Days 19-22: Zion, Utah, Boulder "All Good Things Must Come To An End"

So apropos to encounter this on one of our last days of the trip. #motto #worldtravelers 

Day 19:

Update: we have a jam soaked pair of bikini bottoms in the back of the car. There is no valid excuse for this. 

Today we were immersed in UT-AWESOMEness. We spent the morning hiking around Zion National Park. The pictures don't do it justice -- the sheer scale of the cliffs had us driving around with our mouths open, gawking like loons.

Canyon Overlook Trail

We spent more time than initially planned at Zion, and had a nearly 5 hour drive through scenic RT 12 up to Green River.  Shout out to Cadence for the advice to take this drive! It was arguably the most scenic drive of the trip.  We didn't take a ton of pics because we were busy drinking in the sights as the sun sank on the horizon.

We stayed in Green River, UT, which was a sad excuse for a town. Ate at a thoroughly mediocre restaurant.

I guess there's something to be proud of even in Green River, UT...

Day 20:

En route to Boulder, CO, we encountered the best gas station chain on the planet. Kum n’ Go.

We kame and went

We arrived in Boulder at our super cute hostel/hotel (thanks Kate and Mags!) and ventured out to explore the town. 

TRUE DAT

Delicious beers with an old friend made the day better immediately. Alice, our resident tour guide, showed us the finer side of Boulder. Like this toy store. 

Stuffed anacondas = only 1 option. It's Britney, bitch.

After some very strong margaritas we were introduced to Luke and Taylor. They were beyond friendly and made sure we had a great time seeing the town.

Liz's mood is...alive.

Liz's mood ring was passed around to half the population of Boulder by the end of the night. Really, everyone's moods boiled down to two things: 1) alive 2) romantic.  Dinner at Alice's restaurant, Next Door, was delish but we were down for the count early. 

Day 21-22:

Kansas. We drove through this flat pancake ass of a state for what had to be at least 17 hours. The billboard reading "Jesus heals, pornography destroys" really solidified our sentiments: you are no fun at all, Kansas. 

Only 523 miles until we make a turn...

If you have to say he's real, is he really real? Let's ask Alan Watts.

We had officially lost all sense of time/dignity/reality at about 2 o'clock in the morning buying tank tops at a gas station in Illinois and chugging 5 Hr energies in the parking lot.

This location was literally called "Effingham." Aptly named.

This shift was pretty bleak. Cue Liz white knuckling through a hurricane listening to 4 hours of Alan Watts sermons, much to Kat's dismay. Perhaps the most truly desperate homeless road warrior moment occurred when Liz bought a Wendy's chicken sandwich at 6am and left cups of ketchup on the roof of Lil Blurps in a state of pure deliriousness. It was clear -- we needed to get the fuck home. Stat. 

Miraculously we made it back in one piece.

Not too shabby, Middle America sunrise.

It only took about 2 days of checking work emails, beginning more grad classes, and awaiting the start of the school year (this can't be happening...Please God, one more week...) before we were missing life on the road.

To all of our blog followers, THANK YOU for coming along on this adventure with us. We had a blast and hopefully you enjoyed the antics along the way. 

It's been real, people. 

Time for a pbj...deuces!