I first heard about Palo Duro Canyon State Park a couple of years ago. It was February, and I wanted a good place to hike for a few days that was out of the cold, but not out of the USA.
Park headquarters at the entry
A couple of hiker friends recommended Palo Duro Canyon, known as the “Grand Canyon of Texas”.
After doing a some follow-up research, I decided that the park sounded perfect for my short solo hiking trip.
Lake Crabtree County Park is arguably the best in-town alternative to a trip to the beach for a quick fix of sand and time on the water.
View of the Observation Tower from the marina
In my opinion, any park where you can take your kids to paddle or even just watch the sun on the water is a big bonus – especially when you don’t have to drive more than 15-20 minutes to get there.
While Bond Lake and Symphony Lake are also centrally located, they don’t have nearly the size or water access afforded by Lake Crabtree.
Ice-sailing on White Bear Lake in Minnesota
I grew up on a large natural lake in Minnesota, with sailboats in the summer and snowmobiles, skis and ice-fishing in the winter.
So lakes make me feel good – and I logged a lot of hours on the Open Play field on the shore of Lake Crabtree when my daughter was little.
These days I spend more time hiking the 6 mile Lake Trail loop than flying kites. But you could do both!
Located in a forested area between Cary, Morrisville, and Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Lake Crabtree County Park offers visitors a 520-acre flood-control lake adjacent to a 215-acre wooded site, with 16-plus miles of trails, picnic areas that are perfect for outdoor games, boating, geocaching and catch-and-release fishing.
Years ago, when my daughter was about 3 years old and I was looking for outdoor activities for smaller kids, a friend introduced me to the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh.
For my daughter – and for me, too – it was a magical place.
This was partly because we were living in a rented townhome with not even a minimal yard, and partly because the arboretum really is magical! 🙂
But seriously, it does seem to be getting more difficult to find simple inexpensive fun outdoor activities for toddlers, especially if you don’t have a home with your own yard.
This is a real shame, because toddlers love getting outdoors to run around in the sunshine, play with bugs, and eat dirt.
Part of a border garden at the JC Raulston Arboretum
Fortunately for me, the JC Raulston Arboretum was only a short drive away, and was a great place to get outdoors and explore without any admission or parking fees – or even funnel cakes or anything-on-a-stick that I had to say “no” to.
Fortunately for everyone, although it has grown a lot in the past 20 years, the JC Raulston Arboretum is still a magical and inexpensive place to take young children to play outdoors.
They can feel the sunshine, eat dirt, and maybe learn a few things about trees and plants, too.
If you’re ever going to take that big trip you’ve been dreaming about, you’ll need to stash more money – or at least some money! – in your vacation or holiday savings account.
Whether you’re looking at a 1-2 week getaway for the holidays or several months on the trail, these saving strategies add up.
SAVE MONEY FOR TRAVEL
The first thing to do is to figure out how much money you’re going to need – so you know when you’re done saving :-).
Check out my post on planning your multi-day hiking trip for some good ideas on how to plan your trip so you can figure the cost. I’ve also got some info on different lodging options that might help with your estimate.
The closer you are to your vacation date and the less money you have saved already, the more intense your saving activities will need to be.
DO THE MATH
It’s easy to figure total cost if you go on trip with a travel company . They usually have a planned itinerary that includes food, lodging, activities and a guide all in one price.
That can save you time – and sometimes money, too, so it’s worth looking into.
Hiking near Mont Blanc
You could also use a trip cost calculator, like the one I’ve linked to here, to help figure your savings goal.
Once you have a ballpark idea how much money you’ll need and when you want to go, you’ll know how much time you have to pull your travel stash together – that is, the time between right now and your vacation date.
For more of my favorite travel deals and resources, see my Travel Tips & Deals page, and take a look at the G Adventures page, too for some great discounts.
FYI, the photos I’ve included in this post are from some fantastic trips I’ve taken – using money from my own vacation saving fund!
My friends came back with all sorts of great recommendations – most having something to do with goats, llamas, and alpacas – but also a lot of breweries, wineries and meaderies. Hmmm. Anyway…
So, I trimmed out all of the adult beverages (that will be a different set of posts!) and made a list of places to go see.
For my first visit, I narrowed it down to alpaca farms near me, specifically looking for an alpaca farm tour.
And that’s how I found M&M Alpaca Farm. Although M&M offers free self-guided tours of the farm, I opted for a scheduled guided tour for just a few dollars. I’m very glad I did!
It’s been more than a year since I returned from hiking in Patagonia, spending a week on the W trek in Torres del Paine National Park.
I wrote a very short “I’m baack!” kind of post right after the trip, but now I’m finally getting around to sharing more details.
Hiking the W Trek in Patagonia
Frankly, this is partly just an excuse to post more amazing Patagonia photos!
Be warned, this is an extremely long post, but it’s jam-packed full of useful information:
Different options for getting to Patagonia,
Torres del Paine hiking info,
What you’ll need to bring for the W Trek, and
A day by day description of my trip.
This is all really good info for you if you’re thinking about a similar trip. Anyway….about the place:
Patagonia, Chile is at the southernmost tip of South America, very close to Antarctica. Torres del Paine National Park is located on the eastern edge of the continent.
A couple of weeks ago, when I was searching for outdoor activities for kids, I saw an event posting for a Fossil Dig at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation.
My initial thought was, “Fossils? Digging? I must go!” 🙂
But first I had to find out more about the Prairie Ridge park.
Bees take advantage of the flowering plants in the Prairie habitat
I learned that the Prairie Ridge Ecostation is the west Raleigh branch of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. The main branch of the Museum was created in 1879, when the State’s agricultural and geological collections were merged.
It’s the largest institution of its kind in the South East and the most visited museum in North Carolina.
The main branch is located in downtown Raleigh and there is a third branch in Whiteville (Columbus County, NC).
Bond Park and Umstead State Park in Cary, NC are a couple of local places that I go to hike, walk and run that are easy to get to and always deliver a really good experience.
Minimum driving, maximum time on the trail is what I’m usually looking for.
Entry sign at Bond Park in Cary, NC
I’ve been using the trails and other park amenities both on my own and with my kids since I first moved to the area in 1996.
Like all of us, the park has changed over time and also – I hope like all of us – has improved with age as well.
Actually, I recently took an afternoon break to walk Bond Park’s Lake Trail, and found significant improvements to all of the the walkways and bridges along the way!
Updated bridge on the Lake Trail in Bond Park.
Read on to learn about the Lake Trail and other trails and combined routes inside Bond Park.
Working remotely doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors – in fact, it’s healthier for you to take breaks and get outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine!
Being stuck indoors by yourself – or with your kids – with no end in sight could make you nuts.
Paved trail beside Big Lake in Umstead State Park
Getting out on the trail on your own, or with 10 or fewer members of your family or friends, could help bring you back from Crazy Town.
If you’re a hiker local to Cary or Raleigh, NC, you know the nearby hiking places, and have been on the trails.
They’re beautiful, have varied terrain and are easily accessible.
Patagonia, Chile is at the southernmost tip of South America, very close to Antarctica. 
