i just went on a gigantic trip

hi!! long time no see! if you follow me on Instagram, you might have heard that i went on a huge trip last month. well, i got back almost 2 weeks ago, i'm in the crazy midst of getting ready for my art show on july 3rd at ming toy gallery in benson, and I've been secret about my trip details. where did i go? what did i see? what possessed me to do something so random and huge? well, you finally get a big beautiful recap of my big beautiful summer 2026 cross country road trip, and maybe how you can have one yourself!

so, where did i go??

for this trip, i wanted to get the cheapest price to be surrounded by nature that I've never seen, so i chose backcountry camping for most of my nights. i half went through with this, but I'll get to that later. since i was backcountry-ing, i went to a lot of national parks! it was a simple and easy way to see what scenery the west has to offer, all while being able to escape the crowds.

as you can see on my homemade map, i started in east Nebraska and made my way alllll the way to the tetons for my first night. already i had to deviate from my calendar plan, because i arrived around 9pm and wasn't able to get a backcountry permit that late at night, so i stayed at a free campsite just an hour away from the park (shoutout freecampsites.net) 😮‍💨 i actually did that a lot during my trip; sleeping in my car at free sites was a blessing on my wallet.

after the tetons, i hit up yellowstone and saw the lone star geyser go off twice, the second time it reached almost 100ft in the air! shared the experience with a lovely lady who offered me a beer and gave me a book for free! shoutout holly from jackson hole, wyoming <3

then, i was off the glacier! there i had to frontcountry camp instead of backcountry because the shortest hike they had was 5 MILES 😦 i stayed a couple nights farting around because it rained the whole time, and i met a couple of other travelers who made my first night easier by helping me when the wind almost took up my tent:) shoutout livanna from canada and van guy who's name i forget from south texas!

after that was banff, canada!! now this was a crazy experience for me because i really don't think much about canada, but it was so surreal in the moment to be able to drive all the way up there in my little car. i really really love that thing to death and I'll drive her till she gives in. in banff i mostly stayed in the town because it was still raining and i didn't feel like setting up camp in the rain again. the town was really cute, walkable, and filled with people from all over the world!! it was a fantastic feeling to be in such a beautiful little community with thriving nightlife and kind people. a local showed me around the bars and club scene the first night i was there, and i just felt so alive. during the day, i hiked around lake louise and hiked so high up the rain turned to snow! i had this beautiful frozen lake scene all to myself because im crazy and i do crazy things like hike up a steep hill in the slick snow with just a couple jackets and my docs 😌 one million percent would do it again.

so now i had to return to the U.S. sadly but not that sadly because i was set on seeing the whole west coast! i was so hyped for this because I've always always always wanted to see the west coast, and people often tell me it seems like i should be from there, so this was big for me. driving around rural washington was sweet, insanely colorful, and surprisingly hot that first day. i was supposed to camp at the north cascades, but i was too late to get a permit so i car slept at a beautiful and slightly sketchy spot on a mountain nearby:)

here's where i started to miss society because all of my awesome interactions with people that I've met everywhere i had been so far. the next day, i decided to see what was up in seattle just because it could. i went to an art museum downtown and spent my afternoon at the beach in the atka neighborhood, which was freaking gorgeous and beautiful and colorful and hilly. as you can see from the picture, i was having a great time at a bar near the beach:3 it was my first time seeing the Pacific ocean in america! such a beautiful and rewarding experience, truly.

after seattle, i was at mt rainier for one night! the drive around the mountains was beautiful, had a beer at one of the lodges that overlooked a mountain range, and hiked up in the snowy side of mt ranier itself during the sunset. it was a gorgeous and rewarding experience, and i got a (hopefully) cool film picture of myself on the trail :) backcountied near a waterfall and felt the refreshing mist on my hike back up to the

car.

