In late July-early August of 2021, I went on a ten-day road trip with five close friends. We started in Las Vegas and drove up to South Dakota, camping in national parks like Zion and Badlands and at K.O.A.s along the way. I photographed everywhere we went, but my photos on this trip mostly consist of my friends traversing the orange, yellow, and green landscapes of the American West. This was the first break most of us had gotten from working our full-time jobs in the city and we felt so lucky to have this time together in such beautiful natural environments. As a group of young queer people in their early 20s, we didn’t know what to expect travelling in more conservative parts of rural America. Despite the unknowns, we were able to experience these environments with a sense of complete autonomy and child-like wonder.
