A Wyoming Wildlife Photography Trip I Almost Didn’t Take

April 17, 2026 Julieta De La Cerda Belmont

It all started last week, on a Wyoming wildlife photography trip I almost didn’t take.

Every Wednesday and Thursday, I try to be out there—capturing wildlife, chasing light, and following wherever God leads me. This time, that path led me somewhere completely unexpected.

On Tuesday night, Conor asked me where I was going.
“Grand Teton,” I said.

He told me not to go—why not stay closer to home?

He talked me out of it. But something in me was already set on exploring somewhere new.

A friend from church had given me a pin to a lek in Wyoming, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I checked the location—about an hour and twenty minutes away.

It felt just right.

When Everything Starts Going Wrong Before Sunrise

The next morning didn’t go as planned.

My phone glitched as I was leaving and tried to send me to a place 14 hours away. I stood there watching the clock, frustration building.

Half an hour gone.
Sunrise slipping away.

I walked back into the room and told Conor I was changing plans—I’d go to Boar’s Tusk instead.

By 5 a.m., I was on the road. Angry. Rushed. And this time, alone.

I stopped at the Boulder Store, checked the pin again—and finally, it worked.

I texted Conor:
“I’m going to the pin.”

And just like that, I committed to this Wyoming wildlife photography adventure.

Lost While Photographing Wildlife in Wyoming

I drove for nearly two hours in complete darkness, following winding dirt roads through the Wyoming landscape. It felt like too many turns… like I was being led deeper and deeper into nowhere.

When I arrived, I stepped out of the truck and listened.

Nothing.

No familiar rhythmic sound of a lek. Just silence.

I walked around, trying to find it—but it wasn’t there.

And then it hit me:

I was in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming.
And I didn’t know how to get back.

For a moment, I felt incredibly small in that vast, wild land.

I cried.

Then I pulled myself together and started repeating:

I am not alone. God is with me. God will show me the way.

Over and over again.

Even as I kept driving, I was seeing wildlife everywhere—but every time I tried to take a photo, they ran away. Maybe it was my energy. Maybe I was still carrying fear.

Finding My Way Through the Wyoming Landscape

Eventually, I saw a sign: Boulder 42.

I turned.

Then something that felt like a miracle—Conor called. Hearing his voice calmed me instantly.

“As long as you’re going north, you’ll get to Boulder,” he said.

A little later, another sign: Boulder 36.

This time, I stopped.

The Wyoming landscape in front of me was breathtaking. Even in that moment—lost, shaken—I felt peace.

Photography has always been that for me.

I take photos when I’m happy—it brings me joy.
I take photos when I’m anxious—it brings me peace.

I stood there, took a photo, and thanked God.

He was guiding me home.

Returning to Photograph the Wyoming Landscape in Daylight

That weekend, we went back—this time with daylight.

What had felt scary in the dark revealed itself as something incredibly beautiful.

Wide open Wyoming land. Silence. Mountains rising in the distance—the South Wind River Range standing quietly in the background.

I couldn’t stop saying it:
“I have to come back for sunrise.”

I needed to see what God would do with that light.

God gifted me with our first family photo with Cuache, Lola, Levon and Rhonda. I am going to print that one. You can hardly see them. But I will take that as a major win.