Aw!

We’re going with an animal theme this week. Turtles at the coast, bears and other hearty survivors in the mountains ... and would you believe we’re celebrating the squirrel in the Piedmont?

Coast

Ever been walking along the coast and come across an area marked off with yellow tape? Holy crustacean killing! you think. Actually, the area has probably been roped off to protect a sea turtle nest. Sea turtles are revered at the coast and you can find out why this Saturday and Sunday when the rangers at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area talk turtle at Turtle Talk. Some of the critter’s mysteries will be unveiled and you can find out more about the conservation effort behind that yellow tape.

Logistics: The program is both days, at 2:30 p.m., in the park’s Exhibit Room. No fee, find out more about Fort Fisher here, more about sea turtles here.

Weekend forecast: Highs in the mid-60s, 30-40 percent chance of rain. True, the program is indoors, but afterward you'll want to take a hike on the intriguing Hermit Trail.

Bears love music with their dinner.

Piedmont

I will refrain from mentioning the number of their kind that I have inadvertently hit on my bike (7) and move right to the fact that Saturday is National Squirrel Appreciation Day. Yes, a day to celebrate what Charlotte’s Reedy Creek Nature Center refers to as “adorable mammals,” what we refer to as neurotic nut-hiding nitwits. And celebrate sciurus obnoxious they will at Reedy Creek, from 2-3 p.m. Saturday. “We'll feed them, read about them, and celebrate all that is squirrelly about those squirrels!” exclaims an excited park. If that sounds like a good excuse to get out and explore the woods, the particulars follow.

The particulars: Saturday, Jan. 21, 2-3 p.m. at the Reedy Creek Nature Center. It’s free, but registration is requested, by calling 704.432.6460. More about the event here.

Saturday forecast: High of 59, 30 percent chance of rain.

Reckon there's a squirrel in that pic-a-nic basket?

Mountains

Do you know how a bear might celebrate National Squirrel Appreciation Day? By having one for dinner (that’s “for,” not “over for”). Harsh! you think? Actually, that’s survival. So what else to animals do to survive, especially to survive a harsh winter like the ones often suffered in the animal kingdom at Mount Jefferson State Natural Area? Find out Saturday at 2 p.m. on an Animal Adaptations Hike atop Mount Jefferson.

Logistics: Program is Saturday at 2 p.m. Free, no registration required. For more info, go here.

Saturday forecast: High in the mid-40s, 50 percent chance of rain.

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Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

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A family 5K can be enchanting for the kids.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, sponsored by the American Heart Association and William J. Clinton Foundation and dedicated to battling childhood obesity, has issued eight ways families can get fit together. We list those eight ways below and go one step further, suggesting specific ways you can make this happen NOW! Meaning this week now.

• Take a walk. Stroll together after a family meal or walk around the mall when it's cold or raining. Just walking in your neighborhood is great exercise; as we mentioned yesterday, living in North Carolina means your neighborhood may be a little more interesting than you think. And if your kids think walking is boring, bring along some props to liven things up. When our kids were smaller, we’d often set out for a neighborhood “walk” with skateboards, rollerblades, a Ripstik and a Trikke, swapping toys along the way.
• Choose an outing. Spend a weekend afternoon going to a pool, skating rink or basketball court. Right now, with winterlike temperatures, a good bet in this part of the country is a visit to your local North Carolina State Park. At Crowders Mountain near Charlotte, for instance, you can scramble about at The Boulders access area. In Wilmington there’s Carolina Beach, where there’s a unique collection of carnivorous plants. The Triangle has miles of hiking at Eno River and Umstead, while the Triad has great views from atop Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock.
• Take breaks. Try to fit in 10 to 15 minutes of rigorous physical activity several times a day. At our house, we call it, “Hey kids, let’s go play in the street!” time. We live at the end of a cul de sac, the perfect arena for kickball and Whiffleball and, more often, a combination of the two.
• Team up. Have the family sign up for a group run, walk or car wash. You don’t have to run a 5K, you just need to finish it. And even if you don’t think you can walk 3.1 miles, odds are that once you get caught up in the pomp, pagentry and comradery of a typical 5K, the miles will pass before you know it. Upcoming 5Ks around the state (we’ll give you a couple weeks of training to get ready): 4th Annual Sweetheart 5K and 1-Mile Family Fun Run, Rocky Mount, Feb. 4; 32nd Annual Run for the Roses, Raleigh, Feb. 11, Frostbike 5K, 10K and 1-Mile Family Fun Run, Hendersonville, Feb. 19, St. Leo’s School 5K, Winston-Salem, March 17, Winter Classic 8K and Kids Run, Charlotte, January 28.
• Limit TV. Select which shows kids will watch ahead of time and limit screen time to just those programs. A good first step: No screens in your kids’ rooms.
• Join a club. Buy a family membership to a town recreation center, YMCA or health club. Better yet, join a family-fitness-oriented Meetup group. And if you can’t find one in your area, start one. Start the process here.
• Learn something new. Have family members take a lesson in an activity, such as martial arts, fencing or gymnastics. Opportunities abound at your local parks and rec department. In Raleigh, for instance, you can learn the above as well as how to scale a mountain or right a flipped kayak, among a myriad of other things. Track down your local parks and rec department here.
• Chores count. Working together around the house or in the yard is another way families can stay active. Yes, kids, it’s true: Working around the house can be good for you. And parents, you can use this as an alternative if the kids balk at taking a hike or a Whiffleball break.

