Not far from Winston-Salem are two wild places Brother and Cissie loved

During my visit to Winston-Salem, N.C., in November 2011, first cousin David Edwards treated me to a leisurely Sunday drive to two beautiful places outside the city that our twin parents loved in their youth.

The first was Hanging Rock State Park. David and I trotted (well, he trotted; I kinda huffed and puffed) up the moderately steep trail to the beautiful cathedral of stone the park's name refers to.

Halfway up, you can look up and see the underside of Hanging Rock.
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What a view!

You can see a large swath of central North Carolina from Hanging Rock. It was very cool to be in a place that I know Dad loved so much!

Then, with daylight waning, David drove us up to Pilot Mountain State Park. Such beauty!  North Carolina is well known for its western mountains and eastern ocean shore, but the modest mountains and rolling countryside in its midsection are really beautiful, too.