I've been having so much fun hiking the trails of Central NC with my dad that I decided to start blogging about our adventures.  We were joined this weekend by two of my sisters and my niece.  The weather was perfect and the fall colors are starting to really show.  This days adventure was to Umstead Park in Raleigh.  It can be a bit repetitive (we did get to see a couple of deer!), but was a good place to start my sister out again since she is recovering from plantar fasciitis.  Thanks to Merrell trail shoes she didn't seem to have any serious problems!   This week we will venture back out to the Eno River.  I absolutely love this place!!  It seems like every trail is different terrain and a new beautiful view.  I've had a blast checking out the different trails with my dad!  The trails range from flat and pine covered to rocky with bridges or fording creeks.

 My mom thanked me the other day for going hiking with my dad.  If you think he looks happy on the trail you should have seen the smile on my face!  We are having such a great time not only getting out on the trails and finding new areas in Central NC, but also planning our backpacking trip this Spring!  I'm guessing my mom has already figured out that this probably won't be our only trip in the Spring :)  But seriously, I think we both are excited to be out of the house and in the great outdoors.  My parents started taking me camping at a very young age.  I'm not even sure if I was walking yet the first time they took me.  When I was young we would camp at Higgins Lake in Michigan.  After we moved to California we started camping in the Stanislaus Mountains.  The thing I miss the most about California are the mountains.  I'm glad that we have been exploring and finding so many beautiful places so close to home.