Day 2 was another early start as the emotional nightmares caused by the scammers continued to terrorize me, resulting in another sleepless night. My Fitbit told me I only had 4-and-a-half hours of sleep the night before and again that night. That would mean I only had about 9 hours of sleep in two days.

I woke up at 4:30 AM, wanting to return to sleep but couldn’t. I decided to edit the photos from the previous day.

Almost 3 hours later, after a quick shower and a slice of bread for breakfast, I decided to head out for Farmington, New Mexico to get a new SIM card for my phone. It’s a 3-hour drive and with the weather outside, I figured it could take longer. So I went to check out and knocked on the door to my aunt and uncle’s hotel room. They were still asleep. And that, I thought, is the reason I don’t like to travel with my family. It’s always on their schedule, not mine. Thankfully, this time, I don’t have to rely on anyone to get me to places.

The weather was very sporadic that morning – heavy fog in some places, misting in other places, while sunshine in a few places. The places with sunshine felt blinding, even a pair of sunglasses didn’t help much. Thankfully, the rental car came with adaptive cruise control, which assisted me with the steering on these long journeys.

A loud chime made me jump when I was near the New Mexico border, followed by a buzz on my watch. A text. A text! That meant my phone has signal again. Does that mean the SIM card isn’t broken? Should I turn back?

No, I decided. It’d be best to get a new SIM card than risking it.

Farmington, New Mexico felt like this suburban town in the middle of nowhere but then again, isn’t a lot of cities are? I mean, as I watched the miles ticked down on the GPS, I thought it was improbable for a town with a super mall to be located here. But there it was, a shopping mall.

After getting a new SIM card, I got some breakfast at a nearby Starbucks and headed for the Four Corner Monument – the spot where the borders of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona met.

My aunt and uncle were there waiting for me. They had arrived a few minutes before I did. I can only imagine what time they got up that morning, compared to me.

It was quite difficult to take pictures at the monument as tourists occupied and lingered at the monument for so long that taking a photo of the place became not worth. Also, most of them didn’t speak English and don’t acknowledge when I say “Excuse me.” I don’t know whether I need to speak louder or learn whatever language they speak.

In my original itinerary, which was the one where I traveled alone, my plan was to head to the Four Corner Monument early and then onto the Horseshoe Bend as most people mentioned to see Horseshoe in the afternoon as of the morning. Because of the change in circumstances, I would just had to make this the only thing to see that day.