Hiking the Shoal Creek Church Trail

Today, my husband and I hiked on the Shoal Creek Church trail in the Talladega National Forest. The trail was pretty easy, with only a few small hills. It is 1.6 miles from the Pinhoti trailhead to the church, so not an overly long hike.

This would be a great outdoor recreation activity for families because it offers the opportunity to teach a little history along with enjoying the outdoors with the kids. The history of Shoal Creek Church is posted on a sign at the site and the old structure still retains most of the original craftsmanship.

Hiking to historical sites is a great way for families to spend sunny days, connect and learn about the people who helped shape our country.

You can see more pictures on Our Hiking Pictures blog.

Walking for St. Jude

I became a St. Jude Hero not long ago, and with the help of family and friends, have been taking up money to help the kids of St. Jude. I am almost half way to my 500-dollar goal. I hope to make more, but if I can just do the 500, it will help. EVERY donation helps!

Yesterday we did our first walk. I am doing various walks for the charity instead of just one. I think I know the next one, but have to finalize details.

My husband, son and brother did the 6-mile walk with me yesterday. Walking for charity is a great outdoor family activity! How can you not get reconnected when walking for 6 miles? It was a great day and knowing we were helping children made it even better.

If you’d like to read about the walk or donate to St. Jude, please go to my other blog here: Angel Walks

How Yard Sales Help with Recycling

Not only are yard sales a good way to spend a Saturday morning with the family, get in some walking and find good deals, they also help the environment.


Yard sales are all about recycling. One person is putting their unneeded items out for others to reuse, therefore not filling landfills with things that are still perfectly good. There is no end to the items recycled through yard sales. Never throw anything that is still usable away because someone else might want it. Have a yard sale and recycle it instead!

Read more here...

Walking at the Park

We do walks at the local park as part of our training for the St. Jude Heroes program. This past weekend we did a 3.34-mile walk. I’m training to be able to do a 10k, or 6.2 mile walk next month. If you would like to donate to St. Jude, please visit this website: Angel Walks

While at the park, we noticed lots of outdoor family activities going on. People were having birthday parties, fishing in the lake, feeding the ducks, and just sitting on benches talking. It is wonderful to see so many people bring their children to the park.

If you have a park close by, plan to spend the day there soon. It’s very relaxing and a great way for families to reconnect after a long week.

Pinhoti Trail Hike

We went on a two-mile hike on the Pinhoti trail this evening. It was a fairly easy hike, with one exception. The downhill section that leads to the bridge over Coleman Lake is quite steep. I made it even with my bum ankle, so it’s not all that bad.

The first part of the trail is a little overgrown but it does get better. The trail will be really nice during the winter months when all the foliage is less pronounced. The walk through the trees was very calm and relaxing.

We saw a turtle playing off the bridge and I got some pretty cool shots of a couple of spiders. You can see pics of the hike and animals on Our Hiking Pictures blog.

How to make your yard sale a success

Yard sales are great outdoor recreation activities. You get to meet new people, make some extra money and there is opportunity for exercise if you go around to enough sales. Park at one end of the street and walk to each house for neighborhood sales to get in some extra steps for the day.

Yard sales are also great for families. Kids love finding good buys and just spending time with each other is always nice.

If you want to throw your own yard sale and make a few bucks, follow this advice:

How to make your yard sale a success

Coleman Lake Campground

We did an overnight camping trip this past weekend. Camping is a great outdoor recreation activity for families to enjoy! We stayed at the Coleman Lake Campground in the Talladega National Forest. It was a very nice campground and we really enjoyed the time spent together.

We played games, toasted marshmallows over the campfire and walked around the grounds. My hubby had fun playing with the campfire and cooking meals too. I’m putting some pictures on Our Hiking Pictures blog if you want to look!

Around the Campfire

Putting up one of my short stories today. It takes place at a camp site, so ties in with the theme of my blog. I hope y'all enjoy the story.


Sandy and Greg sat quietly, watching flames lick the wind, and listening to the crackle of logs settling, while Tracie and Lamar fought. They had been fighting all evening, both sure the other knew nothing about camping, and trying to one-up each other in every endeavor.

“Don’t hold it that way,” Lamar ordered, grabbing the stick out of Tracie’s hand.

“Give me that stick, or so help me you’ll regret it,” Tracie snapped.

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do?”

Tracie didn’t answer, just politely stood, picked up her pack, walked over to Lamar, swung the pack and knocked him off the log he was sitting on.


Read more here...

Fireworks

We went to see the fireworks in town last night. This is a great outdoor activity for the whole family on the 4th of July. They had more fireworks than we expected, which was nice. All the younger kids really enjoyed the event. It was around 80 degrees, so the only bad part was the skeeters! I hope you all got out and enjoyed the holiday.

Hiking with Family

Yesterday, my mom and her husband came over to visit. We decided to take them to a couple of hiking trails. We visited the Odum Scout and Bald Rock trails. Both walks combined were less than a mile. They are not used to hiking, or much exercise of any kind for that matter, and my sprained ankle isn’t well yet, so we played it safe.

They enjoyed the hikes, because the two we chose offered nice scenery. We saw a little falls on the Odum Scout trail. Not much of one this year, because it hasn’t rained much lately, but still pretty. On the Bald Rock trail, there is an overlook off some rocks that was nice.

I put some pictures up on Our Hiking Pictures blog if you would like to see. Hiking with family is a great outdoor recreation activity that I highly recommend. People of all skill levels can participate if you pick the correct trails!