Appalachian Trail - Grayson Highlands State Park | NC Hikes

Trip Date: May 2013

We didn’t even know if this trip was going to take place or not because we both felt awful last week.  The weather didn’t look too promising either but we went ahead and decided to take the trip.  We have been hiking in Boone before but this time we were going to also be driving to VA to hike with my dad (he is hiking the Appalachian Trail).  We hiked a total of 28 miles on this trip!

Thursday:

We woke up early and drove to Boone (approx 4.5 hours from us). Scott played golf at the Boone Golf Club and I walked the course with him and made up my own workout based off what he was doing - it was really kind of silly but fun! Walking 18 holes was a workout itself!

Friday:

We didn’t have any hiking planned for Friday because the forecast was to be very windy and cold. We slept in for the first time in a long time and then we went to the gym. I had amazing energy which led to an awesome workout! We were at the gym for an hour and a half (I normally try to keep my workouts to one hour) but I let my HRM go for 2 hours just to see the difference (total 836 calories)! I love after burn! If you are interested in this heart rate monitor you can find similar ones here.

After we ate lunch (and I got that awesome fortune cookie) it started to clear up outside so we decided to go on a short local hike. We did Elk Knob which is a 4 mile hike. We did it in 1 hour and 20 minutes…including taking a break to eat. I let my HRM go until I got in the shower for a total of 590 calories! It was a really pretty hike that we will add to our trip each time we go to Boone.

Saturday:

My dad was in Damascus, VA for Trail Days and got food poisoning…which was actually a blessing in disguise because we were able to know exactly where he was and pick him up in Damascus. I can’t even describe the feeling. It was the first time in 2 months that I had seen him! I cried for 2 minutes straight and wouldn’t let him go!  We hiked with him 10 miles in Grayson Highlands State Park. It was an amazing hike. We saw wild ponies and the landscape was gorgeous! It was hard to say goodbye again but he stayed to camp overnight to continue his hike again the next day.

Scott & I hiked another 4 miles back to our car to head to back to Boone. Once we got to the hotel and showered, we decided that we would walk to the restaurant so we walked another 4 miles after hiking 14 on the AT.  

Below are a few photo collages of our adventures:

Sunday:

We checked out on Sunday but still wanted to do something active so we did a short hike/trail run at Julian Price Lake Loop off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a fun and quick little hike!

I talked to my dad on Monday and he told me that us coming up to hike with him was one of the best 5 days of his life.  I’m assuming the other 4 days…when he got married, when my sister was born, when I was born, and when he joined the Marines.  I’m so proud of him!

Are Your Cleaning Products Really "Clean?" - Recipes to Help You Clean

It's hard to go from using your old cleaning products to new, natural ones! I found myself wanting to revert back to what I know works - bleach, formulated granite cleaners/polish, chemical-laden window and toilet cleaners, but alas! Here are my favorite "recipes" for disinfecting your home!

In case you want to copy and paste these recipes to a word doc, here they are in text format! 

All Purpose Cleaner

• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Dawn dish soap
• 4 TBSP white vinegar
• 400 mL warm water

Stir/shake to mix well. Use a squirt bottle for optimal usage.

Dusting Spray

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 c white vinegar
• 1 c warm water

Stir/shake to mix well. Use a squirt bottle for optimal usage.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

• 1/4 c baking soda
• 1/4 c borax
• 1 c white vinegar

Place ingredients directly into toilet. Mix gently with bowl brush. Let sit at least 30 minutes before scrubbing. 

Granite Cleaner

• 1/2 c rubbing alcohol
• 8 drops Dawn dish soap
• 2 c warm water

Combine in a squirt bottle.

Glass Cleaner

• 1/4 c rubbing alcohol
• 1/4 c white vinegar
• 1 TBSP cornstarch
• 2 c warm water

Stir/shake to mix well. Use a squirt bottle for optimal usage.

Tub Cleanser

• 1/2 cut grapefruit
• 1/4 c kosher salt

Place salt directly on grapefruit half. Scrub your tub!

Grout Cleaner

• 1/2 c baking soda
• 1/4 c white vinegar

Mix in a small, open container. Using a toothbrush, apply paste to grout and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Rinse off.

Not sure what you need to get your Green "Clean" Cleaning Pantry stocked? Check out our shopping list from yesterday's post!

Do you have a favorite green cleaning recipe to share? 

Rocky Mountain National Park

Trip Date: September 2012

This trip is what started our obsession with hiking...

We had a hiking trip planned for NC and VA but the weather started to look pretty bad.  On the Thursday night before we were going to leave we just randomly started looking at other trips we could take because we both had the week off and we really wanted to go hiking.  We both want to visit all the National Parks so we decided to see how much it would be to visit one.  They were all pretty expensive but then we came across $99 flights to Denver, CO.  A buddy of Scott’s (from high school) lives near RMNP so he sent him a message to tell him we were considering flying out to hike in RMNP.  He told us to come out and he would hook us up with a great rate on a room.  We booked our flights and hotel Friday night at midnight to fly out Sunday morning.  Needless to say, we were running around like crazy on Saturday trying to get ready for this VERY “last minute” trip.  BONUS: Scott had a $100 voucher for the flight and we were upgraded for free to a room with a full kitchen!

