DAY 1: DEVIL'S TOWER

Day 1 of my trip started off so great! I went to Devil's Tower, Wyoming which is truly kind of spectacular! 

I walked around the entire rock formation, which really isn't that far of a distance but it seems like it will take such a long time to walk around when you're initially looking at the size of it! It's misleading, I suppose. I asked a cute couple at the beginning of the trail how long it took and the husband said "Oh about 15-20 minutes!" It definitely did NOT take me 15-20 minutes but I also did stop a lot for photos and videos. It probably took me closer to an hour and 20 minutes to get around it after all my side exploring off the main trail. Homeboy either lied, or that cute old couple just booked it around the tower!

It was such a beautiful walk, and so incredibly quiet in the trees. I love those purely peaceful moments when it feels like it's just you and the trees. There's just some particular moments in life that stick out as being truly peaceful and completely content with life. This walk was one of those moments for me.

I bought some little souvenir treasures from the gift shop, and then continued on to Deadwood, South Dakota and then Rapid City, South Dakota. Deadwood is a really cool old gold mining town in the mountains. Maybe it's because I was raised going to all the gold mining towns in the California foothills, but I've always really loved gold mining towns! They will always have a sentimental place in my heart, and this one was no different! Deadwood is cute! 

Deadwood, South Dakota

My grandparents (Schultz side) are both from Rapid City so it was kind of lovely to see where they grew up and met. I drove by the house my dad lived in for the first few months of his life before they moved to California. 

I went to Dinosaur Park which has a really fun view over the city! Not to mention some cool dinosaurs! ;)

On this trip, I sleep most nights in my car but if a place is particularly cold that night I get a hotel. In Rapid City, I got a hotel and met 3 girls in the lobby who were about my age from Australia doing the same thing as me! They flew into the east coast and were road tripping across the United States until they got to San Francisco. It's just really fun to meet others doing the same sort of thing! 

Even when you're alone on the road, there's always familiar feeling people to share moments with, and I think that's beautiful.