Fun Goals (Update) - Just finished hike no. 21

Life has been hectic lately for the this Frugal Family, but the journey is so rewarding when you can find just the right balance between work and fun. I'm not sure what all of you do for fun but our family loves to hike every chance we get. In fact, we are planning an 8-day road trip this summer to hike Nevada, Arizona, and Utah!   

Below are some photos of our recent hikes:

Hellman Wilderness Park - Whittier CA

These photos were from a recent hike I did before work one morning.  I took a few hours off in the morning to enjoy this short but challenging hike.  If you go to both water towers, the trail is roughly 5.5 miles long. Believe it or not, I jogged this trail.  Jogging served two purposes: 1) It made it more challenging; 2) I ended up getting to work only 2-hours later than normal (costing me only 2 hours of my vacation bank).    

View from the top of trail

About half-way up

Buddhist Pagoda in nearby Rose Hills Cemetery

One of destination H2O towers on the trail

Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park - Laguna CA

Last weekend, my wife and I enjoyed a local hike (without kids). My in-laws were in town for my son's birthday so we took advantage of the free baby-sitting to enjoy a nice morning hike. My wife doesn't hike as often as I do so she though this one was pretty challenging.  There are trails ranging from .75 miles to 11.7 miles. My wife and I ended up doing roughly 6 miles. 

Ocean views from "Top of the World"

One of several tree canopies

One of several natural caves

Car Wreck destination

Narrow path

Including these two hikes, I just completed my 21st hike.  I am now only just 5 hikes away from completing my 2016 fun goal of 26 hikes!  Since I think I'm going to blow right past the 26 hikes goal, I've decided to take the 52-week hike challenge.  Although I'm not posting them here, I log in each hike to see how many different hikes, total distance, and elevation climb I will end up with at the end of the year.  Can't wait to reflect back on the many adventures of our journey...making memories to last a life time! 

Thanks for following along on your journey. Once again, I hope everyone is enjoying the added personal touch to our blog. :)

Best wishes, AFFJ