it when someone tries to tell us what our future holds...

If you like road side attractions and billboards, go to South Dakota!

Conversations will make hours in the car fly by

It is often difficult to distinguish between wild animals and rocks from a distance

Contrary to popular opinion, and certain facts, Motel 6s are actually quite nice 

The shuffler isn't broken, you REALLY have been in the car long enough to hear that song 100 times 

Don't prejudge cities before you experience them for yourself

Most restaurants in small towns close before 9pm

Old Faithful smells like rotten eggs. really. it's gross.

Camping in the cold is COLD! 

The vast majority of campgrounds and motels in America are caaareepy 

Family is awesome 

The capitol of South Dakota is not Souix Falls. 

Get lost on hiking trails...it will lead you to amazing places 

Deep into the heart of snowy, isolated mountains, there are sometimes scheduled power outages that prevent you from getting gas

ALWAYS knock before entering public restrooms...even if it's not a oneer 

Don't eat dinner at Denny's. Just don't. 

Mormons are SUPER friendly 

If you want to find the gay community, just ask for a vegetarian restaurant...

Three weeks in the car is not enough time to get sick of somebody, even if you're trying really hard.

Roadtrips. are. magical.

 You don't need a map, just pick a direction and GO!

 

Thanks for reading our blog. We really had a fabulous trip and are sad that it's already over...but we're looking forward to our next one! Peace and love, friends!