Marshes & Campground at Huntington Beach (Murrells Inlet, SC)
Peaceful
We had nice walks along the boardwalks near the marshes at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. The boardwalks went out over the marshes where you could see a variety of wildlife and enjoy the beautiful weather. There was at one point a nature center, but it was currently being rebuilt when we were there. It will be another great addition to the park once it is complete. There were not a lot of bugs in the evenings when we went for walks which was really nice. It was a good place to visit, explore, and spend time together with the family.
The Huntington Beach campgrounds were nice. We had electricity and water hookups at our campsite. There was only one trash dumpster in the whole campground and it is near the visitor center / gift store so depending on where your site is located you may have a good hike to get rid of your trash. The bathrooms only had 2 showers and there were not a lot of bathhouses on the campground. We went after school started so it was not the busiest season but there were still lines to get into the showers most days. Overall it was a great park and we enjoyed it. The biggest improvement would be in the bathhouses, they could have been a little cleaner and larger.
Sunsets were beautiful
We stayed at campsite 111. It was gravel and level
Nice walk at dusk through the marshlands
Awesome boardwalk that takes you through a good bit of the marshes
Sun is going down
The clouds looked pretty neat
Enjoying the last few rays
Sunset reflecting off the clouds
Quiet day at the marshes
Last rays of the sun going over the horizon
Huntington Beach State Park Chairs
Love this sign!
TrackRock Stable (Blairsville, GA)
We specifically picked Trackrock Campground as one of the places to stay so we could go to their stables. Our girls love horses. When we booked our campsite we also booked a 2 hour trail ride. They have about 65 horses on the ranch, 45 are owned by Trackrock and the other 20 are ones that people are boarding at their location.
The horses each had their own individual personalities. The trail was a little tight and steep in some places (bushes would brush up against you) and my horse, Tango, enjoyed bouncing from tree to tree. They had a lot of different trails you could ride on depending on the weather and wildlife in the area. There were bear tracks on one section of the trail and our horses were a little skittish in that area so we took another path.
We had 9 guests and 2 guides on our trail ride. We walked, trotted, and cantered with our horses. The trail went through the woods, meadows, streams and more. It was a hot day, but the majority of the ride was in the shade. At one point it started raining, however, it didn’t last very long so we didn’t get too wet. The horses were well trained yet had a lot of spunk. Thankful for the opportunity to go for our ride at Trackrock Stables. The kids LOVED it!
Karlie riding Chef
Jake on Carlos and Brina on Felipe
Enjoying the trail ride!
Our crew in one of the meadows.
Are we having fun yet!?
Trackrock Stables
Travel & Vacation: Big Thompson Indian Village (Colorado)
Big Thompson Indian Village
As I was going back over a few pictures from our 2012 trip to Colorado I noticed we had a handful from our stop at Big Thompson Indian Village. We made a stop at the Big Thompson Indian Village on our way back down the mountain from Estates Park, CO. Unfortunately, after being there for several decades Big Thompson Indian Village was destroyed in the 2013 flood.
The only thing left after the 2013 flood waters went through was the sign. Big Thompson Indian Village was a fun place to stop, stretch your legs, browse the gift shop, check out their huge tepee, and more. The store had been there for many years, but we had no idea that the next time we were in the area that it would be completely gone. Floods can wipe out many homes and businesses very quickly. At this time the owners do not plan on restoring the Big Thompson Indian Village so we may not be able to stop there again, but we are thankful for the chance to visit when we did!
Inside the tepee at the Big Thompson Indian Village
The kids LOVED the giant tepee. They thought it would be super neat to camp out in it!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Beaver Meadows and Road Trip (Colorado Rocky Mountains)
Cool rock formation next to Beaver Meadows
On our road trip through the Colorado Rocky Mountains we made several stops along the way to explore. One of the stops was at Beaver Meadows. The girls did ranger training and located all the items on the checklist. We enjoyed exploring at Beavers Meadows for a little bit. It is a beautiful area.
Beautiful Scenery
On the road again through the Rocky Mountains. The red sign shows the fire restrictions. They have had some big fires in the Rocky Mountains over the past few years.
Look at that curve in the road! We will not be speeding down this mountain!
This is going to be fun!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Alpine Visitor’s Center & Trail Ridge Road (Colorado Rocky Mountains)
We just came up that road
It was the kids first time in the Rocky Mountains so we decided to take them up Trail Ridge Road. We stopped at the Alpine Visitor’s Center and the Trail Ridge Gift Store to explore and take in the views. The Alpine Visitor’s Center is on Fall River Pass at the junction of Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road. It is open daily, however, Trail Ridge Road is only open usually May to October due to the large amount of heavy snow it gets during the winter months.
At the Alpine Visitor Center you can see amazing views of the tundra. There are some educational items to look at in the visitor center as well as a bookstore, gift shop, and snack bar. The snack bar at the Alpine Visitor’s Center is the only restaurant in the park so if you need something to eat this is where you need to stop.
