Hi my friends! I hope you all have been well, fine, and dandy! Last week we packed the truck and headed west to explore Nevada’s desert and soak up the record high temps. Since moving back to Colorado, 4 years ago, the Nevada desert has become like a second home, one I can’t seem to stop venturing back to. In just about 9 hours on a wide open road and you find yourself in a completely different climate and landscape. Not to mention the drive west from Colorado is incredibly beautiful, even breathtaking. And If you’re familiar with the highways on the east well then these are nearly opposite. Even the road seems to feel like home and the views never expire.

At one time these photos were just scenes from my dreams. A life I wished to live that seemed far away and maybe even make-believe in my young, fertile mind. I dreamt about the west and about what it felt to be wild and free. I dreamt about the freedom to explore and how the different states would feel beneath my bare feet. I dreamt about the wide open spaces where I could run, and breathe, and listen to my uninfluenced thoughts. I carried the weight of childhood happenings in a backpack and when I began to roam the backpack started to unload.

“Had dreams about the west and started to roam” Marshall Tucker Band

At 18 I embarked on a journey out west and found all of the above and more. I found who I had been looking for all along, myself. And not just once but many times over again.

(P.s. It’s probably definitely worth mentioning I also found my best friends aka my husband & dogs in the wild west)

So when I went on my first road trips across country I couldn’t believe I was seeing scenes from my dreams but in real life reels. Not only seeing but feeling what I imagined I would feel as well. Although 18 is 9 years behind me, the feelings of freedom and the joys of curiosity remain. It continues to blow my mind that I live an entirely different life than I once did because of choices I made and through the people and places I prioritized.  When asked I tell people livin’ the dream takes work, like all the good things do but its worth truly does outweigh the work.

While in the Mojave this time around the temperatures reached the 80’s with very little cloud coverage or wind. Certainly not much of a complaint as we had endured a few single temp nights before we left and that’s a relatively moderate temperature for Nevada. As you all know we never leave our dog, Styx behind so we always get extra amped for adventure. He has quite the fur coat and it’s also jet black so instinctually he kept digging holes in the sand to cool his body any chance he had. In that case we had just short increments of hiking before we had to find shade or AC but that didn’t stop us from getting out and about multiple times in one day.

Valley Of Fire State Park

Most of these photos were taken at Valley Of Fire State Park which is not far outside of Las Vegas and definitely worth checking out should you have the opportunity. As I wrote in the title this is part 1 of a 3 part series. I will also be featuring photos from the first time I had layed feet on the Mojave’s soft yet sometimes unforgiving sands. I hope you all enjoyed the 1st of this series! Wishing you a week full of wonder!

Do you have a favorite place you love to explore? Or a place that has nurtured your essence? Please, please share with me below! I value our exchanges so much!

Thank you all for joining me here♥

On Instagram and/or Pinterest? Lets connect!