Go west, Greenmomsters! The final installment.

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The final re-post on our celebration of the 100th anniversary of the national parks!  Be sure to "like" greenmomster on Facebook for more green getaways!

Next stop on our Utah adventure was Zion National Park!  This park, settled over the last 12,000 years by the Anasazi, the Paiute, and European settlers, is Utah’s first national park.  The scenery is very different from what we found at Bryce and the Red Canyon.   This park is filled with towering cliffs and slot canyons.  In order to avoid the traffic problems of the past, transport through the park is either on foot, by bike, or via shuttle bus.  Since the buses run very frequently, the driving restriction really isn’t inconvenient. 

We really enjoyed the hike to the Emerald Pools, as well as the challenging Angel’s Landing hike.  I was a little shocked by the danger of the last half mile of Angel’s Landing and much preferred the hike leading to a higher viewpoint overlooking Angel’s landing.    We also enjoyed an interesting introduction to all things condor at the top of the hike – that’s my daughter holding a condor feather.  Another great area of the park is Kolob canyon – undeveloped and stunning!  Although we didn’t hike it, we heard that the Narrows Trail is definitely worth the effort.  The high point of our visit to Zion was a half-day horseback ride through the park.  Cowboy Bob made our trip memorable! (photo credit:  Zion Rides)  

Go West Greenmomsters, continued!

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Still celebrating the 100th anniversary of the national parks -- this time at Grand Canyon!  Be sure to "like" greenmomster on Facebook to see all of the national park reposts!

For the final leg of our trip, we hit the north rim of the Grand Canyon!  I don't think there's a national park with a more fitting name -- this place is GRAND!  My one piece of advice would be to get off the beaten track.  Bring your hiking boots and take a short hike.  The viewpoints were very popular with visitors, but just a short hike can get you to spectacular views that you can enjoy without any crowds.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves.  



             

Go West Greenmomsters!

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Day #2 of our week-long celebration of the National Park centennial!  This re-post is about beautiful Bryce National Park:

Our family just returned from a fantastic trip to visit some of our nation’s most beautiful national parks.  First stop – Bryce National Park!  With its beautiful red canyons and Dr. Seuss-esque landscape covered with “hoodoos”, this park became my favorite of the trip.  Hikes into the canyons are not overly strenuous (assuming you brought lots of water), but they’re extremely rewarding with unbelievable views in every direction.  Bryce gets chilly in the winter, but if you’re from the humid east, you’ll find the summer weather in Bryce to be very comfortable (as everyone says, “it’s hot, but it’s a dry heat”).  Until you can visit on your own, enjoy a few of our shots:  

  

Green Getaways -- Shenandoah National Park

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This year, the U.S. is celebrating the centennial of its national parks -- definitely one of our best ideas ever!  So in honor of the national parks, I'm re-posting several posts on some of my favorite national parks -- enjoy!

I am the queen of the mini-vacation!  As Julie McCoy , cruise director of the SS Greenmomster, I find that planning vacations is almost as much fun as going on them.  So this year, I decided that we were going to take a mini-vacation at the beginning of spring break.  Lucky for us, we live less than two hours from Shenandoah National Park.  This time of year, the trees aren’t quite budding (except for an early blooming dogwood or redbud), but there’s plenty of beauty to be had.  The views are stunning and the early blooming spring ephemerals were out, including this cute little Hepatica (thanks Dirck!)   Spring is also a great time for waterfalls  , searching for salamanders on Fox Hollow trail  , finding salamanders on Milam trail (one of my favorites)  , and catching those first millipedes as they warm up .   And there’s always time for relaxing in the leaves .  Where’s your favorite National Park getaway?

Spring has sprung!

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It’s springtime at my favorite state park – Sky Meadows State Park!  What’s your favorite local park?  Please share!  Here are some photos from Sky Meadows!

Historic Mt. Bleak House

Take a hike!

Or take a ride!

The bees are ready to get back to work…

and they may be looking for early spring blooming plants.  Spring beauties,

redbuds,

and trout lilies.

Even the zebra swallowtails are ready for spring!

Nature that can freakin’ kill you!