The Alpine Visitor Center is along Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge Road extends from Estates Park to Grand Lake. It climbs up over 11,000 feet and has 11 miles where the treeline ends. At the treeline you will often still see snow in the summer time, trees twisted from the winds and more. Along Trail Ridge Road you will see evergreen forests, tundra with no trees in sight, wildlife, wildflowers, and probably even some snow all from your car. As kids we used to go up past the tree line in the summer time and have a snowball fight in our shorts and tshirts. Which is fun for awhile then everyone is heading quickly back to the car to defrost.
Neat Activity for Kids: On the way up my Aunt and Uncle put a sealed bag of potato chips between the girls seats. We didn’t say anything to them other than we are sitting the chips here so they won’t get crunched before our picnic. As we made our way further up into the mountains the bag began to inflate. The girls noticed about halfway up that the chip bag seemed to be growing larger (like an expanding balloon). We didn’t make a big deal about it, but before we reached the top we heard a sudden “pop” in the car. The girls immediately insisted that the potato chip bag had burst open. Why do you think the chip bag expanded and popped open? When packaged the bag of chips are sealed air tight to help preserve the chips longer. When you go to higher altitudes the air is thinner which means there is less air pressure on the outside of your chip bag, however, the air inside the bag remains at the original higher air pressure. This causes the chip bag to expand until the pressure both on the inside and outside of the bag are the same again. Sometimes, like in our case, this will cause the bag of chips to actually explode or open when traveling to higher altitudes. It is a fun activity to do with the kids (especially if you don’t say anything to them before hand). They thought it was awesome!
Wonder what animal lives in this cave….
Looking out over the mountains from the Alpine Visitor Center. As you can see from this picture there are no trees on the mountains because it’s above the tree line. You will also see there is still snow even though this picture was taken in July.
This area gets a lot of snow. Even in the summer there is still snow sitting on this mountain.
Rocky Mountains and it’s amazing natural rock displays
A stop at the Alpine Visitor Center
Beautiful green valley below the bare mountain tops
It was colder up higher and still had areas with quite a bit of snow on the mountains around us.
As we were looking around at the Alpine Visitor Center it got dark and cloudy outside. Only a few minutes later we were getting hit with a rain storm. It rained part of the way back down Trail Ridge Road, but after awhile it was bright and sunny again.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Twin Sisters Mountain (Colorado Rocky Mountains)
Twin Sisters Mountain
The girls thought it was awesome that there was a mountain in the Colorado Rocky Mountains called the Twin Sisters Mountain! The Twin Sisters Mountain has an elevation of over 11,000 feet above sea level. The mountain can be seen from several locations, however, the twin peaks can only be seen from certain viewpoints. It got its name because at the top of the mountain there are two almost identically high peaks, therefore, it was named Twin Sisters. It had a couple other names, Tahosa and Lily Mountain, but in 1911 the Geographic Board decided to permanently name it “Twin Sisters Mountain”.
Shortly after being named officially Twin Sisters Mountain they put in a trail, lookout station, and ranger cabin. Now there are a number of hiking trails to choose from on or near Twin Sisters Mountain. There are easy to follow trails and a variety of hikes for any level. Although there is no formal campground actually on Twin Sisters Mountain there is one located nearby at Long’s Peak Campground at 9,400ft which is open year round and there are 26 sites.
Twin Sisters Mountain at 11, 428 feet
Looking out over towards Twin Sisters Mountain
Beautiful valley between us and Twin Sisters Mountain
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Recipes: Campfire Toasted Portobello Mushrooms & Cinnamon Apples
Food is prepped and ready to be cooked for dinner over the campfire
First we shared our Campfire Steak & Kielbasa main dish. Last week we shared with you our Campfire Garlic Bread. Now this week we get to do another side dish – Portobello Mushrooms as well as desert – Cinnamon Apples.
Are you seeing a theme this month? Maybe I am gearing up for a another fun family camping trip!? The only probably is figuring out when to fit it in with all the other fun stuff going on! Our family really does enjoy a good camping trip or fire pit meal! It is fun to try new things or take items we used to only do on the grill and make them over a fire. By the way, all of these recipes work beautifully on a grill too so feel free to cook up these goodies on it instead.
Campfire Toasted Portobello Mushrooms & Cinnamon Apples
A campfire is not the same without desert. While we do really enjoy the sweet chocolate goodness of toasted marshmallows and s’mores this time around we tried something new. Campfire Toasted Cinnamon Apples and they turned out crispy, sweet, and delicious!Servings: 4Ingredients
- 2 Portobello Mushroom Tops
- 1 tbsp Italian Salad Dressing
- 2 Sliced Apples Granny Smith or other Baking Apple
- 1 tbsp Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- Wooden or Metal Skewers
Instructions
- Soak the wooden skewers in water for about 5 to 10 minutes. This allows them to not burn up once over the campfire. If you have metal skewers these can be used immediately.
- While the skewers are soaking in water. Drizzle a touch of the Italian Salad Dressing over the outside of the portobello mushroom and the remaining tablespoon amount on the inside of the mushroom and allow to sit inside the cap to marinate it until it goes onto the campfire.
