Remember growing up and being told not to talk to strangers? Like, every person you didn't know had one goal and that goal DEFINITELY was to kill you?

That's kind of what I grew up with. Not just by my parents, but also school and Disney specials and all those things any kid in the 80s and 90s grew up with. Flash forward a solid fifteen years and most of my friends started as online strangers. And when my mom asks where I'm staying in whatever city I'm in or who I'm hanging out with, my responses are like:

"Yeah we had a glass of water in their house in the middle of Tennessee so we're just going to sleep here for a couple days. We comment on each other's shit on Instagram it's fine."

OR

"We met this guy at an underground bar in Tel Aviv and we had mutual friends on Facebook so anyway we went back to his house and talked until sunrise about why a bunch of rabbis are suing him."

OR

"Yeah no he lives in Austin and his feed is super colorful so he seems nice and anyway he's going to come live with us for a few days we're basically best friends."

OR

"These girls live in a trailer on Instagram and they just moved to our neighborhood and now we're inseparable so we will probably also buy a trailer."

In a world where anyone under 40 is constantly told that social media and phones etc are increasingly isolating us and stripping us of morals via locker-room twerking videos... in my experience, the internet and Instagram in particular is where I've met the majority of the people that mean the most to me.

And it makes sense. You sift through millions of people, who you may or may not like, until you come across someone who you really like. And then you direct message them or they message you and then if everyone's into it you become friends. And then you go on vacations together or create group texts with names like "Forever Unlimited Justin & Nick's OnlyFans Thread" or "Probably Lovers" or "All My Motherfucking Children" and keep in touch every single day.

Wow it's actually a lot like actual dating.

Anyway, when we were getting ready to pass through Utah, Devon & Rob from @dadsnotdaddies told us they were free for the weekend so they drove down from their home in Salt Lake City to meet us outside of Zion. It was our first time meeting in real life, but like always, it felt more like a reunion with old friends. But they aren't that old.

We spent a day in Zion National Park, and on another day we went on a hike in Snow Canyon to see Native American petroglyphs. The sights are breathtaking, like, actually.

Their remarkably kind friends Jason and Bobby (of the Squatty Potty legacy) hosted all of us in their insane home, where all of the toilets are fitted with Squatty Potties. It was pretty much the best time ever and we were sad to leave, but it's time to get to Palm Springs! Check out more shots below!

Southern Utah: Rosie on the Road