A lot is said about the Children of Israel during their first 2 years in the wilderness, but not much is said about the next 38 years. What is said though, tells us a great deal.
Deuteronomy
2:7 For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God [hath been] with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
2:14 And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, [was] thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.
Nehemiah
9:19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the
wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them
in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way
wherein they should go.
9:20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy
manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
9:21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, [so that] they
lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
It can be seen in the verses above that God was always with them, leading them with the cloud by day and fire by night. We can see that the people were blessed, that they "lacked nothing", that they always had water and food and none of their clothing wore out, not even their shoes.
For further study, read: