My Nomad Journey – Weeks 36 to 39

Well, this is officially the last post from my initial Nomad journey! I’m not done, though. While this completes my first objective of driving around the country for the better part of a year, I intend to keep going. However, I want to bring this first vision to a close and share the final weeks of that journey, before I arrived back in Sacramento. Read on for those details and look for some more posts to wrap up the first 10 months’ experiences! These last few weeks were action-packed!

Here’s what I did:

Sioux City, South Dakota: After flying back from Florida, I picked up my car at the Omaha airport and hit the road for the Dakotas. I have been breaking up my drives into smaller chunks, so I have more time to explore the places I visit. It also keeps me from feeling stressed or rushed. I stayed one night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. That was intended to break up my drove to North Dakota and give me my first taste of a city in South Dakota. On the drive north from Omaha, I noticed these “mini mountain” ridges to the east. While not mountains, this formations are called the Loess Hills. They create something geologically interesting for the drive (like mountains) and I’m sure they create lots of recreation opportunities for people who live in these areas. When I arrived in Sioux Falls, it was evening. I was hungry for dinner and decided to eat before checking into the hotel. I’m so glad I did! I searched for Thai restaurants (easier for us vegetarians to get protein and veggies and flavor. Turns out, the place I picked is in downtown Sioux City. I discovered that the city is much larger than I had imagined! With a metro population of close to 300,000, there was a lot going on! The downtown area had a district filled with shops, restaurants, activities and points of interest. After eating, I walked around to explore the area. Many young folks were out enjoying themselves on a Saturday night and it was hopping! It was also my first time getting yelled at by someone who asked for money. When I said I didn’t have anything and couldn’t help, he threw every possible expletive he had at me. It was startling, but I also had to laugh. I appreciated his situation, as well. On the way to the hotel, I discovered another zone at the other end of downtown that had been redeveloped from old warehouses and industry. Now, it was filled with apartments, entertainment and much more. I was really impressed, because this development rivaled what I have seen in much larger cities! I was truly ignorant about what cities in the Dakotas had going on.

Bismarck, North Dakota (with a stop in Fargo, ND): The next morning I hit the road again, with about a 6-7 hour drive to Bismarck. My goal was to cut across both states, seeing towns and countryside along the way. My route would take me through Fargo, North Dakota. I planned the trip to allow me to stop there for a gym workout and lunch. Once the gym was done, I drove to the downtown area in Fargo to walk around and explore. Again, I was surprised by how many cool things their downtown area had. Fargo is smaller than Sioux Falls, but still much larger than I had assumed. I stopped for food and even a coffee and snack at one of their cool shops. I resumed the drive westward to Bismarck. Along the way, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the indigenous peoples who live in these states. I couldn’t stop thinking about how we have taken all of this land (all the country, frankly) and what times back then must have been like. It was also on my mind because I was planning to visit Mount Rushmore later in the trip. So all of this was front of mind. As I neared Bismarck, I passed through the town of Jamestown, North Dakota, where there is a large (“the largest”) buffalo statue. I don’t normally stop for these quirky roadside attractions, but since I was already stopping for gas and it was only a few miles away, I decided “why not?”. This is what the journey is for, no? There is a little park designed like an old west town, complete with wood storefronts and sidewalks. I snapped a few pictures of the gigantic buffalo statue, then walked through the exhibits. The “town” was actually displays, showing real-life depictions of what life was like “back then”. There was a post office, barber shop, saloon, lawyer, etc. etc. etc. It was small and remote, but fun to see and be a part of. I grabbed a drink for the car and bought a bar of soap that was scented with pine, then hopped back in the car.

