Salli’s journal recollections day-by-day-ish of our camping trip travelling from Georgia to Colorado – Utah. (Tay has officially opted out of journaling at this point)

Anyone still reading these? Comment below if you think I should keep posting, I still have a whole month’s worth of adventures to share!

October 22nd – 25th, 2025

Durango was where we set off towards the next morning. After learning about the train excursion the town is known for, we were excited to visit the free museum at the town’s depot. We opted out of doing the train ride to Silverton, vowing to not miss it when we return back. We had our sights set on a dispersed camping area between Durango and Silverton, but had a couple more stops to make before we set up camp for the night.

Along the way, we stopped at a local shop called Honeyville where we purchased a handful of sample honey spreads, then to the roadside attraction, Pinkerton Hot Spring. Arriving finally at the camp spot we’d found on OnX, the views happened to be one of the best we had yet.

We realized shortly after arriving at the campsite that we were within a short hike down to a waterfall, and with me being a photographer, it’s essentially “wired in” that I chase waterfalls. So after a short rain shower, we laced up our boots, put on an extra layer or two, then walked a little ways up Lime Creek road toward the trailhead. 

The path was not very clearly marked, however we eventually figured out the direction we needed to be in after taking a little unintentional short detour. Large rock outcroppings and underground caves lined one side of the way to the falls, as well as a stray spring waterfall or two, while the other side boasted steep mountainside cliffs showcasing mighty evergreen trees as they approached the swiftly moving stream. We carefully scrambled our way across and down until we finally reached the very scenic Cascade Falls.

The sounds of the rushing creek crashing around the rocks, the feeling of cold water spray gathering droplets on my glasses, and the lack of any other soul in sight besides the two of us was intensely wonderful. We took some photos and videos, inspected the unique rocks along the shores of the pools, and took as much time as we could simply absorbing the scene around us. Another short rain shower started to move in, forcing us to tear ourselves away from the beauty to return to the camper. Arriving back “home” both tired and a little damp, we settled in for the evening cozied up with hot chocolate while we watched snow start to dust the high mountaintops as the sun was setting.

The rest of our weekend was spent wandering around a few trails near the campsite, including hiking to the other side of the falls we previously went to, and crossing the main road to see another small grouping of empty campsites along the creek. We wanted to unload the bikes to explore the area a bit more, however the road just beyond our campsite was marked as closed online due to flood damage, so we opted to leave them on the truck for now. Keeping an eye on the weather, our next destination would be determined based on elevation and road conditions.