Taylor and Salli’s journal recollections day-by-day-ish of our camping trip travelling from Georgia to Colorado.

September 22nd, 2025 – September 24th, 2025

Not knowing exactly where we would end up next, but knowing that we needed to do laundry, we headed toward Buena Vista on 285. The Collegiate peaks overlook was a great stop coming into town, and the scenery was vastly different. Huge rocks and outcroppings made the area very scenic. We stopped by “The Missing Sock” and did a load of laundry, which took a little over an hour. While doing laundry, we set our sights on somewhere close to Turtle Rock Campground, but preferably free. 

After driving up a pretty decent dirt road, we found a spot near BLM that was perched up near a giant rock outcropping. It was getting close to dark,  so we set up quickly and got inside. You really don’t want to be out after dark in certain areas, and this was one of them. (reference to wildlife, not people)

Somewhere near Buena Vista was where we’d decided to go the next morning after leaving the Peerless Mine area. 285 turned into 24, then we made a quick stop at the Collegiate Peaks overlook. Here, we checked everything in the camper and panned around the various maps we use to find a spot for the next few nights, as well as a laundromat. We desperately needed to wash our clothes, and this would be the first time for the trip since we left Georgia on the 11th. “Missing Sock Laundromat” fit the bill so we did what was needed there. We also were ready for another water fill up, so we used “The Dyrt” app to try locating a spot to do so. 

After checking out the city hall in BV, we were told they no longer offered water for the public, but they told us to try out either Ace Hardware or an RV park called “Snowy Peaks” on the edge of town. We fueled up the truck at the gas station across from Ace, confirmed they didn’t do water fill ups, then made our way to the RV resort. We ended up having to pay $10 to fill up and they’d said it was a 50 gallon limit, but it apparently wasn’t metered, so we got approximately 60-70 gallons which topped off the 90 gallon tank. Cool. They also had a grey water dump right next to the potable water fill which we also utilized. 

Our plan was to stay along the Fourmile area. (BLM route 375) We directed the GPS to Turtle Rock Campground where Campendium noted that it could be free, but after riding through we learned that in May of this year, most previously free campgrounds in Colorado had started charging $20-$30ish per night. We went just past that to find a good many free dispersed campsites. I’ve learned that the general rule for these free sites is that if there’s an established fire ring, it’s typically fine to stay in. The landscape here felt dramatically different than the previous site we stayed at. There were huge rock formations and the dirt roads and trails were more sandy. We shared the group site with another truck camper for 2 of the 3 nights we stayed here.

Debating on whether to unload the bikes due to the cold, windy weather, we just wandered around the campsite most of the day. We really enjoy observing areas and trying to find things that most people might not notice. Animal scat was everywhere, which we primarily matched with bears. There was a surefire den about 30 feet away from our camper, as well as some random bones scattered about. A lot of research was done on mountain lions, and we pretty much confirmed a nearby kill occurred on a coyote. A bit spooky, but very neat to see the wildness of the area. It’s not necessarily a remote spot (maybe 5 miles from town) but it felt a little eerie. After exploring, we made several cups of hot chocolate and watched the sunset on Collegiate Peaks.

Because the day was expected to be pretty cool, we decided not to unload the bikes just yet. We did a little walking around the campsite, climbing across the large rocks to see a fantastic view of the town and the Collegiate Peaks. I also had exceptional service up on the rocks, so I took the opportunity to video chat my sister, Dusti and nephew for a bit. (wallering kid toes in the picture above) 

There was a small patch of trees just below the site that we wandered into, where we found what we think might’ve been a very cleaned off coyote hide. After doing a bit of hyperfocused research on animals in the area, (Link to the very detailed article we read through)  we think by the cleanliness of the kill, position of the hide, and amount of fur was removed off to the side, it could’ve either been a mountain lion or a bear meal. Sure am glad we’re in a camper high off the ground, I slept pretty soundly even with that new found knowledge.

Since the weather was warmer, we unloaded the bikes. Nearby, we explored a set of rock tunnels and on an old railroad bridge in the morning time. The bridge was especially scenic, due to the extremely clear water and colorful aspens in the background. We sat on the banks of the river and observed for a while, then headed back to the camper for a snack. I decided to run some single track in the area, but Salli didn’t partake. It was pretty fun, with a lot of sand that I’m not really used to. That afternoon, we headed out to do the Fourmile loop, which was about 35 miles or so of trails. The beginning, and middle over to 258/24 was very enjoyable. Long, sweeping, flowy trails, with some great views (and also some great camp spots by the way).

After finishing the portion up to 285, we scoped out Lenhardy’s Cutoff to return back to the campsite. It was getting late in the afternoon (around 4:00) and the trail started to get a bit rough, especially for Salli. We were entering an area that looked very remote with no cell service and closing darkness. Knowing that if we were to continue, I would need to get both bikes over the rough trail for no telling how many miles. It could be this way for 15 miles for all we know. I took 10 minutes, and came to the conclusion that we should bail, get back on 285/24, and head home. Salli wasn’t exactly fond of this idea, because highway riding scares her a bit. I convinced her that it was better than sleeping with bears and mountain lions, so we began our journey back to the camper with a quick stop for fuel along the way. She fared well, with no issues on the road, and we were glad to be back safe and sound before the critters came out.

We decided to unload the bikes, and after gearing up we headed towards the Midland tunnels and the Railroad Bridge campground where we walked along the abandoned tracks, took a few photos of the beautiful landscape, then sat on rocks beside the Arkansas river. I also took the serene moment to video chat my brother, Levi, to wish him a happy birthday and offer him a glimpse of the scenery. Afterwards, we decided we would try for the Fourmile (kinda) loop that we’d found on OnX. The soft sandy roads with several “whoops” along the way was a ton of fun and new feeling terrain for us. 

The views were spectacular all along the trails, until we neared the Lenhardy cutoff (FS 376) where it began turning into a much more difficult trail. Because it was getting later in the day and we weren’t sure if the rough trail would continue to be that difficult, Tay made the decision to turn back to where the road would lead us to the main highway (285/24) back down through town and to the camper. Although I’m heavily reluctant on main highway riding, mostly due to other drivers, I was glad he’d made that choice. I need pushing sometimes, and the highway was perfectly fine and certainly less tiring than the trail we were about to battle. It was probably our longest ride together yet and I was pretty worn out by the time we got back. (He insisted on taking a picture of me in the condition I was in upon our return…)