and finally, the last spot i backcountried at was olympic national park. i was able to see the soh duc falls before i went to my campsite, and genuinely it was one of the most beautiful spots I've ever been to. i love a forest, i love a MOSSY forest, i love a mossy forest when it's RAINING. it was truly the most perfect environment, i was stunned the whole short hike. then i made my way to the beach where i was camping, and i had to hike in the dark and set up my tent in the rain, but it wasn't too bad at all. i got there during low tide, so i got to see some starfish, sea anemones, and climb some rocks :P got a chance to change my tire while i was here as well. olympic was probably my most favorite spot because of the scenery itself, will definitely be back:)

i squeezed a lot into the last few days of my trip. i stopped in portland for an afternoon and wandered around the big antique mall, got some matcha and some beer! honestly wish i could have explored the city more, i was only in the downtown area. but after that i was driving down the oregon coast in the cold rain, which truly wasn't bad but of course i wish it was sunny :3 i still have fun regardless of the circumstances. spent that night in californiaaaa!!! next day i stumbled around the redwoods a little and hurt my neck from looking up at the trees so much (it was worth it)! started the drive down to san fransisco and stayed in santa rosa when to sun finally came out. next day i was in san fransiscy and drove over the golden gate bridge, which was freaking awesome!! i got breakfast at a cute diner, wandered around the deYoung art museum, and slowly made my way to the beach for my own personal wine picnic. got krunk one one bottle of wine and bid my farewells to the ocean, miss her everyday </3

stopped outside a pilot near Sacramento, i began my 22hr journey home, which took me straight east on good 'ol I-80. 15hrs first day, stopped near cheyanne, wyoming, then 7hrs back to omaha the next day:) if you even want to appreciate how nice it is to sleep in a real bed, take a free, untimed shower, and brush your teeth with an electric toothbrush, just go on a 3 week long road trip. it put a LOT into perspective for me, and overall one of the most rewarding things i could have done before i move to Chicago for school.

first day of the trip 😇

how TF did i pull this off??

my circumstances were really lucky for me to be able to go on this trip. i was going by myself, because for me it's easier in case i needed to change plans, and i didn't think anyone was crazy enough to go with me. so first of all, i had to take my car to the shop to make sure it could handle an almost consecutive 4,000 mile trip, and my car already had 200k miles on it. the guys at AAMCO got my car all fixed up, new map sensor, throttle body, oxygen sensor, and oil change and said my car runs great! graciously, my dad paid for all my gas and my friends helped me make a list of things i needed to cook with, food recommendations, bear safety, and general camping tips. i packed more food than i needed and extra fuel for my jetboil. i used my mom's tent and sleeping bag and my friend's backpack. getting the time off of work was easy because they love me and know im leaving anyway, so that wasnt a problem for me.

generally, i felt pretty prepared and knowledgeable in case anything went wrong along the way. i went on a similar, but much smaller scale camping trip back in june 2024 just to a few spots in north Nebraska and south Dakota, so i felt good about going on a longer trip now. i can fix simple things on my car, like changing the tire, headlight, and filling the coolant, and i can handle my own safety in the woods and in strange towns. it was a big mental challenge for me as well- the first night at the tetons when i was supposed to make the 2.7 mile hike to my campsite, it was so hard i almost went back to my car and went home. but i persevered and finished the whole trip as planned, and more! i was probably really smelly, wearing the same clothes over and over without any spare time to stop at a laundromat. i took 3 showers in total, and slept in my car more often than my tent. even with all these very mild inconveniences, i wasn't going to let it stop me from living out one of my greatest dreams- to see as much of the world as i can.

i really wanted to take this big trip mainly because i'm going to be spending a lot of time in chicago for a while because of school, and I won't get a good chance to go and do something like this probably until i graduate. also, my car is getting old and most used, so i wanted to seize the opportunity before she ultimately gives out on me sometime in the future. i've always wanted to see the west coast, and i was looking for an excuse to go to canada, so this was pretty much a great time for me to go. money-wise as well, im going to be spending everything on art school so might as well go now before i do that LOL.

what did you get out of it??

i think if you have the right circumstances and confidence like i did, everyone should absolutely go and take a big trip like this at least once in their life. again, it was one of the most rewarding things I've done in my whole life. especially after being heartbroken and lethargic, this trip brought back confidence in myself i had been searching for for a long time. it revealed a lot about how i want to live my life moving forward and what/who i want to surround myself with. it truly brought back my splendor and whimsy, and lightened the load of living in such uncertain times. it really put a lot into perspective for me. i'll be thinking about this trip for a very, very long time :3 and now you can live vicariously through me and these pictures!

ummm also solo art show july 3 at 6pm at ming toy gallery in benson and fashion show july 23 same place probably at 6 or 7pm! tell EVERYONE!!!!!! i love you guys forever, live sweetly.