baby bjorn

Durant Nature Preserve

by

IMG_8283In early Fall we headed out to Durant Nature Preserve with some friends to enjoy their weekly Wee Walkers program (Thursdays from 10-11am).  Having never visited Durant Nature Preserve before I’m glad I attended an organized program that guides you and the kiddos on a short walk through the park because this nature park is huge!  Durant Nature Preserve is located at 8305 Camp Durant Rd in North Raleigh (north entrance is located off Camp Durant Rd and south entrance is located off Spottswood St).  According to the COR’s website, this park was originally known as Camp Durant and was the headquarters for the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts until 1979 when the City of Raleigh purchased the land from the scouts and turned it into a nature park.  We parked in the parking lot near the park office at the north entrance.  Once everyone arrived (about 10-15 moms/kids total), we set off on our nature walk with our super friendly and knowledgeable guide.  For those with babies or early walkers, I’d recommend wearing the babes in a carrier as most of the trails are unpaved.

IMG_8271We hiked along the eastern side of the park following the Pine Ridge Connector, Pine Ridge Trail and Lakeside unpaved trails.  Our guide stopped several times along the trail to point out a variety of flora and fauna.  We saw a little bit of everything: wasp nests, leaf poppers, water striders, water frogs, mushrooms, mosquito fish, poplar tulip leaves, muscadine grapes, dogwood berries and a real turtle!  The kids (ranging in ages from under 1 to 5 years old) were most impressed by the turtle walking along the trail, but it’s been fun to see how Ashley gets excited when she sees dogwood berries in the backyard!  The neat part about the Wee Walkers program is that each program is different because it’s based on what’s going on in nature that week and it’s FREE…what a deal!

After the Wee Walkers program we explored the playground area and had a picnic lunch.  The nearby shelters were very muddy due to the recent heavy rains, but we made do.  The playground is for ages 2-12 and has a few slides, monkey bars, climbing ladders, a large sandbox with teeter totters and diggers, two tot swings, and two regular swings.  Also close to the playground area is sand volleyball, basketball and the public restrooms.

This post simply scratches the surface of all there is to explore at Durant Nature Preserve.  If you want more than just hiking, this seems to be a great park for camping, biking, birding and so much more.  I look forward to coming back again soon!

More Resources:

Thumbs up: Wee Walkers program, variety of hiking trails

Thumbs down: signage throughout park (we got lost heading back to our cars)

[Show as slideshow]

Falls Lake Hike Day Hike A: Raven Ridge Rd towards Dam

by

img_4946Every New Year’s Day, NC hosts First Day Hikes all over their state parks to promote a healthy start to the year. Even though the organized First Day Hikes didn’t exactly work with our kiddo schedules we drove up for a short hike of our own near Falls Lake.

Falls Lake is a state recreation area just 10 miles north of Raleigh with 7 individual parks, a 12,000-acre lake and 26,000 acres of woodlands.  For our hike, we chose one of the southeastern fingers to explore.  The portion of the trail we hiked is from Day Hike A (from Shinleaf Rec Area to Falls Lake Dam) of the Mountains to Sea Trail.  Mark Edelstein provides a very detailed description of the hiking trails through Falls Lake, which I used to help navigate the area.  We hiked a portion of this trail heading west to east.

img_4947To find the gravel pull-off parking area (noted at the 3.5mi mark in Section 1) we drove north on Falls of Neuse Rd and turned left on Raven Ridge Rd and parked along the side of the road shortly after passing Annie Wilkerson Nature Park.  After getting everyone strapped in their gear, we set off by following the small sign pointing east towards Falls Lake Dam, which is 3.5 miles away.

This is a very moderate hike with small hills and a fairly wide trail throughout.  It is a heavily wooded area, giving a lot of shade to the trail.  Most of this section also closely follows much of the lake, so there are several lake inhabitants and small waterfalls to discover along the way (great for puddle stomping during summer time).  We also passed a trail entrance into Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Park, which happened to be closed for the New Year holiday, but would be fun to incorporate into a short hike.

We only hiked about 2.4 total miles that day and didn’t make it to Falls Lake Dam, but I’m looking forward to starting at the dam and heading west on our next hike through Falls Lake.

