Mystic Falls, Ames, Colorado

Mystic falls is a well-hidden gem just outside of Telluride Colorado.

I followed the sketchy directions I had pieced together from several sources. They took me up a 4-wheel drive road and I ended up parked in an opening near the top of a waterfall. I remember thinking this would be easy and was proud of my preplanning. It turned out not to be Mystic Falls, but a smaller waterfall in the next canyon. I started the short hike and ran into two women who were searching for the same destination. We found the top of a second waterfall which sparked the debate as to which one was Mystic Falls—it was a bit tough to tell from the top. The tree of us stared down the sheer canyon walls wondering how we were supposed to get to the bottom. My research hadn’t gone that far. I just assumed it would be obvious. My patients ran out as I was on a timeline to get back to another location for sunset. I formed plan B and ran back to my car, drove back down the 4-wheel drive road, used my GPS to find the bottom of the correct canyon, parked in someone’s driveway (I left a note asking them not to have me towed), and bushwhacked up the canyon all to find the two women sitting on a log looking at Mystic falls and sharing a snack. Turns out they found an easy trail just moments after I dashed off. But I got the shot.