For those that don’t know, there are 41 State Parks scattered around North Carolina. The State Park System put together a Passport Book Program to keep track of which ones you have visited. It really is a great idea and extremely helpful to get the word out on where to go. We recently finished our epic quest criss-crossing the state to visit every one of the parks. We loved doing this and learned so much about our state and our family. These lessons will go with us for the rest of our lives and we had so much fun learning them.

So, what did we learn?

North Carolina Is Truly Beautiful

We take it for granted how much beauty surrounds us as native North Carolinians. It is easy to look online at other places around the world and long to see them with your own eyes. When you do this though you can miss out on what is right outside your own back door. North Carolina has it all – it has unique landscapes, beautiful vegetation and animals, and wonderful people. It has a lot squeezed into it from the mountains to the sea.

We loved checking out the rock formations in and around Chimney Rock. It is a sight to look out over Lake Lure and Hickory Nut Gorge from the top of that monolith. Jockey’s Ridge is stunning. There are no other sand dunes like them anywhere near us and the sunset from the top is one of the most beautiful things we have witnessed. Weymouth Woods might not have been our favorite park but there is beauty in the giant pine forests that make up that part of the state. The wildlife in and around South Mountains make you feel like you are in a Disney movie.

We learned you can find beauty in so many different places. North Carolina is full of those places. The State Parks do an amazing job showcasing the unique beauty of North Carolina. Beauty is a good thing. Go find some beauty today.

It Is Good To Find Common Ground

One of the things that we loved the most was the amount of awesome people that we met visiting the parks. We had so many great conversations and got to know so many people. These people came from all different walks of life and it was great to see how something like getting out in the Parks System can unite people.

The North Carolina State Parks are truly diverse. The beach parks are different than the mountains, which are different than the Piedmont. All of the parks by themselves are pretty cool, but when you put them together they are amazing collectively. This is the same thing in life with people, there are a ton of different people, and they are awesome alone. But, when people come together you have something truly special. When you have unity in diversity you have something cool. This is what the parks do. They bring people together and give them common ground to start a conversation. We should do that more in life. Unity is good. Go find some common ground today.

We Should Work From Our Rest

When we started this quest we had the idea that it would be a good thing to do to rest after a long week of work. When the weekend came – hit the parks and unwind. About half way through it we noticed a change in us. We weren’t trying to get to the end of the week so we could rest. Instead, we were finding rest and retreat in nature and that energized us to work well through the next week. It is funny how rest is, some people find it lying in a bed or on a couch. We find it by getting out and doing something.

I think far too often we are just trying to get through whatever we are going through so we can enjoy the next big event we have coming up. When we do this we stop living in the moment and we forget all that is happening in the here and now. There is so much of life that we miss out on. The State Parks reminded us to slow down, take it all in, enjoy the here and now, and find rest in our circumstances. We learned what rest means and how it is so important to first be rested so that you can go out and work well.

This is a stressed out and anxious culture that we live in. We need more rest in our lives. That rest needs to have a purpose – so that you can work from it. Rest is good. Go find your rest today.

We Learned We Can Handle More Than We Think

People don’t give themselves enough credit. We are always our worst critic. When we traveled to all of these parks we ended up stretching ourselves. We hiked more miles than we thought we could. The heights that we climbed were higher and steeper than we might have wanted to do. We paddled until our arms felt like they were about to fall off. Though we were stretched we never broke. We got through it and made it. And we felt pretty good about ourselves for doing it!

Now, everyone is different. Your limit is different than our limit. But we all can be stretched. The North Carolina State parks are good like that. They have activities for every skill level. If you are a first-timer that is awesome, they have places that will stretch you. If you are a seasoned veteran, fantastic! They have places that will stretch you as well. The beautiful thing about being stretched is that you grow. Once you see what you are capable of, it leads you to new and exciting challenges just to grow all over again!

The North Carolina State Parks give you an awesome opportunity to challenge yourself. It is good to push yourself and see what you are made of. Challenges are good. Go challenge yourself today.