Rocky Mountain National Park

We hiked 24.45 miles with a total elevation gain of over 5,300 ft. 

Sunday

We flew into Denver and stayed there Sunday night to check out the city and go to a baseball game.  We went to the Rockies vs Padres game Sunday afternoon.  Coors Field was beautiful! We can now check that stadium off our list (we want to visit all major league stadiums in the U.S.).  After the game we explored downtown Denver and discovered the biggest REI I have ever seen!  We woke up and checked out Monday morning – finally headed to Winter Park!

RMNP Day 1 (Monday)

We didn’t want to do too much the first day because of the change in altitude so we drove along Trail Ridge Road to check out the park.  We went into a visitor center when it was sunny, we came out 10 minutes later and it was pouring!  The rain only lasted for about 20 minutes so we were able to fit in a short hike.  It was hard to catch our breath for the first 10 minutes or so of each hike but after that everything was fine!  I found it interesting that the recommendations they gave on how to deal with the change in altitude are also some of the clean eating principles (eat every few hours, drink a lot of water, avoid processed foods, etc)!

As we were hiking Monday, there was a man who was hiking with a cane and he had two people helping him (I assume they were his children).  He wasn’t that old but you could tell that something was wrong (maybe his back).  I overheard his daughter ask him if he was okay, and he said “Yes! Of course, no need to stop, I’m doing just fine”.  Then they stepped out of the way to let some people go around and he said “Oh, we are just stopping to cool off a bit” (he was joking – it was 43 degrees outside).  This literally brought tears to my eyes…here is a man who has EVERY EXCUSE in the world to sit at home and be unhappy but he was outside, enjoying nature, exercising, and was SO HAPPY.  This also reminded me of a man we encountered last year while backpacking in Boone, NC.  He was 80 years old hiking up a trail considered “strenuous”.  He chatted with us for a few minutes and told us that he hiked the trail every Saturday before making his weekly trip to the grocery store.

RMNP Day 2 (Tuesday)

We did a 7.76 mile hike that took 3 hours and 44 minutes.  It was beautiful!  The hike took us to a big meadow where you could see all kinds of wildlife.  We also saw an old cabin and a beautiful creek/waterfall.  I thought this hike was pretty tough but it was nothing like what was about to happen on Wednesday…

Scott decided that he would climb up the rocks on the side of a mountain…so, I decided it would be photo shoot time!

RMNP Day 3 (Wednesday)

We did a 9.53 mile hike that took 5 hours and 43 minutes.  This hike was straight up the mountain… Mt. Ida.  We saw marmots playing in the rocks we were climbing up – they were so cute!  While we were at the summit another couple came up and we ended up hiking back down with them since there were warnings everywhere that people get lost on the trail (at least we would be together)!  Anyway, she was wearing a heart rate monitor…when we finished our hike it read that we had burned 3,175 calories!  It was a very difficult hike but worth it because of the breathtaking views at the top.

RMNP Day 4 (Thursday)

Scott went downhill mountain biking with his buddy from high school.  After they finished mountain biking we ate lunch in Grand Lake and then headed back into the park.  We went to the Estes Park side of RMNP and hiked to Dream and Emerald Lakes and Alberta Falls.  Once again, very pretty!  After that, we drove to Boulder for dinner.  After dinner, we took another random trip to a small town in the middle of the mountains called Black Hawk.  We went here to scope out the casinos…Scott and I have a lot to learn before we go to Vegas!  Needless to say, we ended up back at the hotel at 3:30 am.

Friday

We booked a late flight so we would have time to spend in CO on Friday.  We visited downtown Winter Park, went moose “hunting” (I really, really wanted to see one – but never did) and then stopped by Red Rocks on the way to the airport.  Winter Park is absolutely beautiful.  The little village there is precious and I bet it is even more amazing in the winter with snow everywhere!  We couldn’t really see much of Red Rocks because they were setting up for a concert but from what we did see it looked pretty cool!  Our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:05 pm, when we got to the airport we learned there was a 50 minute delay.  That 50 minute delay quickly turned into a 2 hour delay.  So, once again, we had another night where we were up until after 3 am!  It was 4 am before we got home from the airport!

NUTRITION:

A lot of people have asked what I ate on this trip.  We packed the food we needed for hiking (protein bars, granola, trail mix, nuts, etc). Thankfully, we had a full kitchen, so we ate breakfast in the hotel each morning.  Our breakfast consisted of eggs and oatmeal.  We left each morning after breakfast to go hiking so Meal 2 and Meal 3 (and sometimes Meal 4) were on the trail.  Once we were off the mountain we would go out for “dinner”.

If you are going on a trip, this post may help you with what to pack!

Which National Parks have you visited?  Have you ever been to Rocky Mountain National Park?  If so, what was your favorite part or hike?