We Accidentally went to Four Corners

Summer 2018, my sister and I were constantly doing road trips.

As often as we could, we would pack up my old Subaru and hit the road.

It was quite a sight- an American and a Finn, driving a car the same age as us, going through as much of the Southwest as we could explore.

Comically small Arizona state sign

One trip, we planned to spend a couple days in Moab, Utah.

If you haven’t been, I would definitely recommend it. Red rock, the Colorado river, hiking, and arches as far as the eye can see. It is an outdoor sports mecca, and for good reason.

Our original plans were to hit Arches National Park the first day, Canyonlands National Park the second, and just see what else we found down here. This worked for the first day, we hiked around, saw Delicate Arch (Utah’s unofficial/official icon), and headed to our campsite to set up our tent and settle in for the night.

However, the weather had other plans for us.

Right after we set up our little yellow tent, a dust storm straight from hell sent it flying. As we scrambled into the sagebrush to retrieve it, it only got worse. We’re talking eyes, mouths, and clothes full of sand here. Unsure of what to do, we took temporary shelter in my car.

That shelter, though, ended up lasting all night. We laid down the back seats and slept in the back of my little hatchback. Sure, it was cramped, stinky, and so hot that we were up all night sweating, but I wouldn’t change that memory for the world.

The next morning, still in a daze from the night before, we ate cold pop tarts while staring lazily into the landscape.

“How far is four corners from here?”, my sweet European sister asked. “Uhh, probably a few hours that way”, I replied, pointing in the general southern direction. “Cool… you wanna go?” Yes, yes I did.

So we took to the road, using rough directions from the google maps that we had barely enough cell service to use. We knew we were heading the right direction at least, but unsure what else we would cross along the way.

It ended up being a whole lot. Hole in the Rock is along that route, which is a gift shop built into a massive rock formation. It was a welcome surprise, even though I did not end up buying any of their turquoise stones.

Petra posted up at Hole N" the Rock

The scenery along the way was absolutely mind blowing, but my favorite part is the exact way we got to Four Corners.

There were two ways we could go, one through mainly Utah, the other through Colorado. With very similar ETA’s, it was more a decision of where we wanted to drive through.

We decided upon the Colorado route, as neither of us had been there before. I must admit that it looked very similar in that area to my native Utah, but it introduced us to the small town of Cortez, Colorado. It is charming, from what we saw. There is a historic downtown, plus an amazing family owned Mexican restaurant. If you are ever passing through, I would definitely recommend Beny's Diner!

Hangin around in Colorful Colorado

Passing through Cortez, we hit Four Corners. To be completely honest, it was slightly underwhelming. It was a cool feeling to be in four states at once, but not anything to write home about.

My favorite state sign to date, New Mexico!

While looking for a way home, we decided to pass through Cortez, since we enjoyed that area. Looking at a map, we noticed an area called Mesa Verde National Park, which neither of us had ever heard of before. There was still enough time to go there and drive home, so we decided to stop.

Oh my, I have never loved a random road trip stop like this one. The park is full of thousands of year old cliff dwellings, that you can both view from a distance and tour through. We may not have had time to tour them, but even seeing them through a telescope was enough; I was hooked.

Mesa Verde through a telescope

That was the last stop on our trip before we had to drive back home, but I remember it fondly. I still have plans to go back to Mesa Verde, and will think of my sister while I visit.

Now, why am I telling you all this? Here, I’ll let you in.

There is so much value in spontaneity, and it is something we always need to utilize with travel. Had we stuck to our itinerary, no doubt we would have still had fun; but now we have memories of split second decisions and the spirit of adventure.

Travel is very personal, and everyone has their own style that they prefer to adhere to. I am, however, just giving a gentle nudge to at least *try* it this way, even if it’s just once. I haven’t regretted it, even if I was a little cramped sleeping in my car.

As always, have fun, be safe! Let me know how your spontaneous trips go, I would love to hear it!