Resources:

  • list of day hikes through Falls Lake as compiled by the Mountains to Sea Trail campaign
  • Detailed hiking descriptions from Falls Lake Dam to Raven Ridge Rd
  • Falls Lake map (although not detailed enough for hiking trails)

Thumbs up: views along stream, clear hiking signage along trail, great shade

Thumbs down: planning a hike in Falls Lake using NC Parks online resources (use the Mountains to Sea Trail site instead)

[Show as slideshow]

Joslin Gardens

by

Bill being in Blacksburg this past weekend meant that Ashley and I were on our own for a girl’s weekend!  Years ago, a girl’s weekend would’ve been much different than what it is today, but nevertheless we had a fun weekend.

img_1037First we visited the Joslin Gardens in Raleigh.  The gardens were part of a private residence that Mr. & Mrs. Joslin donated to the city and established the City of Oaks Foundation.  The gardens sit on a 4+ acre lot at 2431 West Lake Dr.  Not knowing what to expect once we arrived, I carried Ashley in the baby bjorn, which proved to be the right choice.  The paths throughout the property were very clear, but narrow.  There is a small stream running through the rolling hills on the property, so we had several bridges and steps to walk on.

img_1038We started the self-guided tour by heading north along the trail through the pine woodland area.  There were several helpful maps highlighting the suggested tours throughout the gardens.  I was amazed at how many plants and shrubs were identified.  We slowly made our way over the rolling hills, across bridges, around the streams and eventually up to the formal gardens next to the house.  The formal gardens were my favorite, maybe because they had the most flowers in bloom, but also because it seemed very whimsical.  The pergolas were covered in vines with new rose buds, the gorgeous irises were in full bloom, and the vegetable garden was in the middle of preparing for a busy summer.

It was pretty amazing to witness all the flowers, plants, and shrubs this couple had cultivated over the years.  It truly is a secret garden in the middle of an enchanting city.

Carrying Ashley up and over the gardens exhausted me, so we headed down to the Historic Oakwood area for an early lunch. Ever since I can remember first spotting the restaurant, I’ve been wanting to try Side Street Restaurant.  It’s an adorable neighborhood restaurant with a great selection of sandwiches and desserts.  Ashley was an angel and devoured her first grilled cheese sandwich.  It was very much the perfect mother-daughter lunch spot!

A lot of what Ashley and I did on Saturday morning reminded me so much of my grandma, Mimi.  Maybe it was the quiet creek flowing through the gardens of the Joslin residence; Mimi was infamous in her neighborhood for having a gorgeous water feature and surrounding it with her neighbors.  Or maybe it was the gorgeous spring weather; Mimi’s birthday was April 1st and until a few years ago, she made an annual trip with my aunt to visit us during this time of the year. Or maybe it was the neighborhood cafe with its white-linen tablecloths and regular customers that Ashley and me had lunch at; Mimi loved getting to know her servers and would’ve loved Side Street’s selection of sandwiches.

For more information about the inspiring work Mr. & Mrs. Joslin have done for the City of Raleigh read about their 2011 induction into the Raleigh Hall of Fame.

Thumbs up: quiet girlie weekends, peacefulness of the gardens,

Thumbs down: wished the gardens were open at the peak of the Camelia blooms

Umstead Park – Sal’s Branch Trail

by

Over the years I’ve spent a bit of time biking (if you call it that) the Umstead Park trails between the NC Museum of Art and the Harrison Ave entrance. Having a new baby makes it a bit tough to get back into exercising, but when our hiking enthusiast friends from Hokie country, Greg and Randi, came to visit in May I made it a point to include Umstead Park in our weekend plans!

We were looking for a trail with some good views, shade, and moderate mileage, so we opted for Sal’s Branch Trail (only 2.75 miles).  To get to Sal’s Branch Trail, turn into the park at 8801 Glenwood Avenue (Route 70) and continue on Umstead Parkway bearing right after the Visitor’s Center.  We parked in the shady parking lot that is used for several of the hiking trails.  We headed into the clearing above the parking lot in search of Sal’s Branch Trail.  Despite walking around for awhile trying to find the beginning of the trail, we eventually found the trail head and began our adventure!

The baby bjorn is a must-have for hiking on the trails
Use extreme caution when placing babies into the baby bjorn
View of the clearing above the parking lot
Hiking the Umstead trails is great exercise for the BTs
And we're off....

Shortly into our hike, we walked by Big Lake (no, I’m not making this name up).  Feel free to fish or kayak, but don’t plan on any swimming as it’s not allowed.

Once you pass Big Lake, your journey will take you on a moderately sloped and well cleared trail.  There were quite a few roots to keep an eye on, but we were able to successfully hike the trail with a baby and BTs without tripping.  This is a great trail to take with a baby or young children and dogs as you’ll pass the Visitor’s Center during your hike, which offers a great resting spot or quick bathroom stop (some of the nicest bathrooms I’ve seen).  Besides the scenic views around Big Lake there’s not much else to see other than the typical NC vegetation along the trail. However, Sal’s Branch Trail is great for getting some exercise with the baby and doggies.

Thumbs up: clear trail, visitor’s center, scenic views, doggie and baby bonding

Thumbs down: signage near parking lot