Scrub the toilet vs. playing kickball? We’re guessing you won’t have a problem.

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Today: Plan your New Year’s Day Hike

Today’s tip is more about Sunday than today, but today is when you need to figure out which New Year’s Day Hike you plan to attend. A good place to start your planning is at America’s State Parks, where you’ll find a rundown of all First Day Hikes at the nation’s state parks, including 27 in North Carolina. Live in Charlotte? Head to the Boulders Access area of Crowders Mountain State Park at 10 a.m. for a 10-mile hike to King’s Mountain State Park in South Carolina. In the Triad, head to Pilot Mountain State Park at 11 a.m, for a skyline hike on the Jomeokee Trail. In the Triangle, there’s a 10 a.m. hike at Umstead State Park (not to mention the annual Eno River Association New Year’s Day Hike at Eno River State Park).

Find out more about these hikes and others at state parks around the state by going here.

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Previously in our Holiday Escapes series ...

Dec. 19: Go paddling
Dec. 20: Hit your neighborhood park
Dec. 21: Climbing the walls
Dec. 22: Take a guided hike
Dec. 23: An educated walk
Monday: Go play in a parking lot
Tuesday: I spy a bufflehead
Wednesday: Explore your neighborhood
Thursday: Explore the winter woods

Today: Explore the winter woods

You may think there’s nothing to see in the forest come winter. In fact, there could be more. True, the leaves are gone, the wildflowers in retreat, and a good number of critters are chilling — literally. But what is out is exposed and so much easier to see in the barren woods. Train your eye to pick up on what nature doesn’t have to hide come winter at a ranger-led hike such as the one today at 2 p.m. at Fayetteville’s Lake Rim Park, 2214 Tar Kiln Drive. Advises the park: “Bring binoculars to view birds and learn about a variety of evergreen plants that bring color to the forest even in winter.” It’s free.

* * *

Previously in our Holiday Escapes series ...

Dec. 19: Go paddling
Dec. 20: Hit your neighborhood park
Dec. 21: Climbing the walls
Dec. 22: Take a guided hike
Dec. 23: An educated walk
Monday: Go play in a parking lot
Tuesday: I spy a bufflehead
Wednesday: Explore your neighborhood

Today: Explore your neighborhood

One of the many great things about living in North Carolina is you don’t need to go far to find adventure. Some of the best adventures I’ve had with the kids have been, literally, right out our front door, where at the end of our cul de sac a creek emerges from a storm drain and winds for perhaps a quarter mile before feeding into the headwaters of Walnut Creek. It’s all engulfed in a tangle of floodplain forest that hides I-40 just to the east, our neighborhood just to the west. It’s an oasis we retreat to when time doesn’t allow a longer adventure.

Odds are there’s a similar escape in your neighborhood. Start by donning some grubby clothes and shoes, then looking for a floodplain where developers are prohibited from building. There, my friends, is your adventure. Take a backpack with snacks and water, a camera, binoculars if you have them, a length of rope (who knows?) and maybe a drawing pad and pencils to capture the magic in abstract. And don’t forget a compass: Even in the seemingly smallest area it’s easy to get discombobulated.

* * *

Previously in our Holiday Escapes series ...

Dec. 19: Go paddling
Dec. 20: Hit your neighborhood park
Dec. 21: Climbing the walls
Dec. 22: Take a guided hike
Dec. 23: An educated walk
Monday: Go play in a parking lot
Tuesday: I spy a bufflehead

Today: I spy a bufflehead

Great blue heron, spotted earlier this month at Jordan Lake.