I arrived in Bismarck and settled into my motel. Not my favorite property, but again, it took care of my needs and was clean. I also messed up my reservation and booked it a day later! So I had to get an extra night at the front desk so I would have a place to stay that night. All settled. I headed out and had Mexican food at a local place (another easy option for vegetarians, no matter where I am). I grabbed some ice cream at the grocery store and headed back to the motel to soak in the tub and unwind. For the next 2 days, it was a mix of work commitments and calls, interspersed with grabbing food and errands. While in Bismarck, I was able to explore their downtown area and walk to the Capitol building and complex. My motel backed onto a cute neighborhood – simple, but very clean and appeared to be well-loved. This is the first state capitol that I’ve seen that has a high-rise building in the middle. There was an observation deck, but I was unable to make the time to get to that, based on my schedule. I took care of some errands and was also able to carve out a day to go to the zoo! Unfortunately, it has been raining a good amount while I was there and it was hot and humid. I don’t generally have major issues with mosquitoes, but the zoo was swarmed! I cut that visit short after only about 30 minutes. I couldn’t keep them off me and was starting to look like I had been in a fight, from the blood spatters!!! While in Bismarck, I searched for motels in Rapid City, South Dakota – my next destination. Since I’m usually shopping at the bottom of the price points, I don’t usually have availability issues. However, the motels in Rapid City were pricey!!! The lowest I could find was over $200 a night – way above my budget. So, I searched for nearby towns and almost had to completely reroute my whole itinerary! I found a town south of Rapid City that had a motel priced in my budget, so I booked that. I figured I was going to have to drive to see Mount Rushmore no matter where I stayed, so may as well find what I could afford.

Hot Springs, South Dakota: I drove from Bismarck to Hot Springs. This took me from central North Dakota to southwest South Dakota. Again, I was on a back road – US Highway or State Highway. I had the same speed limits, but NO OTHER CARS for most of my 5 hour drive! The scenery was beautiful – even the flat, rolling farmlands. I had good weather (hot, though) and great conditions for driving. Along the way, the birds sitting on the road were so unused to being disturbed that they often didn’t take flight until I was almost upon them! Sadly, I did have a bird flee too late and bounced off the hood of my car. I hope they are okay! There were many miles with no gas stations. Even the small towns often had only a few buildings and a single gas station with 2 pumps. At one of my gas/pee stops, the clerk mentioned that I should see lots of motorcycles when I got to my destination. It was then that it occurred to me… Sturgis! I never even thought to look up the annual motorcycle rally that brings thousands of riders to South Dakota! Turns out, the day that I arrived was in the middle of the second week! While most of the events had already ended, there were many riders hanging behind for social and sight-seeing purposes. So as I arrived in the Rapid City area and then south to Hot Springs, I indeed saw lots of motorcycles. It’s a whole culture! I had the opportunity to see folks out-and-about in the towns and parks, not just on their bikes on the freeway. I was pleased to notice that the terrain was getting hilly, rocky and mountainous again. The temps were hot, but the climate was dryer now. Up to this point, my whole summer had been spent traveling through much more humid regions. I’m not a fan of humidity – although I recognize the value it has to the environment and creatures who live in humid zones. On a side note, I had to replace 2 of my tires while here. One tire had a leak that couldn’t be repaired and I needed a second new tire to balance it out. I was grateful that this wasn’t a crazy expensive purchase and it made the rest of the drive feel a little smoother. On the way back to Hot Springs from this purchase, I stopped at a coffee shop that just happened to also be a cat rescue. For a small fee, you could take your coffee into the cat’s shelter room and spend 30 minutes with the cats – petting, watching, or just hanging out. So I did! Cat therapy can be pretty cool.

