Sent To The Big House (Mountain)

Big House Mountain, VA *We have added the Big House Mountain hike in House Mountain Preserve to our list of the Best Hikes in the Southern Appalachians. It is a REALLY interesting hike in west-central Virginia. Note that there are several options to this hike and the one we ended up hiking was…somewhat on the creative side. There are easier […]

Hike the High Country

The Grayson Highlands, VA *We hiked the Grayson Highlands in April 2014 over a period of two consecutive days, first starting from the Mount Rogers Trailhead and later from Massie Gap in Grayson Highlands State Park. We covered a variety of trails on these hikes and saw virtually every part of the highlands, excepting the treed-in summit of Mt. Rogers […]

Damascus VA: Adventures In Trail Town, USA

Grayson Highlands and the Virginia Creeper Trail *Sylvia and I visited Damascus VA and vicinity in April 2014. Some things may have changed since so please check with the locals before heading out. But you will NOT be disappointed is all we can say. Located in the very far southwestern corner of Virginia is the town of Damascus. It is […]

A Trail to Fall For

  The Falls Lake Trail, Raleigh/Durham. NC *We had added the Falls Lake Trail to our list of recommended local hikes in the Raleigh/Durham area.. We often train here for the bigger adventures. Being an outdoors adventurer requires a willingness to travel long distances in search of the great adventures of life. Adventures don’t generally come to you, after all. […]

The Crossbow Islands: A Nautical Hijink

Islas Ballestas, Paracas, Peru *BecauseItzThere is primarily a hiking blog, but from time to time we do feature other types of outdoor adventures, including ‘nautical hijinx.’ The following nautical hijink occurred in 2015 as part of the same trip that included the Santa Cruz Trek. We hope you enjoy it! There is more to do in Peru besides hiking. After […]

Hummingbirds 101: The Basics of Backyard Birding

It’s a Fact, Hummingbirds are Cool **We’re getting ready to put out Hummingbird Feeder out for the spring…we expect to see the first bird in the next week or two. It has me thinking of birds, which means…I thought I’d perch on a different branch for this post…** BecauseItzThere is almost entirely a hiking blog, but sometimes we’ll indulge in […]

The Cross of the Condors

Colca Canyon, Peru: Part One, The Cross of the Condors At 1 am we rose groggily and prepared to depart our hotel. Close proximity to a cobblestone main street, through which traffic never stopped rolling, had denied us any real possibility of sleep. Not exactly how you want to start five days of rigorous hiking, but such is the way […]