Just like this blog, we started a hiking vlog to give people ideas on places to explore and hike! Our favorites are ones with a view and hikes with history! We also throw in some geocaching (check out my geocaching post for more info on this)!
We have explored former CCC camps, abandoned places, waterfalls, place crashes, and more(we also have a blooper reel…one take is rare lol)! New videos are posted every few months!
Current Videos:
Hanging Rock State Park (w/ Hanging Rock and Window Falls Trails)
This is something we have been doing since the kids were little! We bike, but this trail is also for hiking and horseback riding. We started the kids in pull along carts and then “tag along” bikes that are half bikes that hook up to an adult bike. It’s great for those littles learning to ride or ones that know how to ride, but don’t have the stamina.
When the kids were little we used these pull behind carts!
The “Tag along”
The Low Down
You can rent your bikes, tagalongs, carts from an outfitter (we love Sundog Outfitters) or bring your own. You park at the outfitter and they will shuttle you and your gear to a drop off point.
You have threee routes to choose from: Whitetop to Damascus (the shuttle will drop you off at Whitetop and you ride to the outfitter) OR Damascus to Abingdon (you leave from the outfitter and get picked up by the shuttle) OR Whitetop to Abingdon…wew!
Which One??
Whitetop to Damascus- This is 17 miles of mostly downhill. It’s great for first timers, kids, and honestly my favorite section as I think it’s the prettiest (some great mountain views)! It’s also the more used section.
Damascus to Abingdon- Is 17 miles of slightly uphill. You’ll cross through cow pastures and get a good view of the countryside.
This is another one that can be done anywhere with various ages and it’s 100% FREE! Think cool, historic, scavenger hunt in a graveyard!
Find A Grave.com is an online database that helps people locate the graves of ancestors, friends, and famous people. You can also create virtual memorials, add photos, and you can leave virtual flowers or a note to a loved one’s page. You can search or brose cemeteries and grave records.
BUT, here is where it becomes an outdoor activity…
The Low Down: All this information has to come from somewhere! People send our requests for help to locate buried family members and get pictures of their loved ones resting place. You can register as a volunteer! Volunteers can spend as little or as much time as you want! It’s totally low maintenance! Once you become a volunteer (which is a super easy process) you can pull up all un-fulfilled requests. I typically pull up a church or cemetery by name and all requests for that place pop up. I print out a list and give a copy to everyone in our group (when the kids have friends spend the night we divide into teams) and we all take off running to see who can find the most people! I get pictures that were requested and I upload them later. Most of the time I get a thank you note back from the person who requested the photo! It’s an easy way to give back to others and help them connect with the person that has passed!
Side note: If you like Geocaching (read my post on this if you aren’t sure what this is) you would be surprised how many cemeteries also have Geo’s hidden in them! BAM! Win, win!!!!
Ages small to adult (yes even your teen will like this!)
Gets the kids away from their video games and outside!
Something the whole family can do!
Free or very inexpensive!
You can do this ANYWHERE!!!
What Is Geocaching?!
Sounds too good to be true right?! Y’all, I’m for real! All you need is the app and a pen! So what is it??? Geocaching is defined as a recreational activity of hunting for and finding a hidden object by means of gps coordinates posted on an app or website.
Chances are you have passed by hundreds of these things and never even knew it! Right now you are what’s called a “Muggle” (sound familiar?). These are those who have no clue what Geocaching is. Once you become a part of the Geo community it’s like a secret club.
Step 1: Download the app.
Step 2: Decide which plan you want. There is a FREE plan, but I highly recommend paying for Premium!! You can try it for 3 months for $9.99 or a year for $29.99. Going Premium means you get access to tons more of caches!
Step 3: Got to you Geo settings and set them to find the best caches for you or your group. I recommend starting with easier ones until you get the hang of it. I like my size setting to be Small-Large, and difficulty level easy-moderate.
Step 4: Load the kids, family dog, and go!
Step 5: Join the Geocaching FB group in your state! I belong to NC Geocachers.
The Down Low
Once you choose what cache you want to hit you click on it from the app and the app will pull up driving directions through your phones navigation system. Once you arrive at your location it will prompt you to get out of you vehicle and locate the cache. Some may require a hike, others may be in a parking lot. That’s the beauty of a Geo hunt! You can pick and choose your adventure!
You are looking for something that doesn’t belong or something that may seem obvious or out of place. The cache could be attached to a magnet so it clings to metal, under some leaves, in a stump, under a bridge, or I have even seen some crazy cool hiding places…like a random electrical box decoy in the middle of the woods! So normal containers you will see are large pill bottles, ammo cans, tupperware containers, fake rocks, coffee canisters, and even a cooler.
Inside are what’s called “tradeable’s”. The rule is take one/ leave one. Go to your local Dollar Store and get some goodies…plastic animals, army men, mardi gras beads, etc. We keep a drawstring bag with tradable’s, pens, small pad, and sometimes caches get wet or damaged so we also carry paper towels, extra ziplock bags, baby wipes, and duct tape to help keep the caches in good finding condition.
There are also hints and the comments others have left can be helpful in locating tougher ones!
We love to go hiking, but my kids lose interest quickly! Finding several of Geo’s on a hike keep them interested! Even my ADD child! Go on the site and check it out! I promise you’ll become addicted!
It’s a baseball game…I mean do you need anything else?? There are several different priced seating options. We sat in section 107 and I highly recommend it! We were behind the Dash dug out and it was covered seating. The bathroom was about 25yds away and they were nice. Cost was around $60 for all four of us (ticket prices run $8-$15).
Food was over priced, but let me tell you…those big pretzels…holy cow yum! We also enjoyed popcorn and boiled p-nuts too.
If you make it to the end of the game your kids can run the bases. Guess where that starts….section 107! Our kids were first in line!
You can also let the stadium know that it is a special occasion (birthday, field trip, etc) and the will put it on the marquee and announce it.
They do have some special events coming up! Pups in the Park and Free Hot Dog Tuesdays are some favorites!
Personal Recommendations
The line for Will Call tickets was way smaller than “buy them there” tickets.
Parking is around $5 and it’s a wee bit of a walk. Not too bad though.
Out of the House NC 