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Lately, there’s been a lot of coverage about “free-range parenting” in my neck of the woods.  I honestly have no opinion on the topic, but it got me thinking about adventures out in nature.  Here’s a repost of a 2012 essay about the rewards of taking some chances and being a little uncomfortable out in nature – enjoy!

Last weekend, our family took a terrific guided hike through the Harper’s Ferry, WV area led by Larry Broadwell from the Maryland Sierra Club.   We bushwhacked through brambles and up hills to find old Civil War forts that are now covered with weeds and trees.  This was not an easy hike.  The kids were covered with scratches from tangles of vines, burns from spring-growing nettles, bruises from falling down hills, and smiles from the fun they were having!  We imagined ourselves as civil war soldiers, climbing up hills to surprise the soldiers in the forts.  We really got a great sense of how difficult it must have been to be a soldier, wearing a wool uniform in summer, carrying a heavy rifle, and probably fighting on one meal a day.
This hike reminded me of a friend I had many years ago.  We were at a party and people were talking about all sorts of interesting strolls they had on various nature trails in the area.  My friend, who worked in organic agriculture and lived for many years in a house-trailer in Kansas responded, “Nature! These people don’t know anything about nature, nature that can freakin’ kill you!”  Now, I don’t advocate doing fool-hardy stunts or ignoring dangerous weather conditions, but my friend did have a  point that’s applicable to my life (he also gave my family a great catch-phrase).  I’ve often found that although my kids always like getting outside, they really love experiences that involve some challenge and they really respect Mother Nature more when they feel her power.  Like bushwhacking up a hill to find a long-forgotten fort or climbing through the rock scramble to get to the top of Old Rag.  Like getting wet in a cold stream while hunting for salamanders and crayfish (and then getting pinched by those same crayfish).  Or hiking in the snow.  I still remember camping as a kid and waking up to snow all around our tents – and that was back in the days of cotton sleeping bags, brrr!  (Full disclosure:  I do prefer “glamping” these days and just bought some very comfy cots for this summer’s outings).

On our trip a few years ago to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (the most visited park in the U.S.), one of our most enjoyable hikes was one we took in a rainstorm (no lightning or thunder – again, I’m not stupid).  Because the weather was lousy, the crowds were fewer (a big plus in the Smokies), and the waterfalls were spectacular in the rain.  The kids loved telling their friends about that particular hike!  And my kids aren’t the only ones who love a challenge.  Just last week, I photographed a small group of girl scouts planting trees for Earth Day at a local state park – it was 50 degrees, raining, and they were laughing the whole time!  My in-laws in Portland OR, never let a little snow or rain get in their way – they’re always off snowshoeing or hiking in the mist!  And those of us who live in warmer climates can grab the sunscreen and water and head into the summer swelter for a few adventures.

The bottom line is, we don’t have to wait for 70 degrees and sunny to venture out with the kids.  Some of their most memorable experiences will be when nature wasn’t at its easiest!

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I Love Free Stuff!

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In past posts, I’ve written about some of our great national parks and wildlife refuges – Shenandoah National Park, Bull Island SC, Grand Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  These parks are beautiful jewels in our country’s crown.  I love visiting them, and was a little sad to find out that today, Martin Luther King Day, meant that entry to national parks was free – I didn’t know!  Ah, but no worries!  It turns out there are several other days in 2015 when you can visit a national park for free – start planning your green getaways now:

• January 19
  Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• February 14-16
  Presidents Day weekend
• April 18-19
  opening weekend of National Park Week
• August 25
  National Park Service Birthday
• September 26
  National Public Lands Day
• November 11
  Veterans Day

For more information, see the National Parks website. 

“Life is a great adventure…accept it in such a spirit.”  Theodore Roosevelt

TBT–Bear Creek Lake!

