For your consideration, we present: PUMPNIT—a vanity license plate we encountered at a pungent rest stop in Utah. It took a heavy foot on the accelerator to keep pace with the truck in order to preserve this moment for posterity in photographic form.
I'll be frank, we rushed through Utah. When we left Elko in the morning, we had nothing but visions of Park City dancing in our head—home to the 2002 Winter Olympics and at an elevation that it must provide some respite from the summer heat. Little did we think of the salt flats between us and Park City. Like the Fellowship of the Ring on their way to Mt. Doom (except a nice Mt. Doom with trees and flowers and ski lifts) we faced overwhelming trials. Lacking air conditioning, we rolled down our windows and were treated to what I can only imagine a chicken must experience in a convection oven. Fortunately, growing up in a family that did not believe in air conditioning, I knew the drill. We had bought a spray bottle during our stay at Walmart and now I let the convection heat evaporate misted water from our skin. It's like sweating but ten times more effective.