Roadtrip Postcards: Four Corners

Before we delve deeper into our Colorado adventures, let’s back up to the moment we first entered the state.

Our original roadtrip itinerary called for us to head from Arizona into New Mexico and try our hand at the most classic roadtrip drive of them all: Route 66. Of course, Route 66 actually extends all the way from Chicago to Santa Monica, but the stretch through northern New Mexico is the really iconic bit.

However, we were starting to realize the necessity of cutting out long detours in favor of seeing more on the road ahead, so we decided to forego gettin’ our kicks and instead just dip our toes into New Mexico before carrying on to Colorado.

Though the Four Corners of course marks the spot where four different states meet, the entrance is actually in New Mexico (hey, we got a picture of the state sign – yet another one more exciting than Colorado’s – so it counts).

Four Corners, USA | A Life Exotic

It’s also where Skyler came to try and work through her crisis of identity and decide whether or not she could cut and run… but things kept coming up Albuquerque for her (Breaking Bad reference, Mom).

The Four Corners marker is in the middle of a big open pavilion, a little like some of the monuments in DC. During the daytime, there are booths all around the perimeter where (mostly) locals sell Native American art and jewelry as a little extra boost to their economy – the Four Corners is another landmark that sits on land belonging to the Navajo, Hopi, and other tribes. These were all closed when we were there as it was just before sunset, and there were only a couple of other visitors milling around.

This worked to our advantage, since it was a piece of cake to get the coveted “I’m in four states at once” shot! Check out Amity showing off her geographical prowess:

Four Corners, USA | A Life Exotic

After a loop around the pavilion and a few minutes snapping our photos and reading the plaques, we looked at each other for a moment. What now?

The Four Corners is one of those funny spots that doesn’t actually have much significance other than what we’ve attributed to it ourselves. It’s a pretty nondescript patch of desert that happens to be where the land surveyors of old got tired of creating all those wonky wiggly state borders and decided to keep things simple. And for this, all American seventh graders forced to continually take the states quiz until they get it perfect thank them.

Truthfully, there isn’t much to do there other than stand in four states at once. Don’t get me wrong – this is totally worth the draw. It’s a really cool stop, albeit a quick one. Go and fulfill your A Walk to Remember fantasies times two!

And obviously I’m still deeply hurt that TOMS never reposted my #TravelingTOMS photo. Because this is for sure the coolest one out there.

The Details: $5 entry fee per person | Open year-round | Website HERE

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