The first of my five fall activities that I completed was get lost in the mountains. I can honestly say that getting lost was an accident, a fun, ironic accident that accomplished something, but an accident nonetheless.

Over the weekend, I wanted to go out to get some pictures of the early-onset fall colors, they’re one of my favorite things to see. As a high school senior who is very involved in school activities and juggling a job, I take advantage of the little free time I get. On a whim, I called my friend Greenley, an hour later, we were in my room trying to find somewhere that wasn’t too far from home but still at a high enough altitude for the seasons to be changing.

Since there is construction what feels like everywhere I didn’t want to drive up to Estes or Rocky Mountain National Park and risk detours or road closures that would make the trip longer. My dad suggested going up behind Horsetooth, a close trip, but somewhere that I had never been. The one problem, he gave us the wrong direction to take at a fork in the road.

If you have ever been behind Horsetooth, you know almost all the land is private property. We figured that eventually after the turnoff it would turn into public land or national forest, and then there would be spots for us to pull off and take pictures at. After an hour of driving down one side of the split in the road and not finding any open land, Greenley and I decided to turn around.

To tell this story accurately, I should admit that we turned around two or three times. I had spotted some wild turkeys and wanted a picture or two of them at the creek that they were all gathering at, without asking or telling Greenley what I was doing I pulled into a driveway and flipped around, then stopped in the middle of the road so she could take pictures for me (none of them turned out).

I turned back the way we were heading, away from Fort Collins for a few more miles before we both agreed it was time to turn back again. So I found another driveway, and awkwardly waited until it was clear to get back on the road.  I think we turned around one more time because we thought I had driven past the turnoff, or because we considered going into someone’s yard for photos, but we didn’t.

Eventually we found our way back to the fork in the road, and after that it was a short drive before we entered a backroad into Rocky Mountain National Park. The road wasn’t deserted, but it was less popular than other places we could have gone for nature photography. We followed a small river and took photos at different rest stops and picnic areas.

For getting lost for two hours, I had a fun time. I think everyone, but especially seniors who are probably stressed right now (I know I am), should grab a friend and go for a drive with a vague destination. Spending an extra two hours with Greenley, singing along with early 2000s music and debating the risk reward ratio for trespassing for photography was a bonding experience unlike any other. For a few hours, I wasn’t worried about homework, customers or getting chores around the house done; I was enjoying the last warm days of fall with a good friend just taking a drive and seeing where life took us.