I arrived at my destination and there was an issue with the motel I had reserved. Fortunately, I was able to find another location nearby and not suffer any penalties for canceling this location. Turns out, the other motel was even better! One of the nicer ones I’ve stayed at and the staff was friendly and talkative. It was also next door to a Mammoth archeological site! I was able to make time to go visit it one afternoon after a full day of work calls. The site was once a large marine pond that caused many mammoths to fall in when trying to drink. For many reasons, they would be unable to escape and ultimately drown. Over years/centuries, the site had preserved the remains of dozens and dozens of mammoth bodies. The small site is a concentration of stacks of mammoth bones and remains, all in one place. Very impressive and a great learning experience – right next door! I likely wouldn’t have gone looking for that. So I was lucky. Sometimes the obstacles are truly redirects that take you to a better place. While in Hot Springs, I explored their small downtown area. The town straddles a rapidly moving creek that is in a depression between two ridges. The soil here is red, so when walking the main street, you are flanked on both sides of the street by ridges about 8 stories high. On one side, the ridge is behind the row of buildings, businesses and structures on the main street. On the other side is the creek. The town has worked to redevelop the area and it was really impressive. I had some good food and snacks and enjoyed sitting outside. Also, there is a good collection of historic buildings and properties here. On the ridge above town was a Veterans hospital and facility. I’m guessing the structures date back to late 1800s or early 1900s – all stone. These are very impressive. There was also an imposing building that is currently a pioneer museum, that might once have been a mansion or perhaps an orphanage or hospital building. It was impressive and stood overlooking the town like a sentinel. I wanted to see the inside, but my schedule didn’t work out. I enjoyed the 30 minute walk from my motel, through the neighborhood, and into town each night. I love checking out the houses, buildings, nature and there was a full moon out one night!

Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse: On my last full day, I traveled into the Black Hills to see Mt Rushmore. The Black Hills are a small mountain range in South Dakota that create their own ecosystem. It was great to be driving in mountains again and I was reminded of so many other places in the west where this kind of geography is more common. It felt good to drive these winding, scenic roads! I wanted to see Mt Rushmore. Not because I was excited about the monument, but because I wanted to see with my own eyes one of the greatest insults our country has ever inflicted on the indigenous people. You can do some research on your own, but the monument was basically blasted into one of the most sacred sites of the native peoples. Of all the places they could have erected that monument, they chose this remote spot. The reasons: oil and conquest. This was the government’s way of ensuring that these tribes were permanently reminded of our dominance, by desecrating their holy places and demoralizing the people in the process. I was pleased to see that there were plaques on the site that acknowledge some of this history and the negative reality of this monument. It was sad to see such a beautiful terrain that now had these 4 faces blasted into it. I will credit the park in that it was well-designed and impressively setup. However, it was hard to appreciate it, knowing the true history. On the way toward the park, I had also seen another mountain with a giant crane erected atop it. I was so curious about this, that I had to look it up when I finally had cell signal. Turns out, it is a new monument being erected, called Crazy Horse. Being sponsored by leaders of the Lakota tribe, this entire mountainside will be carved out to commemorate the native peoples, with Crazy Horse as the representative. I drove back to check it out and it was exciting to see. I don’t know when it will be complete, but it will be an amazing site and will help counter the narrative for future generations.

Denver: From South Dakota, I traveled to Denver for a work engagement and an opportunity to visit some friends and spend a little time in this city. On the way, I again drove south through western Nebraska on back highways. I had the roads mostly to myself and greatly enjoyed all of the scenery and beautiful land. I did not know that this corner of the state had some rocky formations and hills. Greatly different from the flatter parts of the middle of the state. On the way, I stopped in a small town to use the gym and grab lunch. It was here that I started noticing my air conditioning acting up! (stress begins…) It was a weekend, so the chances of finding a repair shop open were going to be low. I also started imagining expensive repairs and days delays. Fortunately, after leaving the gym, the AC returned to normal and I was okay for the rest of the drive into Denver. I arrive a day earlier than my check-in for my work engagement, so I stayed in a motel on the edge of downtown. It served my needs for the night and I was able to walk across the freeway into downtown and explore, grab some food, and enjoy the evening. Let me tell you… If you haven’t been to Denver, or if it has been a long time, this place has really invested in itself and created something really cool. I love it there!

