Landsford Canal State Park

The kids and I decided to head to South Carolina today to visit Landsford Canal State Park. I like this park because it is a good mix of nature and history.


There are two trails in the park--one that follows the Catawba river and one that follows the now-defunct canal. Both trails are easy to walk on, and I was able to use my stroller without too much trouble. We saw remains of the stone dam that led into the canal as well as the guardlock and a footbridge. There are more structures on site, including a mill site and lockkeeper's house, but we didn't get that far south on our hike. The kids enjoyed learning how the canal worked, and I was able to make it personal since one of our great-grandfathers was a lockkeeper in Yorkshire.

remains of stone dam behind the kids

My oldest standing on the guardlock

kids on the stone support for the old footbridge

There are some nice benches and picnic tables where we stopped to snack, a kid's play area, and the restrooms were clean. The park rangers were very friendly and visible, so even though we only spotted a few other visitors, I felt very safe alone with the kids.


The ford is also a place of historical significance as both American and British troops crossed the river here under Cornwallis and Sumter during the American Revolution.


There is a pair of resident bald eagles and we were able to spot their nest. The kids noticed some white feathers around the park that they are certain came from the eagles.


There is ample shade and it is cool walking along the rushing river, even on a 90 degree day like today. We'll definitely go back next May when the spider lilies are in bloom. The large white flowers bloom on the rocky shoals of the river and are apparently quite the sight.

Landsford Canal State Park is located in Catawba, South Carolina, about 45 minutes from my house. It costs $2 for adults aged 16 and up and kids are free. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there in total and had a great time! It's definitely worth the trip.

Hudson Highlands Nature Museum

Well this was supposed to be fun. It looked like fun. This museum has "Discovery Quests" on the weekends where you buy these guidebooks and then go on some marked trails and fill in the book and stuff. There are four trails, Pond Quest, Field Quest, Woodland Quest, and Hiking Quest. Super fun right? Well not if one of your kids happens to be Mary in a really really bad mood. Okay, it wasn't completely horrible...but kind of. Emma was really sweet and patient, she didn't fuss once about walking. She said it was hot but she didn't say it in a fussy drama voice so wahoo.

We chose the Field Quest because this huge group just went on the pond one and it was pretty crowded over there. I guess the first mistake was completely mine...I misread the map right at the beginning and actually took us on the wrong trail (in my defense the red flag I was supposed to find really was marking the wrong trail). But I figured it out quick and we retraced our steps. We did see some cool flowers and stuff. Once we were on the right trail I thought things would get better. Mary had already been doing some pretty significant fussing at me. The thing is, they didn't get better. At all.

The trail was only 1/2 mile on completely flat ground. It was pretty much a big path someone had mowed through a field. The guidebook was alright...some of the things were fun like circling different plants we can see and listening for sounds. The "Quest" part is filling in these rhymes and then doing a word puzzle at the end. Half of these rhymes Emma could not get at ALL. And some of them weren't even rhymes. So that was a little lame. But some of the activities were good. And I would like to do the other ones sans Mary completely hating me. Don't let her cute smile fool you in some of these pictures...they all involved some sort of bribe (she's holding marshmallows in the one of her by herself). Mostly I carried her on the trail and the girl is HEAVY. Solid little thing. On the way home we played "What was your favorite part of our outing?" And Emma said she liked finding the flowers and doing the rhymes. Mary said, "You have to help me...I can't remember."

There is also another part of this museum with exhibits, it is about 1/2 a mile away and at this point it was get home. But I'd like to go try that too.

This was on the wrong trail...but Emma didn't mind. She was trailblazing for us.

Please note the look of joy on Mary's face here...this was her face for almost the whole time

Please notice the marshmallow bribe

This was about 2 minutes after we got there...no one had cried yet.

Blueberries: Farmed and Wild

The playgroup that we have been attending for a few years went on a field trip to pick blueberries, which was perfect for us since it was on my summer activities list. It was a beautiful day in late June (I'm a bit behind on my blogging, I know). We went to Butlers Orchard in Damascus, Maryland.


We got to take a tractor ride to and from the fields.


Blueberry bushes at the farm.


Sydney and Drew both ate plenty of blueberries right off of the bushes. They tasted great, and they were cheaper per pound than Costco or the grocery stores, so we really loaded up. That night, we made blueberry crisp for dessert. It was great to do it with friends, and we got to play at a playground and eat snacks after we picked.


