The Valley of Fire State Park is a desert dreamscape located just an hour's drive from Las Vegas.

This marks our second visit to this glittery desert, with our previous one having been centered around cards and cocktails. However, this time around, we vowed for our visit to be rather different, and so we made a point to sway away from the seductive glitz that can be found along Vegas' famous Strip.

After saying our goodbyes to The Badlands, we faced another rambling journey ahead — luckily, we had some intriguing stops to make along the way.

After 20 hours of driving over the span of four days, our final push had us finally arrive at The Badlands, where massive rock formations ascend up from the otherwise docile plains of South Dakota.

Our long journey from Portland to Badlands National Park saw us make a day trip to Yellowstone National Park.

The main reason why we decided to prolong our stay in Portland was that it offered the best of both worlds — it's a buzzing city known for its creative culture, but within just an hour's drive, you can quickly find yourself amid beautiful open spaces with views of Mount Hood at every turn.

We had only intended on staying a couple of days, but we quickly came to love Portland so much that we decided to plant our roots here for an entire week. it offered us a welcomed metropolis break and we made a point to take full advantage of all that it had to offer.

Driving through many winding roads, I held my breath with anticipation as we drew closer and closer to the scene. As we arrived, the desert put on a colourful show, catching my first glimpse of the surrounding hills with streaks of reds, oranges, and yellows.

A long drive inland had us arrive at Crater Lake; a deep lake formed from the volcanic eruption of Mount Mazama. As we snaked our way to the top of the crater rim, the view was utterly striking. Quickly we parked our motorhome atop the viewing platform and jumped out to take a closer look.

Let me put this out there from the beginning, Fern Canyon may just be the most magical mile I've ever walked. It's a hidden paradise of lush green ferns lining a deep narrow gorge, which has been carved out by a creek. It takes a bit of work to arrive at this gem, but those who do make it are well rewarded.

The Redwood trees are remarkable, not just for their size, but also for their resilience; their bark is tough, spongy, and so thick it acts like armour, allowing the trees to survive wildfires and their lifespan to soar up to 2,000 years.