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

Category Archives: Travel Beta

Trip tips and beta for specific family adventure areas

Cragfamily in Niagara Falls!

Cragfamily in Niagara Falls!

At first glance, the largest waterfall in North America sounds pretty awesome, but also sounds a little random as far as family vacations go for us.  It’s a looooong way away, and there aren’t even any rocks nearby on which to climb.  However, I have an aunt, uncle, and several cousins that live in upstate NY, one of which got married just a couple of weeks ago.  When we were planning our trip,we couldn’t help but notice that Niagara Falls was a mere 30 minutes away from the Buffalo airport.  It seemed a shame to get so close to such…Read the rest of this entry →

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Spider Lilies at Landsford Canal

Spider Lilies at Landsford Canal

  I know it’s a little bit late, but my Mother’s Day was so cool I just had to share!  Ever since I took the kids to Landsford Canal back when Baby Zu was only 3 months old I have been wanting to go back.  Specifically, I’ve been wanting to kayak along the river through all of the spider lilies.  Every year for 6 weeks between May and June, the flowers put on a spectacular show on a small section of the Catawba river.  The quarter-mile stretch of blossoms is not only breathtaking, but it also happens to be the largest…Read the rest of this entry →

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A Weekend of Waterfalls (and Climbing) in the High Country

A Weekend of Waterfalls (and Climbing) in the High Country

We may have had a cool and pleasant spring this year, but summer in the Southeast is shaping up to be H-O-T!  Here lately the thermometer has hit 90 before lunchtime and the humidity has felt downright smothering.  That meant that the only logical place for weekend adventures was the higher elevation areas in the western part of the state, where daytime highs were literally 20 degrees cooler than back home. Our agenda was pretty open-ended.  We really just wanted to escape the heat and get some good family time together.  The past few weeks have been very hectic, and…Read the rest of this entry →

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Snowtubing at Jonas Ridge

Snowtubing at Jonas Ridge

I can’t believe this is the second post in a row that I’ve written about snow!  It might lead you to believe that our family lives somewhere that actually sees a true winter.  But this is North Carolina everyone, which means those single digit temps from Snowpocalypse 2015 were quickly followed up with highs in the mid 50’s.   But last week’s snow and freezing temps combined with comparatively spring-like temperatures over the weekend made for great snowtubing conditions!  While it had been on our radar for a while now, we decided to go somewhat on a whim.  It was…Read the rest of this entry →

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Adventures at Landsford Canal State Park

Adventures at Landsford Canal State Park

Although traveling far and wide for an adventure fix is always exciting, I for one am equally delighted to find fun places to explore that are close to home (ie, day-trippable for me and the kiddos mid-week.)  Even though we’ve been in the Charlotte area for over 3 years now, I’m pleased that we are no where close to crossing off all of the interesting places to discover off of our list.  One such place that had been on my radar for a while was Landsford Canal State Park.  I’d found out about it last summer when we bought our…Read the rest of this entry →

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN