I promised a post about my recent adventures, didn’t I? Here it is. Prepare yourself for a completely non-writing-related post (gasp).

Well, I say that, but everything comes back to writing with me, doesn’t it?

Correct. Everything does. And, while I didn’t do any writing on these adventures, I did sneak in some editing here and there. But this post has more to do with mountains and lattes and geysers than anything else.

Intrigued yet? Of course you are.

So I just returned from a one-week jaunt out west. I hit four states: Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Five if you count a two hour layover in Colorado. And let me tell you, these states have a lot to see. Yellowstone. Grand Teton. Mount Rushmore. Badlands. Everywhere you turn, there’s something else to see.

Yellowstone is in Wyoming, and it’s enormous. While most famous for its hot springs and geysers (like Old Faithful, pictured below), it has so much more—waterfalls, canyons, snowy hillsides. I spent two and a half days there, but it would take at least a week to truly see everything.

Right below Yellowstone is Grand Teton National Park. I loved this park. It’s much more compact than Yellowstone, so not as much driving around to see things. The mountains surround you and are almost unbelievable.

Side note: people-watching is interesting, guys. People go to Yellowstone in their Star Wars pajamas. They freak out about seeing one buffalo even though there are like 50 million buffalo in Yellowstone. They back up so close to cliffs they almost fall off.

It gets exhausting. God is an amazing artist. You get to a point where the sheer amount of beauty meeting your eyeballs makes you dizzy, exhausted, and in need of coffee. Then again, I’m always in need of coffee. I did almost as much coffee-hunting as I did sightseeing. And while I tried quite a few coffeeshops along the way, the best by far was Pure Bean in Rapid City, South Dakota.

I mean, just look at it. It’s perfect.

Cardigan latte: cardamom and vanilla flavored and topped with black sea salt

Obligatory artsy coffee picture

I have a couple hundred more pictures, so this post barely dents the surface of everything I saw. Definitely gave me some inspiration for future books. Not sure how or what yet, but it’s coming. I also took some stunning footage for my next book trailer, which is going to be even more exciting than the first one.

The moral of the story: go on more adventures. And may you find great coffee wherever your travels take you.