Wandering in the Wilderness; September 27, 2025

 Before Nebraska’s snow and harsh winter arrive, I decided to go for another adventure, and since I had plenty of vacation time saved up, here we go!

The map of all the national parks in the US is set as wallpaper on both my laptop and phone. As soon as one trip ends, I’m already thinking and planning for the next. This time, my journey focused mainly on the West Coast: Oregon (1), California (9), Nevada (1), and Utah (2). From September 27 to October 13, 2025, I visited 13 new national parks. That brings the total to 31 national parks across 22 states (mainly on the West Coast); still under halfway, but getting there. For 14 days, I hiked over 145 miles and drove over 6000 miles.  

Recently, someone told me that traveling to national parks is a healthy addiction. I agreed with the “addiction” part, but I wasn’t so sure about the “healthy” part! 

You can track my hiking map here: www.strava.com/athletes/56993403

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Leaving Lincoln – September 27, 2025

The first destination was Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, about 23 hours away, 1,551 miles. After some thorough research, I decided that would be my first stop.

I left Lincoln around 9 a.m. after taking care of a few personal errands. It wasn’t a typical Saturday in Lincoln; people were busy with family obligations, grocery shopping, or getting ready for the football game.

My lucky cookie clicker; one day before the trip

My lucky elephant 

I didn’t stop until Cozad, NE, where I got gas and put up the QR code posters on my car. I wanted to give this trip a special name; I called it “Wandering in the Wilderness.” I came up with the name a few weeks ago without realizing it had a deeper meaning. But while talking with one of my friends who is a pastor (and I’ve known him since coming to the U.S. in 2017), I told him about it, and he explained that “wandering in the wilderness” has strong biblical roots; something I had no idea about.

I stopped in Sidney, NE, for lunch at Arby’s. I usually do Subway for fast food, but I wanted to cross off Arby’s from the list since I live in NE 😊.

By around 2:30 p.m., I was in Wyoming. Some lanes were closed near Casper, causing a 20-minute traffic delay. My next stop was for gas in the town of Laramie, where I could see vast ranches, mountains, and rolling hills. There were so many interesting road names, such as Black Butt Road and Pilot Butt Avenue, which made the drive more entertaining.

Before arriving near the Salt Lake City area, about an hour and 25 minutes out, the sun started setting. The clouds glowed with beautiful sunset colors.

My first night, I camped at Riverside Campground, a last-minute decision. The campground was in Rockport State Park, next to a reservoir. I chose a spot right where the water was released from the dam, so I could hear the rushing water and the hum of machines (whatever they were). It was annoying, but I was too tired to care.

I was starving and decided to make some, and since it was chilly, I also made a fire. Then pitched my tent, crawled into my sleeping bag, and tried to get some sleep after asking myself so many universal questions.

September 28, 2025

I woke up around 7 a.m. As I was packing up, the campground host approached me and asked for $35. I said, “Oops, sorry, I don’t have cash.” He didn’t take cards or any other form of payment. I told him I’d grab some after making my coffee.

I checked for an ATM; there was one only five minutes away at the junction, but it wouldn’t open until 9 a.m. Every other ATM was in Salt Lake City, 45 minutes away, which meant losing two hours. I decided to just move forward and not go back. Hopefully, he forgave me.

The drive before Salt Lake was beautiful; the fall colors were coming alive: blue, green, yellow, and orange. To me, Utah is absolutely the most beautiful state. I decided to start calling Utah “the love of my life.” It’s gorgeous every time.

I wanted to get away from politics and economic news, and since I’m still not used to listening to audiobooks, I turned on my favorite podcast, which is Adventure Diaries. The latest episode featured Jeff Jenkins, an award-winning travel content creator and star of National Geographic’s Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins. He’s also the co-founder of Chubby Diaries, an online platform for plus-size travelers. His work is inspiring; he shows that travel truly is for everyone. And if you listen to podcasts, I encourage you to check out adventurediaries.com, one of the best podcasts I have listened to, and not to mention, I really enjoy listening to Chris Watson, the founder of the podcast, and his amazing Scottish accent.

About an hour and a half after passing Salt Lake City, I stopped by the Bonneville Salt Flats, walked about a mile across the salt; the lake is located on Highway 80; and there is a rest area there; therefore, so many travelers stop for a break to take a walk, and shoot some photos. The weather was gloomy, and it looked like it was ready to rain.

At 9:34 a.m., I crossed into Nevada, it was 231 miles before my next turn at the town of Winnemucca. My first stop in Nevada was in Elko, at the Sinclair gas station. I fueled up and bought a Coke to keep me awake.

As I got closer to the Button Point area, the scenery looked like Mars; the grass on the mountains had dried up completely, leaving only golden, brittle stalks. I’ve seen many dry landscapes before, but nothing quite like that; it's something you won’t see every day.

Around 12:50 p.m., I passed Paradise Summit and then the town of Winnemucca. The drive became more exciting after turning toward Denio Junction in Humboldt County, Nevada, an extremely remote area. The temperature hit 90°F, and for nearly 63 miles, the road was almost all straight. I cranked up the music and just enjoyed the freedom of the open highway and sped up.

I reached Denio Junction at 1:52 p.m. My gas was down to half a tank, so I stopped for a bathroom break and hoped to grab some food. The small restaurant was packed and had a waiting line, so I skipped it and decided that I would eat snacks and keep driving. Thankfully, I decided to refuel; though the gas was $6.79 a gallon, the most expensive I’ve ever bought.

A sign warned, “No services next 81 miles.” Shortly after that, I entered the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. The scenery was incredible: volcanic mountains, open plains, and untouched wilderness. It felt good to see land that humans hadn’t yet destroyed.

I even saw signs for donkey and wild horse crossings, rare and wonderful. It was hard not to stop. When I reached an overlook, I parked and stayed there for about 30 minutes, just staring at the wilderness, breathing fresh air, feeling the heat, and watching the clouds dance across the sky. It was one of those moments that made you feel grateful in so many different ways. I truly recommend everyone read about the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge and its antelope population; it’s a special place on this planet.

The area was extremely remote, and I was glad I’d filled my tank earlier than I would’ve been stranded with no gas.

When I entered Oregon, the speed limit immediately dropped from 80 to 55. Around 3:30 p.m., I crossed Warner Highway and began driving alongside Camas Creek. The water was so clear, I almost stopped to take a swim.

As I approached Lakeview, the scenery began to change, from Nevada’s dry, yellow hills to real green forests and mountains with creeks and tall trees. The transformation was fascinating to watch.

Driving through Fremont–Winema National Forest, I noticed how clean and alive it was, not a single dead tree. Everything looked healthy and green, unlike some of the forests I’ve seen in Colorado, where so many trees have died.

Before reaching Mazama Village Campground, the weather turned strange, smoke filled the sky, and fire danger signs were high. Along the road, I saw school bus signs in remote areas and couldn’t help but wonder how long it takes for those kids to get to school each day. Probably for several hours.

I arrived at Mazama Village Campground around 6 p.m., right after the Crater Lake National Park entry sign. I got a camping spot for $38 and picked up some supplies from the market, which luckily was still open. The restaurant, however, was closed until May 2026.

I went for a short walk in the woods, cooked some noodles, made a small fire, and brewed a cup of ginger tea. The night was cold and peaceful. I crawled into my tent, exhausted and still asking myself countless universal questions.

Tomorrow, Crater Lake National Park