Kids are easily distracted: Throwing a tantrum over a new toy not living up to expectations (specifically, expectations virtually assured by Saturday morning TV cartoon advertising)? Look! Shinny thing! Or, for our purposes today, Look! An American bald eagle, once on the verge of distinction now making a heroic comeback and, in 2007, removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants! Kids love discovering stuff, and this time of year there’s no better place to discover stuff with wings than at a local, sizable, lake. Today, for instance, at Jordan Lake on the southern fringes of the Triangle, join ranger Steve McMurray for an hour of waterfowl ID at Jordan Lake. Spotting scopes and expertise provided in this free program, which commences at 9 a.m. at the Ebenezer Church Recreation Area.

A fine activity, btw, with or without expert assistance. Pick up a guidebook at your local library, grab the binos, head to your local (sizable) lake and see what you can see.

* * *

Previously in our Holiday Escapes series ...

Dec. 19: Go paddling
Dec. 20: Hit your neighborhood park
Dec. 21: Climbing the walls
Dec. 22: Take a guided hike
Dec. 23: An educated walk
Monday: Go play in a parking lot

Today: Go play in a parking lot

Today, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Cliffs of the Neuse State Park near Goldsboro invites you to come and play — in its parking lots. Located on a bluff overlooking the Neuse River, Cliffs of the Neuse is a marvelous outdoor playground with 892 acres of both Sandhills and Piedmont forest to romp through. Yet today, it’s their paved parking lots that the park touts — and the strategy is genius. “Does your child have a new bicycle, remote control car or boat, or another new toy that they want to play with but you don't have the room?” asks the park, which notes that it will close its lots to traffic for the express purpose of letting your kids put their new toys through the paces. If you’re not in the area, you don’t need to drive to Cliffs of the Neuse to score an acre of empty macadam: Many large businesses close for the holidays and high school parking lots are barren as well, to site just two examples. Odds are there’s a vacant parking lot near you just waiting for a new skateboard to keep it company.

* * *

Previously in our Holiday Escapes series ...

Dec. 19: Go paddling
Dec. 20: Hit your neighborhood park
Dec. 21: Climbing the walls
Dec. 22: Take a guided hike
Dec. 23: An educated walk

Today: An educational walk

What the heck is that? (Photo courtesy North Carolina Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs)

Did you know there are about 200 environmental centers throughout North Carolina, from the Agape Center for Environmental Education in Duncan to the YMCA Camp Hanes in King? And all of these centers, dedicated to enlightening us about the world around us, have public programs not just on weekends, but daily? Between now and the end of the year, there are 24 programs on the calendar, the majority aimed at kids.

Today, for instance, if you happened to be on the Outer Banks at 11 a.m. you could take a Maritime Forest Walk through the Currituck Banks National Estuarine Research Reserve, courtesy the Corolla-based Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education. Like many EEC programs, it’s free.

Find out what’s going on through year’s end at an environmental education center near you, by going here.

Today: Hit your neighborhood park.

Last year, a postage stamp of a park — 11 acres — opened within walking distance of our house. It’s got limited green space — 1.4 acres — but it’s more than enough for a game of catch, Frisbee, family flag football or Whiffleball. It’s got a short — 0.4 mile —  paved walking trail — but it’s got some swerve and is good for a training-wheeled biker, a skateboarder or an inline skater. It’s got a modernistic playground that I have yet to tire of. I mean, that the kids have yet to tire of. And it’s got a small creek and little nature nooks ideal for in-depth, in-dirt inspection. In short, it’s a great two-hour escape guaranteed to have the entire crew nap-ready upon returning home. Chances are, there’s a similar park not far from you.

To find the park nearest you, contact your local parks & rec department, which you can track down using this list compiled by the North Carolina Recreation & Park Association.

Plan for today: Go paddling

Go paddling? In the winter? I don’t even have a boat. And further —

Tut tut! Before you continue your italicized protestations, hear us out. First, technically, it’s still fall; winter doesn’t start until shortly after midnight Thursday. And you don’t need your own boat. While most municipal, county and state park rentals are seasonal, several remain open year-round, operating under the 100-degree rule: If the combined air and water temperature is 100 degrees or more, you can take out a canoe or kayak. (If it’s less than 100 degrees, you probably don’t want to be on the water anyway. Raleigh’s Lake Johnson is one such 100-degree lake; if it’s, say, 60 degrees and the water temperature is 40, for $5 you can rent a canoe or kayak for an hour and paddle this 150-acre lake. $5 a boat — pretty cheap sanity-saving entertainment.

Now that the idea doesn’t seem so far-fetchedwhere can you rent a canoe or kayak this time of year? Check with your local boat-renting park or outfitter; our handy “35 Places to Rent a Canoe/Kayak in North Carolina” guide can help with that process.