Today was my last day in New Mexico unfortunately, but we still had some fun stuff planned. The night before we’d seen a place across the road from Main Event called “Urban Air Adventure Park”, which on the website looked really cool, and so we decided to go.
It was basically a building full of an obstacle course, trampolines, foam pits, a zipline, and an indoor-skydiving tube. We don’t have any photos unfortunately since we left our phones in a locker while we were there (which ended up being a good decision), but it was pretty fun… for about an hour.
The website made it seem much more geared towards all ages than we anticipated, even though we probably should have known better. While all the activities were fun for people of any age, there were a LOT of children there, which makes sense for a Sunday afternoon.
One of the more fun parts was a balance beam over a giant airbag pit that you can walk on while carrying these foam battering ram things, which you use to try and knock your opponent into the pit. I went undefeated against my friends over a few rounds, until a very young child came up and asked to play too. I offered to go against him, and despite everything in my heart wanting to just absolutely demolish this child and punt him into the pit, my brain was more rational and after putting up a short fight, let him win and celebrated that win with him.
After an hour or so we got some water and then left. We had about an hour or two until they had to get back to Las Cruces, so we decided to go to the zoo for a bit. It was only 10 minutes away, but I took a wrong turn (as I tend to be doing) which turned it into a 15 minute drive. My friends got a discount for being New Mexico residents, only paying $10, compared to my $19.50, but I don’t mind, it’s still cheap all things considered.
We didn’t take many photos at the zoo, and instead just focused on enjoying the animals and exhibits. I did find out that one of my friends is scared of monkeys, and so I took every opportunity to point out the monkeys and make fun of her for that.
Also, I touched a Cactus.
We got a group photo in front of the flamingoes before heading out and parting ways. It’s sad to leave since I was having a lot of fun, but I was also excited to get back on the road and check off some more capitals.
I was initially planning on going to Denver, Colorado next, but after looking at the map again I figured I should first go to Salt Lake City, Utah, given I would then not need to go way south on my way back near the end of the trip. It was 8 hours to Salt Lake, and since I left at 4pm I knew I wouldn’t make it all the way there in time to get my photo, so I set my goal as a rest stop just a few miles south of Moab, Utah.
I drove through the darkness along some county roads (some of which are very hard to find when your headlights barely work and the signage is terrible!) and found that I was cutting through the south-west corner of Colorado, which technically means that was my first time in the state, but I don’t really count it since I couldn’t see anything in the darkness and was into Utah within the hour.
I got to the rest stop around midnight and quickly got into bed, since I had prepared the car in the daylight before I left New Mexico, something I think I’ll be doing more since it’s so nice to not have to worry about it when I’m tired and cold. The road was quiet at night, so I was able to fall asleep and get a good nights sleep.