The first half of the week was work. I taught a 2-day workshop for a client, with evening commitments and full-time focus on the needs at hand. By midweek, I switched hotels and was able to focus on other work, visit some friends in town and also get out and explore more of Denver. I discovered some neighborhoods I had not visited before. I caught up on my gym workouts. I discovered some fun food places and had lots of evening ice cream adventures. While visiting, I found myself wondering if I might be able to live there. While California is home and I have no plans otherwise, I have often wondered if Denver might be my backup, in the event that I would ever need to move. It’s possible. But not on the horizon. By the time I was in Denver, I was also starting to feel some emotions that were hard to describe. Some about homecoming (back in the west), some about change (what does my future hold) and some just about good feelings about life’s possibilities. Also in Denver, I got some warning lights on my dash board. The AC issue had reared its head again. With a referral from a friend, I visited a local repair shop and found I needed to replace a sensor in my engine. Fortunately, it was something I could do myself and only needed to have a professional to reset the codes in the car’s computer. That turned into a little adventure, since the store didn’t have the part. I ended up going to several places, then a dealership, then back to the original shop for different parts of the repair. $400 later, I had the situation resolved and a felt a great deal of relief. Car repairs are big triggers for me, because of all of the broken cars we drove (and I drove) as a kid and teenager. Growing up poor never leaves you. Every issue can mean “life or death” in those stories I tell myself. I finished my time in Denver and bit it a pleasant farewell. I had decided that I would like to come back and spend a month here in 2026, so I’m making that a declaration.

St. George, Utah and Reno, Nevada: From Denver, my original route back to Sacramento was going to be to drive to Salt Lake City and then on to Sacramento. I’ve made that drive before and I’ve been to Salt Lake City before. In the interest of seeing something different, I decided to break the drive up with some different routes. First to St. George, then Reno, then Sacramento. This would give me some different roads and make the last leg of my drive more interesting and “new”. Because of this western terrain, there isn’t really an option to break the drive up into shorter legs, so it would be two 9-hour drives. The drive through the Rocky Mountains west of Denver was just stunning. It was beautiful weather and the mountains are amazing. I left Denver with a forecast of 93 degrees. I stopped in Silverthorn, CO for gas and snack – it was in the 60s! After making it through the Rockies and crossing into Utah, the terrain turned into high desert. Also beautiful, but different scenery. I stopped at a few roadside viewing areas and checked out different features. In St. George, I checked into my motel and walked to the Thai restaurant next door for dinner. Then to the frozen yogurt place down the street. I got to see a little bit of the downtown are in that short evening. My motel had an old 1970s style jacuzzi tub, so I filled that up with hot water and had a nice soak before bedtime.

The next day’s drive took me through the center of Nevada on the way to Reno. This is all desert, but not flat, sandy desert. This part of the state is rocky and barren, with little pockets of pastures and ranches. These are pretty rare until you get closer to the northwestern part of the state. Despite its barrenness, there is beauty here. The place is ancient and it is mind blowing to think how long these rock formations have stood untouched and unchanged. Once I arrived in Reno, I checked into the motel and walked down the road to the gym, then to dinner. I stayed in downtown Reno and found some interesting places to see, besides the casinos. Reno is one of those cities that doesn’t get much press. It’s a small city with a lot going on. In all the years I’ve lived in Sacramento, I’ve not really spent much time in Reno, except to drive through. It’s only 2 hours from Sacramento. So, since I likely wouldn’t be coming back this direction again in the near future, I decided to stay 2 nights and check it out. Between work engagements, I explored the city and some of the scenery. There are great hillside views and hills and mountains surround the city. There is a lot of potential for future growth here. My last night, I walked through downtown and along the Truckee River. This mountain river flows through town. In the downtown area, is has been converted to a river walk entertainment area. It was fun to see how they’ve developed it and outside of downtown, the park space is beautiful. I finished the night just walking in the cool evening breeze and admiring the lights.

Sacramento: Finally, I closed the loop on my adventure by driving to Sacramento through the Sierra Nevada mountains. This 2 hour morning drive was like old times. I admired the beautiful mountains and remarked on how this familiar scenery now looked different, compared to all the other mountains I had seen along the way. I reflected on the adventures behind me and what the future was going to look like for me. I looked forward to about a month+ at home to regroup, take care of some business and plan my next steps.

