Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Monthly Archives: March 2017

Sending Spree at Hidden Valley, VA!

Sending Spree at Hidden Valley, VA!

This time of year in the Southeast, planning weekend climbing trips can be a bit of a gamble when it comes to the weather.  It’s especially hard when a too-long-for-a-day-trip destination looks perfect one day, and sketchy the next.  We all had our hearts set on a round 2 at Hidden Valley, VA this past weekend, but while Saturday looked splitter, Sunday looked, well, pretty wet.  However, we’d heard from multiple people about how the bad weather often “hops” right over the mountain, even when surrounding areas are soaked.  That combined with numerous rainy day route recommendations from the new guidebook was…Read the rest of this entry →

Share

Wooden Acorn People Tutorial

Wooden Acorn People Tutorial

When it comes to gift-giving holidays (Christmas, birthday, etc), one of my main parenting goals is to teach that it’s better to give than to receive.  One of the best ways I’ve found to get our kids excited about giving is to encourage handmade gifts.  To me, there’s no better way to foster a deeper connection between gift giver and receiver than rolling up our sleeves and creating with someone else in mind.  That’s why I was thrilled when my son was just as excited as I was about making this Wooden Acorn People project for his little sister’s 3rd birthday!…Read the rest of this entry →

Share

Winter, Spring, and first 5.12 of the Season

Winter, Spring, and first 5.12 of the Season

The climbing at Hidden Valley has been on our radar ever since the Carolina Climbers Coalition purchased the land at the end of 2014.  Early reports from friends sounded appealing – short approach, winter sun, summer shade.  But somehow we never managed to get up there until this past weekend.  A couple of times we did make plans to go – but then kids got sick, or the weather was yucky, etc.  But mostly, it’s just hard to get us away from the New during prime climbing season.  I guess we’re just spoiled that way!   Anyway, after lots of…Read the rest of this entry →

Share