It’s hard to retrace your steps after such a full day, one in which you saw many things you’d never seen before. It’s actually been two days – I left California in the hands of my sweet daughters and headed north on I-15 on Tuesday morning. The first day, I drove from home to Orem, Utah, with stops at the California/Nevada Stateline and then St. George, Utah (mostly for an In-N-Out Burger fix – totally worth the stop, although it was 4 hundred billion degrees Fahrenheit).

Historically, geography has not been my strong suit. I hadn’t expected to travel through so many states in one day en route to upper Utah, so when my GPS welcomed me to Arizona, I paused to double-check my route. Ohhhhh, yes, okay. There is one little piece of the 15 that cuts right across the top left corner of Arizona before it pokes into Utah. I’m learning so much already!

Total states traversed on Day One: FOUR! California to Nevada to Arizona to Utah.

Odd things that happened: A lot, but I guess it depends on how you look at it. Here are a few:

1. The stall I chose at Stateline was OUT OF TOILET PAPER. I mean, this is no way to start a road trip (*sad tears*). I had to use a seat cover, which was crunchy and unpleasant, even whilst using the gentle dab technique. Girl parts are not made for such atrocities.

2. A large white bird, possibly a seagull (I am not a birdologist), recklessly flew toward the windshield of my car for an incredibly uncomfortable amount of time. It darted out of the way at the very last second, but I’m certain the rushing wind of my vehicle disrupted its flight and caused a tornadic event that was probably quite terrifying.

3. I was listening to music the whole way on my beloved Spotify, and at some point in Nevada, it froze. It was on a song I particularly like, and then it flipped to the next one and would not play. I could go backward and play that same song again, but it had already played on random four times – a highly unusual occurrence, anyway – and I was ready for something new. Spotify had made its decision, though. That was the ONLY song I was going to hear for a while. Sorry, Spotify. I decide. Radio off!

4. Once I crossed into Utah, the speed limit increased to 80 mph! I FELT LIKE I WAS ON THE AUTOBAHN, AND IT WAS MAGICAL.

5. After the Spotify mishap, I decided to listen to local radio as much as possible. I found the best station as I neared Provo, Utah. They were playing all the great stuff from my teen years, and when ‘No New Tale to Tell’ by Love and Rockets came on, I was like, God, is that you?

Turns out that no, it was just a really effective playlist selected by a really terrible DJ who turned off ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ before it was over because, he said, ‘This song goes on for another 10 minutes, and I think we’re all done with it now.’ NO SIR. NO, WE MOST CERTAINLY AREN’T.

I did hear God, though, not long after. More on that tomorrow.