Tiko's 7th Birthday (Personal Post)

Our oldest child(dog), Tiko, just turned 7 years old on the 19th of February 2016. One of his favorite things to do is to go exploring in the woods and swim in the creeks. 

So we decided to take a trip to the smokey mountains of North Carolina on that Friday night to camp and hike the next morning.

We started the night with night sky photos in the Blue Ridge Parkway area. The air was cold but not too cold to freeze our bums off. Snow laid on the ground in some areas and ice cracked and fell from the mountains. The night was quiet and peaceful. I could hear the ice on the mountains fall as I stared at the night sky concentrating on finding stars on my camera. The clouds got in my way several times even though the weather said it was currently clear and free of clouds where I stood(-_- lies...).

After staring at the night sky, we found a cozy spot to park our Honda CRV and car camp. The back seats were popped out and loads of pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags were layered in for a warm and comfortable night's sleep. I don't believe it got below 30º that night so it was the perfect temperature for this trip. 

We woke up the next morning and had our favorite Starbucks coffee
​and turkey sausages before our morning hike.

And of course we needed a few selfies before we could start the hike ;)

Once the selfie session was over,
we looked for a trail and began our happy hike.

Then I needed a coffee break and to take some more selfies.

After all the fun adventures we had, packed in one night and one morning,
​it was time to drive on the winding roads to go home.

Tiko and Macchi weren't too happy about leaving, but seemed to have
​a comfortable ride home with naps.

Happy Birthday Tiko!