Road Notes: Devils Tower, Turkeys & One Last Look at the Stars 🏔️🦃🦊

Hulett, Wyoming was fun!

And our campsite had one heck of a view.

Our camper was sitting with Devils Tower practically right in front of us.

Devils Tower is the first national monument in the United States, established in 1906, and it’s also a place of deep spiritual and cultural significance to several Indigenous nations.

Getting to wake up with that view right outside our camper was pretty incredible.

Fall was definitely making its presence known too.

The nights were getting chilly, the leaves were starting to change colors, and you could feel that little shift in the air that says summer is officially on its way out.

We also had a bunch of wild turkeys wandering around near the campsite.

I told them they better run and hide because Thanksgiving is coming. 😂🦃

They didn’t seem particularly concerned about my warning.

Apparently they have more faith in their survival skills than I do. 🤣

That night, the skies cleared up beautifully.

So naturally, I pulled out the camera and took another opportunity to photograph the Milky Way. 🌌

I absolutely love photographing the night sky.

There’s something about standing outside in the darkness, looking up and seeing that huge band of stars stretching across the sky that never gets old.

And somehow, the camera can capture details that aren’t always as obvious to the naked eye.

I took my time getting the shot, and when I looked at the photo afterward, there it was—the Milky Way stretched across the night sky, with all those tiny stars packed together like a giant river of light.

Space is one of my favorite things about photography.

There’s just something humbling about looking up and realizing how incredibly huge the universe is and how tiny we are underneath it all.

And after all the miles we’ve traveled, those quiet moments under the stars have become some of my favorites.

But this morning, it was time to hitch up and move again.

Minnesota is calling. 🛣️

We’ve pointed the camper that direction, and we’ll stop somewhere in South Dakota tonight before continuing on.

By tomorrow afternoon or evening, we should finally be where we need to be in Minnesota.

And slowly…

the days are getting shorter.

Not just daylight hours, either.

The countdown to home keeps shrinking.

After months of constantly figuring out where we’re sleeping next, where we’re driving next, where we need to be next and what time we need to get up to make it there…

I’m ready.

It’s been an amazing adventure.

We’ve seen places I never imagined we’d see, met so many people, watched Bug grow from a tiny baby into a walking little road warrior and collected more memories than I could ever fit into one blog.

But I’m ready, where I don’t have to think about the next destination.

I’m ready to wake up and not immediately calculate how long it will take to pack everything up and get on the road.

I’m ready to chill.

I’m ready for my chickens.

I’m ready for my kitchen.

I’m ready for home. 🧡

There are still some miles left before we get there.

But they’re getting fewer every day.

For now…

Onward to Minnesota. 🦊🛣️

Until the next mile, keep the fire lit and the road calling. 🔥🧡