family hikes

National Junior Ranger Day

Published on April 24, 2021April 6, 2021 by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

Happy National Park Week! And Happy National Junior Ranger Day! The junior ranger program allows people of all ages to “explore, learn, and protect” your national parks by doing some activities to earn their badge. Each park offers different activities or programs.

(And yes, they really mean all ages as I did the program at a national park as an adult and even before having kids as I thought it was so cool!)

I highly recommend checking this program out the next time you visit a cool place within our national park system.

Cheers to National Park Week!

Wildflowers!

Published on April 9, 2021April 6, 2021 by Kathy Cherry1 Comment

Last Sunday, we checked out the wildflowers blooming out in here in Northern California and the flowers did not disappoint!

Located about 10 miles north of Oroville, California, the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve provided the amazing views along their trails of these wildflowers.

These 3,300 acres created by ancient lava flows provide beautiful vistas of these wildflowers, waterfalls, lava outcrops, and a rare type of vernal pool, called Northern Basalt Flow Vernal Pools.

It’s a popular area right now due to the blooms, so be prepared to park a distance and to take a ton of photos.

Loved seeing these wildflowers in bloom and getting out in nature with the family!

Day Trip!

Published on April 7, 2021April 6, 2021 by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

Last week, we journeyed to Yosemite National Park for the day. The kids had last week off and we needed a day out in nature! And nature did not disappoint!

We took the kids on four hikes and the lucked out on the last one with no crowds. We started the hike to Mirror Lake around 4pm and owned the trail. It can be hard to get away from people in Yosemite, but staying later paid off!

We had a really great day and loved spending a long day in a national park!

For a recent blog post about Yosemite National Park, click here.

New Backpack

Published on March 13, 2021March 13, 2021 by Kathy Cherry1 Comment

A few weeks ago, I discovered a company that creates colorful backpacks. I love color! I am so drawn to anything colorful and it always makes me smile. I was that little girl always drawing rainbows. Don’t tell anyone, but I still draw them! 🌈

Cotopaxi makes these colors backpacks (and other colorful items). As I scrolled through their web site, their backpacks all made me smile. While I love the colors, I also love the uniqueness to each one. They’re all different. I had needed a new backpack and found a ton of choices.

I fell in love with Cotopaxi’s Del Dia Collection. This collection uses fabric leftover from other companies’ large production runs made in the Philippines. I love that this keeps perfectly good materials out of the landfill and reuses them for something fun.

After many clicks and moments of indecision, I decided on this one.

Once I received it, I tested it out on a hike with my dog and really enjoy it! It’s comfortable and has all the needed pockets. Most of all, I love all the colors!

It’s a rainbow day every day! 🌈😊

Hiking Stick

Published on June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 by Kathy CherryLeave a comment

Since March, we have spent lots of time at home. And spent plenty of time dreaming of hiking and traveling again. To help get excited for future hikes, I made this fun hiking stick. I have some real hiking poles, but thought it would be a fun activity to paint my own hiking stick.

My kids found this stick in our yard and discarded it for being too big for their project at the time. I checked out the stick and it was a perfect size for hiking.

This stick was pretty smooth and didn’t need sanding, but some others might need to be sanded. I painted the sections and later sprayed it with a sealer. I opted with a colorful, rainbow look, but you could do any colors and patterns. You could even add stickers, ribbons, or other decorations to make it your own style.

Just thought I’d share a fun (and easy) hiking activity to do at home!

Bring a Friend 🐰👣❤️

Published on June 2, 2019June 2, 2019 by Kathy Cherry2 Comments

A few weeks ago, our daughter brought Bunny along on a hike. This weekend, Lilly, a purple stuffed bunny, joined us. And Lilly got to ride a Barbie scooter in the air! Pretty lucky stuffed animal! Woody and Buzz would be jealous!