A few days earlier, I had a very rare 2 hours to myself while Drew and Sydney were at a playdate and the baby spent some time with Andy. I decided to go hike the Billy Goat Trail which is a part of Great Falls national park in Potomac MD. I didn't take many pictures as I was semi-rushed to get some errands run before picking up the kids, but I hope to get back there soon and do a better job. I did shot some photos of this nice waterfall just off of the trail, and while there, I saw some blueberries growing in some soil mixed in among the rocks. Normally, I do not eat wild berries in case of poisoning, but with these I was sure what they were. They were small, but they were the best berries that I have ever had-- super sweet. To wrap it up, I recommend picking some fruit this summer. It is fun and delicious!

Lake Blanche, UT

I really love backpacking. When Peter and I married, we did a couple of backpacking trips. Then when Zach came along, (naive as we were) we even entertained the idea of toting him along into the great back-country wilderness. With one of us hefting all of the gear and the other keeping baby happy... it would be a great time. Or would it? The truth is that I don't know, because we've never tried. Packing for anything overnight with a child, even in a hotel, seemed like work enough!

This year, for our anniversary, we decided to save a little money (thank you, rising cost of EVERYTHING!) and do one night backpacking and the second in a hotel. As we looked at our options locally, I was totally playing the tough girl. Like this: Well, hun. I can probably handle the long hike, but what about your ankle? It's true, and I was secretly hoping he would choose the easiest one. :o) Well, we're still 21-at-heart, or nuts, or SOMEthing. Because even after my dad described the hike to Lake Blanche as having "a couple of tough grinds," we felt overly confident and good to go.

It was about 6:30 at the trailhead, which you'll find at the stairs switchbacks up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I think it is officially called Mill B Fork. With our headlamps, mountain house meals, water filter, and itty-bitty camping stove tucked away, we were on our way. I should have paid more attention when we looked at the topo map on the computer where it gives you a graph of the incline. The first part was moderately easy and I was thinking, 'yeah! this is my kind of hike!' Then came the grind. And let me tell you, my dad's words kept repeating themselves in my head for that final S-L-O-W stretch. AND the blisters developing on my heels were not helping.

We reached the lake, which we had completely to ourselves on a Thursday night, just in time to see the sun setting. Lovely, lovely. The lake itself isn't much, but the view of Sundial Peak was fantastic. It is still spring at this elevation and we had a lovely field of wildflowers to walk through on our way to a little waterfall where we could filter water. I have given up trying to get the pictures we took to go with this post, since they were taken with hubby's phone. But here is a picture someone else took of Sundial Peak...



The distance of this hike was 2.78 miles, and the elevation gain was 2700 feet. In the end, I was really glad Peter stuck to his guns on doing this instead of two full days of lounging. Yes, it was tough. But I get a bit of a thrill and satisfaction when I push my limits. (remember that one time I ran a marathon? :o) And it feels oh-so-nice to completely get "away from the things of man... away from the things of man." (I'll make you brownies from scratch if you can name that movie!)

Twin Lakes, Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT

It's almost a tradition for Peter and I to escape the heat of July 24th and head 20 minutes up the canyon where it is (ahhhhh....) 20 degrees cooler. I was a little sad that this three nights of camping meant that we didn't see a single parade this year, but Zach was quick to forgive, so we're all good.

We stayed at the Spruces, up Big Cottonwood Canyon, where we've camped a couple of times before. This was our first time in the upper campground, and I will say I like it better at the lower. It's closer to the river and my kids + rocks + water = hours of enjoyment.

Brighton Ski Area is at the top of the canyon, where we had thought to just take a walk around Silver Lake. Very easy and perfect for young ones, it is a boardwalk. I was surprised at how busy it was on the 24th! There are always silly people trying to fish and there just really isn't room for it with lots of others walking along... I guess I had forgotten that off of the boardwalk are some trailheads, so we decided on one to take: Twin Lakes. At this point I was so very glad we had brought the Kelty kid pack for my free-loading Ben.

The hike was shady and pleasant starting out, but we were hiking at about 11:00 am, and I'm sad to say that after about 1/4 mile, we were on the mountainside and most of it was rather sunny. Probably a better hike for the morning or late afternoon hours. There were a few shady spots on the way up for drink breaks. The kids did awesome, we had another family with us and the hike up probably lasted about an hour. I wondered why it was one lake, since it's name is plural... Peter told me it used to be two. It is a reservoir and we did have to keep the kids away from the most tempting spot to throw rocks and sticks in, since it was right near the spillway.



Also at the lake, Peter was snagged by, what else, an AMWAY SALESMAN for 20 minutes or so. Seriously, they ought to have signs prohibiting that stuff in the great out of doors! :o)



We hiked a different way down, basically on the service road for the ski resort and the pleasant surprises were the little waterfalls to see on the way. Mostly dusty and pebbly, but it was a lot quicker and we were hungry for lunch!