Learning Outside the Comfort Zone

So, I just took a really quick - a bit over 5 days for 2000+ miles - road trip down to Nevada and Utah. What beautiful country!

This is the first time I've ever done anything like this by myself...so as you can imagine, it was a learning experience. Here are a few of the gems:

1. Shields are legitimate cave formations...rare, but legitimate.
2. Hiking at 10,000 feet can dry out your lips in record time. Remember to bring chapstick to such outings.
3. There are A LOT more bugs in Nevada than in Central Oregon. Never fear, quite a few of them experienced fatal deceleration on the front of my car.
4. Going into Nevada consists of a lot of "UP." It is after all the most mountainous state in the union.
5. 75 mph is a nice cruising speed.
6. If someone is going 15+ miles over the speed limit on I-80 in Nevada, there is a 9 in 10 chance they have a Utah license plate.
7. There are towns small enough to have a hand printed list in the grocery store of all the people whose checks will not be accepted.
8. Utah has very few churches.
9. I might have found the only motel in Utah that did not have a Book of Mormon in the nightstand.
10. Motels in Nevada might be the WORST. Mine had no towels, soap, or toilet handle. And that was the "good" motel room.