The Blue Ridge Parkway

When trying to decide what to do for a family vacation this year, Doug and I knew we wanted to stay closer to home than what we have done on previous trips when it was just the two of us. Packing up our back packs and hiking through one of the National Parks in the west with miles and miles of driving between destinations didn't seem too feasible with a toddler who still needs to be carried after about a 1/4 mile of hiking, and who doesn't like to ride in his car seat much more than an hour at a time. We are also unsure how well Callen would sleep in a new place, so we didn't want to be in a hotel where he could wake up everyone in adjacent rooms. Hiking and camping along the Blue Ridge Parkway seemed like the best option for us. We figured we wouldn't be too far away if Cal wasn't doing well and needed to shoot home quickly, and Cal wouldn't need to be in his car seat for hours at a time driving from place to place. Turns out this was the perfect getaway!!

We originally planned to start in the north around Doughton Park and travel south towards Pisgah. Because of the weather forecast and the rain being called for in the north during the first few days of our trip, we opted to start in the south and drive north. We really had no plan as to what all we were going to do. I had written down some landmarks and hikes that we could try and see/do depending on Cal's schedule. We knew the campgrounds we wanted to stay in, but that was about it! 

We arrived in Pisgah on Saturday and found a camping spot and set up camp. Cal 'helped' with all the unpacking and setting up the tent. He quickly found the stream running behind our campsite, and often times you would find him walking towards the water so he could throw rocks in the stream. This was a great spot with room in the woods to set up a hammock and relax in the cool temps.We got out that evening and explored some of the areas around Pisgah with plans to hike the next day.

Hanging out in the hammock

Cal always seems to smile when we take selfies. I guess he likes to see himself!

Staying busy at the campsite

Running free around the campsite

The next day was Mother's Day! No better way to celebrate the day than spending time with my two favorite boys. We hiked a short hike to Craggy Mountain Pinnacle. After enjoying the beautiful views and hanging out on the trail for a while, we headed to Mount Mitchell for a lunch break. We stopped at the picnic area and enjoyed more wonderful views before walking (the paved trail) to the top for 360 degree views. We made it to the top and back down just in town for the rain storm that moved in. We ended up hanging out in our car while the rain poured down. Cal had a blast climbing all over the car and looking at pictures on the phone and camera from the last few days.

So happy!

I'm on top of the world!

This was the point where Doug realized he left his sunglasses at the top...and I got to go for a good trail run!

Enjoying our picnic spot

Look mom, I'm right here at Mount Mitchell!

Carting this little load down the trail!

There was bad weather expected for Monday as well, so we planned to set up camp at Julian Price Campground (which is awesome! We had a spot right on Price Lake with beautiful woods all around us) and then drive into Blowing Rock and Boone to explore. We spent the afternoon wandering around the towns, visiting the ASU campus, and avoiding the hail storm by hanging out in a local coffee shop for quite a while! We ended up eating dinner in Boone and then going to a Chick-fil-A to allow Cal to play in the playground since our campground was WET. We had more rain that evening and I'm sure we were one of about 3 campsites taken that evening (the other two were in some sort of camper or RV).

Helping Doug hammer in the stakes to the tent

Blowing up the Thermarest

Tuesday was much better weather...sunshine all day! We opted for a hike along the Boone Fork Trail which allowed us to veer away from the BRP and hike along a more secluded trail. Cal took a little snooze on the way in, but did some serious (1/4 mi or so!) hiking on the way out. He thinks he has to have a hiking stick whenever he is hiking, so we always have to find one that is slightly taller than him. He is doing really well hiking and is able to traverse over many different surfaces without losing his balance. He used to want us to hold his hand, but now he pushes you away whenever you offer assistance. He is too grown! After our hike, we headed to the Julian Price Picnic Area. This place doesn't look like much from the road, but as you drive farther back in there, it is beautiful! Picnic tables and benches scattered throughout with pretty much everywhere shaded from the sun. We opted to eat along the creek, and Cal quickly found his way to it! He had the best time playing in the water and throwing rocks upstream. This was a good place for him to get a little cleaned off too since we had not had a bath/shower since we left Greenville.

Throwing rocks in the creek

Everyone asks how Cal did. How did he sleep? How did he do hiking? 

He did AWESOME! The first night sleeping was a little rough, but we realized his mattress was not very comfy for him, so we changed things up and he did great the remaining nights. He is used to hiking, so that was nothing new to him. He actually enjoys climbing into his pack on his own and gets excited when you ask if he wants to go hiking. I will say that riding in the car was probably the worst part. He was trapped in his car seat often and wasn't very happy about it. We would try and get to the hiking spot or next camp spot during a time he would be napping to avoid having him travel while awake. That worked well, but there is just a lot of driving along the BRP so it was inevitable that he would be stuck in his seat for a while at a time. I think we spent more time driving than I had originally thought we would, but we also didn't want to get him out at every overlook and hiking trail along the way. We would have never gotten him back in his carseat! He was a trooper!

We cut our trip short by a day because we didn't know what things there were to do between Julian Price Campground and Doughton Park. We knew Greenville was going to have great weather on Thursday, and we wanted to take advantage of it in case it rained all weekend like was previously forecasted. So, we headed home to continue our family vacation with a bike ride to Travelers Rest along the Swamp Rabbit Trail and lunch at our favorite, Tandem Creperie. We spent the next few days hanging out and relaxing and ended up doing a little hiking around Furman. What a great week...I'm looking forward to another week of fun and camping!