North Carolina Has Some Awesome History

One thing that was totally unexpected was the amount of history that we encountered as we were traveling to all of the State Parks. North Carolina has a ton of history and it is on display as you visit the parks. George Washington played a big part of the history of Dismal Swamp. Fort Macon played a part in the Civil War. Jones Lake was a special place for African-Americans in the segregated South. Mount Mitchell has a crazy story about how it came to be known as the tallest point east of the Mississippi. Thomas Jefferson’s family once owned the area around Mount Jefferson.

Every State Park has a great story behind it. We learned so many of these stories. The stories that they tell help tell the story of North Carolina. They played a part in shaping the state. It really is special to read and listen to the stories and see how they came to be. Stories are powerful tools. Go find one today.

There Are So Many Great Towns In North Carolina

Visiting all of the State Parks helped us learn more about all of the awesome little towns and big cities around the state. Having the Passport Book helped in planning day trips, weekend trips, or week-long trips. Checking out the parks caused us to check out parts of the state that we hadn’t really spent time in before. We learned there are so many great cities and towns in North Carolina.

For instance, when we went to Medoc Mountain we got to visit the town of Halifax. We had never been there but we fell in love with it. This is the place that is known as the “Birthplace of Freedom” because it is where the Halifax Resolves were written. This was the first official action by a colony calling for independence (I told you, there is history). This town only has 234 people living in it, so we never would have visited if we didn’t check out all of the parks.

We tried to stop by all of the small towns that we could as we were going through the parks. There are so many charming places and welcoming faces. We loved meeting the locals and talking to them about their towns. It is cool to see how proud people are of where they come from, and they love talking their towns up. If you do this quest, don’t miss out on this great opportunity this allows you. Community is a good thing. Go find some today.

We Learned About Each Other

Our family is pretty tight. We love each other deeply and care for each other immensely. We have been together for a while and we know each other pretty well. However, over the course of the last 15 months we learned even more about each other.

A drive from Murphy to Manteo is 544 miles on Highway 64. That means North Carolina is pretty big and there is plenty of time to drive and talk. We had so many great conversations about life. We talked about our hopes, dreams, fears, and memories. Sometimes we just sat in silence and thought about the deep things in life only to talk through them later on down the road. That is the beauty of a road trip. As you wander around in the car your mind starts to wander around as well. It is a great way to think through life. We think people need to get in the car and go for a drive more often.

It is good to have meaningful conversations with people who are close to you. You can do this on the trail, in a boat, or driving down the road. It helps you be a better parent, a better friend, a better spouse. The parks gave us room to do this. Opening up to each other is a good thing, it brings you together. Go and grow closer to someone today.

We Learned It Is Good To Unplug

We understand the irony of this one. There is a Go The Adventure Way blog, Facebook page, and Instagram account (make sure you are following all of those by the way). Our family has just about all of the modern day conveniences of technology. We use it everyday and rely on it. However, it is a really important thing for us to get away from it all from time to time. Being connected to the outside world can cause you to become disconnected to the world right around you. This can even mean the people in your own home or your closest friend groups. We are more connected yet more lonely than ever.

This quest caused us to put the phones down. Sure, we took pictures on the trails, but we made sure that when we were in it we were truly in it. We learned to be present where we were. Technology tends to blind us to what is around us. We didn’t go out looking for the best shot. We saw the beauty of nature and tried to take a picture of that.

Our hope with this blog is to show you that you can find wonder and adventure in everyday life. The best way to do this is to put the technology down, get off of the couch, and go and do it. Unplugging is a good thing. Go unplug and do something grand today.

Adventure Is All Around You

We would love to travel the world. Seriously, we have the travel bug and we don’t think that will ever go away. We would love to see all of the exotic locations this world has to offer. Living out of a suitcase sounds good to us. We want to see and experience all the things. We want to learn and understand different cultures and meet new and interesting people. The thing about that is that we can experience all of that everyday right around us if we have the right perspective.

We learned adventure is most definitely all around us. We found it exploring Stone Mountain. It was there walking around the swamp of Merchants Millpond. We experienced it walking along the Eno River. We found it hiking Grandfather Mountain. Whether we were paddling at Morrow Mountain or Jordan Lake we were surrounded by it. We found it staring at the beautiful Rainbow Falls at Gorges. It was all around us and is all around us.

Adventure is everywhere. It gives life meaning and purpose and helps you escape the boring story that the world is trying to sell you. Adventure is a beautiful and glorious thing. Go the adventure way today.

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