Here’s what I learned:

What an adventure this has been! One thing I learned is that I can do unstructured and unplanned things. When I look back, I had a vision and a loose plan, but I had no reservations or itineraries. Even the destinations that I had planned in advance had no specific itineraries. I built this thing along the way. Sometimes as intended, sometimes very differently. I proved to myself that I don’t always have to know where I’m going to be able to go and enjoy and actually be okay! This was a great reminder that I can allow myself to be surprised and make it up as I go.

I also want to acknowledge that my systems are important. While I was often making up the journey as I went, I was able to rely on the fact that I had everything I would need in my luggage. I used a single app to book all my motels, so there was a place I could depend on to get reliable booking information and rates. It was also where I could easily find and track all my different reservations in one place. My habits on the road were consistent. I had a gym membership I could use and backups when there wasn’t a location in that area. I had food habits that allowed me to eat fine, even when there wasn’t anything interesting to eat or I wasn’t in the mood to eat interesting. LOL I got comfortable with laundromats and laundry facilities in motels. In the past, these kinds of things might have caused me irritation or discomfort. But over the last 10 months, I learned that living on the road isn’t really any different from living at home. Just different habits and compromises. Different expenses, too.

I acknowledge that I don’t know what this would look like if I were not traveling alone. I was able to make all my own decisions and do what I wanted to do. I think I could do this as a couple, but it would have to be a very specific person to be able to keep up with this and for us to both be happy. I don’t know that I would do this with a family. I also am not yet able to picture me doing this in a van or camper, although I’m still considering that as a possibility.

Car issues, repairs and unplanned expenses are triggers to my past and cause me a great deal of panic and stress. Since my car has been the primary means for my travels, it has been my “home” even though I have not been living or sleeping in my car. When things happen that are unknown, it’s not just an inconvenient repair or unplanned expense – it runs the risk of throwing my who journey off. So when these things happen, it feels a lot like being told you’re going to have to move out of your house unexpectedly. I experienced the process of working through my fears and stresses every time something needed attention on my car.

I have proof and evidence that I can successfully live this life. I have been fine with traveling around and returning home for things I need. I have had no trouble with moving every 3-5 days and living out of bags. I am very clear on wanting to keep going, but it still scares me to think about planning for the next year. But here I will go! When I am stationary for too long, I get itchy. Even the most comfortable of places starts to feel closed in when I stay for longer than a week or so. For this stage of my life, I feel a strong calling to keep exploring and seeing what’s out there! Part of it is the movement, part of it is the discovery. I don’t question it. I just do it. And I feel fulfilled because of it.

Here’s what’s next:

I’ll be in Sacramento until the end of September. I’ll visit friends, take care of doctor appointments, handle business and regroup a little bit. It has felt good to be back home and recognize my connection to this place. It was disorienting at first. But I think that was due to the end of this first part of the journey that I invested so much in. Frankly, I still don’t think I’ve processed fully what I’ve done over the past 10 months.

In October, I’ll head up to Seattle to visit some friends there. Then the rest of October is still up for planning.

In November, I’ll spend time in south Florida, house sitting for a friend and visiting other friends. I’ll move to Atlanta to spend Thanksgiving holiday with friends.

December is still open for planning. I may travel to Texas and visit many different friends there.

In January, I need to be back in Florida for an engagement there.

And the rest of the year is wide open! I will likely visit friends again and setup new visits with others I didn’t reach in 2025. Who knows what else may come up!

While this isn’t over, this first journey has been amazing. It wasn’t all easy, but it was all rewarding. I am so grateful for this opportunity and look forward to seeing all of the ways this will continue to shape me in the future. I can’t wait to see what else comes from this!

As always, please interact with this post. I love getting your questions, your thoughts, and your comments. I’ll reply when I’m able.

Please enjoy yourselves in this week ahead and look for another update from me about the adventures of the journey. Be well my friends!

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