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As we head into Fall (some of us kicking and screaming – that would be me), I thought it might be fun to suggest one more green getaway – Bear Creek Lake State Park.  If you don’t live near this park, try out a state park in your local area – they’re a great, cost-effective getaway!  For more getaways, be sure to “Like” greenmomster on Facebook.
For my birthday back in February, my family gave me something I’ve been wanting for several years – a new BIG tent with 5 comfortable cots.  Yes, greenmomster is no longer camping; it’s “glamping” for me!  So I decided to take my beautiful new tentout for her maiden voyage to Bear Creek Lake State Park in Cumberland VA, about an hour west of Richmond.  What a pleasant surprise this park is!   This 326 acre park includes a 40 acre lake and is surrounded by the 16,000 acre Cumberland State Forest.  Our campsite sat right next to the lake, so we woke up to million-dollar views of the lake out our tent window!   We tried a little archery and took a canoe tour led by the very friendly park staff and interpreters (can you believe that $5 paid for a 1 1/2 hour archery lesson?)  Of course, we went fishing, hiking, and swimming at the lake beach.  And what camping trip would be complete without a campfire and s’mores?  But our campfire had an international flare, as we shared s’mores with our camping “neighbors” from down-under!  Now we know a little more about camping in Australia!
Definitely a park to visit, Bear Creek Lake will certainly be on our “to do” list again next year!

Wild, wildlife in SC

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It’s become a family tradition to head to Edisto Island SC each summer for a little R & R at Edisto Beach State Park.  One of our favorite side-trips is visiting Bulls Island, a barrier island in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.  As I’ve reported in past posts, every year we enjoy taking the Bulls Island Ferry across the estuary to enjoy a day of solitude and beachcombing in this spectacular wilderness area.  (yup, that’s us on a wonderfully empty beach)  On the way, the team from Coastal Expeditions always provides a fun and informative presentation about what we might find while on the island, including the occasional blue crab.  Our trip to the island once again didn’t disappoint!  We especially enjoyed a few exciting wildlife encounters.  We saw plenty of crabs, including the blue crab, stone crab , and even the sometimes elusive ghost crab !  Since we hit the boneyard at low tide, we saw plenty of sand dollars .  In case you’re not familiar with sand dollars, they’re the skeletons of a small, flat, burrowing animal that’s related to sea stars.  Here’s a neat video showing the living sand dollars:  Bulls Island has plenty of beach life, but there’s also great wildlife in the interior of the island.  Thanks to the helpful Coastal Expeditions staff, I found trails to investigate other parts of the island.  On a previous visit, I saw a beautiful buck bounding by the trail.  This time, I saw white ibex (photo credit:  birds.audobon.org) and the tiny, colorful Gulf Fritillary butterfly .  And just to add a little excitement to our trip, an alligator paid our ferry a visit (with a pelican adding scenic beauty!)    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is a green getaway that you shouldn’t miss if you’re ever in the Charleston SC area.  Be sure to visit the Coastal Expeditions website for details on this and other specialty trips.  (Important note: our first visit to Bulls Island was definitely “buggier” than other years, and I kidded about it in a previous post. It’s not always so buggy – this year wasn’t bad at all!)

Green Getaways—Go Ape!

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For throwback Thursday, I thought folks might be looking for some green getaways during the summer, so for the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of our past green adventures.  First stop – Go Ape!

If you’re looking for a fun outdoor adventure, I’ve got the place for you!  My friend Karlin (the photographer for the trip) and I decided that swinging in the trees with our boys would be a great way to spend a summer day, and we were right!  Go Ape is a ropes course/zipline company that started in the U.K., but now has 3 locations in the U.S. (in MD, VA, and IN).  The experience starts with a 30 minute safety briefing and practice run, so that everyone can learn to “clip in” throughout the course.  Adults can only supervise two children at a time and the minimum age is 10 years.  After the fitting of your ropes belt (it’s tight) and the safety briefing, you’re off to enjoy the course!  Each course includes a series of challenges high in the air (I mean high-pucker-factor high in the air – 40 feet high) that each end in a nice, long zip line.  Courses include twisted ladders, net bridges, and tarzan swings.  I enjoyed playing the little piggy and yelling “wee, wee, weeeee!” on each zip line – not at all embarrassing for my 13 and 12 year old boys.  The course also includes signage telling you about endangered treetop animals like chimpanzees and orangutans, as well as the local trees, but I think I’m the only one who read the signs between courses.  Nice to know they’re there, though!

The website estimates that your visit to Go Ape will last 2-3 hours, but we were there for over 4 hours – we took advantage of having no groups behind us, did the tarzan swing a few extra times, and perfected our tarzan yells!

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