- Stick the skewers through the portobello mushroom. Two skewers per piece works a little better when turning over the fire, but 1 will work too.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon & sugar mixture over the outside of the apple slices.
- Stick the skewers through the apple slices. We put 2 slices on each skewer.
- Place the portobello mushroom (do the top side of the mushroom first so the bowl with the extra Italian Salad Dressing is facing up and continuing to season the mushroom as it cooks) on the campfire. Cook until slight lines start appearing on the mushroom and flip once. Depending on how hot the fire is it should only take 1 to 3 minutes per side when you see the Italian Salad Dressing start to boil or bubble inside the mushroom cap it is time to flip it.
- Place the apple slices on the campfire. Cook until the apple juices start bubbling and flip once. Depending on how hot the fire is it should only take 1 to 3 minutes per side
Mushroom seasoned with Italian Salad Dressing is ready to go onto the fire
Cooking the portobello mushroom and cinnamon apple slices together
Almost done, both have been flipped and about ready to come off the fire! Smells wonderful!
Recipes: Campfire Garlic Bread
Smells really good! Starting for flip the garlic bread!
What’s better than traditional garlic bread as a side dish? Campfire Garlic Bread of course! The mixture of garlic with the hint of fire crispness makes it all the better. The fire will give it an extra flavor too. Not to mention it smells amazing as it is cooking.
Whether you planning your next camping trip or staying home. It is super easy to make and a perfect addition to your camping or backyard bonfire meal. Enjoy!
Campfire Garlic Bread
Whether you planning your next camping trip or staying home. It is super easy to make and a perfect addition to your camping or backyard bonfire meal.Servings: 4Ingredients
- 1/2 loaf French Bread Loaf
- Butter or Margarine
- Lawry's Garlic Salt (or similar)
- Wooden or Metal Skewers
Instructions
- Soak the wooden skewers in water for about 5 to 10 minutes. This allows them to not burn up once over the campfire. If you have metal skewers these can be used immediately.
- While the skewers are soaking in water. Slice one inch thick pieces off the loaf of french bread. These are pretty thick so we usually make one per person. Butter both side of the bread and sprinkle on the garlic salt.
- Stick the skewers through the bread. Two skewers per piece works a little better when turning over the fire, but 1 will work too.
- Place the garlic bread on the campfire. Cook until slight lines start appearing on the buttered bread and flip once. Depending on how hot the fire is it should only take 1 to 3 minutes per side.
Notes
Makes between 3 to 6 pieces of garlic bread based on the size and shape of your french bread.
Garlic Bread ready to go on the campfire
Recipes: Campfire Steak & Kielbasa
Cooking Steak & Kielbasa over the fire pit
In South Carolina the weather is starting to cool off just a little bit. During the days it is still toasty, but the evenings are beginning to have more coolness as the Fall season draws nearer. Since the nights are starting to cool off the weekends are a perfect time to go camping as a family. One of the fun adventures (as the kids say) about camping is making all your food over the campfire.
We don’t go camping as often as we like. Life gets busy, but it is fun when we can get away. If you are like us and can’t always get away you can still enjoy a great campfire meal in your own back yard. When we have a yard clean up day we will often end the day with a campfire meal and relaxing together as a family. There is just something tasty about a meal cooked over a campfire!
Campfire Steak & Kielbasa
One of the fun adventures (as the kids say) about camping is making all your food over the campfire. There is just something tasty about a meal cooked over a campfire!Servings: 4Ingredients
- 1 lb Flank Steak Cut into strips
- 1 package Kielbasa (12-14 ounces)
- 1/4 cup Italian Salad Dressing
- Wooden or Metal Skewers
Instructions
- Marinate the steak in 1/4 cup of Italian Salad Dressing for 30 minutes or more. This gives the steak a nice flavor and seals in the juices when it is being cooked over the campfire. To avoid taking the Italian Salad Dressing with you on a camping trip just place the steaks in a ziplock bag with the Italian Salad Dressing and it will be ready to go on the campfire anytime.
- Soak the wooden skewers in water for about 5 to 10 minutes. This allows them to not burn up once over the campfire. If you have metal skewers these can be used immediately.
- Stick the skewers through the Steaks and Kielbasa.
- Place the steaks and kielbasa on the campfire. Cook and flip once until it is done to your liking. If you like rare steak it will only take a minute or two per side over a hot fire. If you like it well done it will take a little longer. The Kielbasa’s will cook fast over a hot fire or bed of coals too.
Sizzling over the campfire
The meat is ready!
Hiking Through the Woods
The girls love going for hikes in the woods!
Recently the girls and spent a couple hours outside having a picnic, hiking through the woods, climbing on trees, raking our campsite, playing with the animals, and more fun. Thankful for some quiet and relaxing time with them out in nature. They love spending time outside. Hiking through the woods is always an adventure with them!
Skipper is always willing to join us!
Karlie hanging out by the big tree!
Waiting patiently for us as the girls play around and climb a couple trees.
Enjoying our time outside!
Hiking deeper into the woods!
Raking and trimming the thorny bushes at our old campsite. The girls are ready to go camping again!
Brina having a blast!
