Favorite Things: Day 27

Sam & Oliver playing on the beach at Sherando Lake

Favorite Things: Day 27 State Parks

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of camping at a place in the Blue Ridge Mountains called Sherando Lake. Camping is only $15 night (still) and the sites are private and shaded with easy access to restrooms and water. We'd go for hikes, rent a canoe, or swim in the lake that also has a nice sandy beach. For a family of 6 on limited income, it was an affordable and ideal vacation.

Devil's Lake in Wisconsin is a favorite place to camp and hike because of how much it reminds me of Sherando and it's proximity (about an hour 15 minutes from our home). We also like Governor Dodge, Lake Kegonsa (10 minutes away) and Indian Lake. For a paltry $25 park sticker fee, we can have year round access to all this free entertainment and exercise.

Most state parks were created by the CCC, a government program FDR founded to give out of work men jobs and to create a service for the people of our nation. I remember my mom telling me stories of my Grandpa Shomon hauling logs up steep hills to make steps and trails in various parks around the country and to this day, I think of him every time we find ourselves hiking one of these parks.

I'll be fulfilling a dream in two weeks when I take the boys camping at Sherando Lake for the first time!