Your Vacation Has Ended

It’s your final night in Granite Falls. What will you do now? The answer is actually quite simple.

You bring the forest with you.

That is, if you even decide to leave in the first place. If you’ve got the cash, you can continue extending your vacation indefinitely to the point that returning home would feel like the vacation. So don’t worry about rushing that bug collection of yours, or snagging every fish, or identifying every plant. If you’ve got the simoleons, you’ve got the time.

For those who do return home, whatever the reason may be, thankfully the phrase, “take only pictures, leave only footprints” doesn’t apply to your trips to Granite Falls. Here are some ways you can enjoy the beauty of nature back home.

Display Your Trip

Go ahead, brag about that awesome mountain lionfish you hooked under the depths of the waterfall. Whether you mount it or make a pet out of it, you’ll never forget that day you caught it. And you shouldn’t.

Are you more of a bug person? Fill your house with more insects than anyone is comfortable living with. Even you. You earned that right when you spent countless days and nights hunting them.

A house can finally be a home for nature lovers.

Bring Nature To You

You survived a trip to the wilderness, that doesn’t mean you want to do it again. So instead, bring the plants to you. There are plenty of perks in growing Granite Fall’s foliage at your home.

• Diverse gardens always look the best.
• You’ll always have access to the herbalism plants.
• Nasty neighbor? Harvest a fresh noxious elderberry from them.

Having these plants in your backyard is much more convenient than having to plan an entire vacation to harvest some whenever the need arises. No one has the time for that. And have you seen your bills lately? No one has the money either.

But be careful when transferring the plants from one area to another. These plants aren’t just pretty. For instance, you don’t want to break out in a rash from the poison fireleaf.

Enjoy a Backyard Staycation

Sick of the dusty, musty indoors and need a breath of fresh air? Too broke to afford a vacation? Work breathing down your neck but the outdoors is whispering in your ear? Not a problem.

Unpack your tent and fill the coolers, it’s staycation time.

Not only is camping in your backyard a great experience, it’s the perfect introduction to the outdoors for children, city folk, and the squeamish indoorsy types. If you set up your backyard to reflect the absolute perfect camping trip, who knows what types of sims you’ll get to come with you on your next excursion to the wilderness.

The greatest part about a staycation? No bear scares.

Hopefully now you won’t be too bummed about your vacation ending because you realize the trip is never truly over. Although, that doesn’t mean you can’t still count down the days until your next trip. Nothing at home can beat the true camping experience.

Should your Sim visit Granite Falls?

If there’s one thing you can learn from Granite Falls, it’s that the vast wilderness is not for every sim. Where some see natural beauty, fresh air, and creative solitude, others see dirt, bugs, and a whole lot of rocks. Did I mention bugs? Just look at those bathrooms.

Granite Falls does, however, offer plenty of opportunities for those willing to rough it in the great outdoors. Sleeping under the stars, roasting marshmallows, singing by the campfire – these are great experiences for all types of sims.  But the real charm of the forest is just that, the forest. Obviously, sims with the outdoor enthusiast aspiration are perfect for extended stays in Granite Falls, but what other sims could benefit from some time away?

Here’s a list of sims that shouldn’t pass up a trip to Granite Falls:

Anglers

What type of fisherman or woman doesn’t love the outdoors? That’s what it’s all about. Becoming one with nature. Living off the land. Catching the perfect trophy to show off their adventures or having an excellent story to tell those back home. “I swear, just as I was about to pull it out of the water, that darn mountain lionfish jumped right off the line!”

Granite Falls is home to five new types of fish from walleyes to blue crawdads. Sims with the Angler’s Tranquility trait will feel right at home among the various fishing spots located throughout the forest. The waterfall is the perfect place to cast out and unwind.

Afterwards they can enjoy the one-of-a-kind taste of fresh fish grilled over an open flame. Hopefully they don’t attract any bears.

Squeamish sims should avoid baiting their lines with worms at all costs. They should avoid touching the fish as well. On second thought, squeamish sims should probably avoid fishing all-together.

Botanists

If plants are your sim’s life, a trip to granite Falls can unlock some pretty special bonuses. Not only do they have 10 new plants to discover, but they also have a new, closely related skill they can build – herbalism.

Herbalism is for the more daring and adventurous sims, as there is some risk involved. Scattered across Granite Falls are plants previously unknown to even the smartest of green thumbs. While the most skilled gardeners won’t be able to identify what these plants are on their first encounter, that doesn’t mean they can’t try. And when in doubt, try it out. Go ahead, have them chomp away at that fresh berry they just picked off a bush. In a few hours compare the symptoms to those in the handy-dandy forest guidebook. Feeling itchy? Congrats on the poison fireleaf find. Feeling tense? Toxic chamomile. Hopefully they didn’t eat too much of it.

But don’t let the uncomfortable side-effects run them out of the woods. Once they get a hang of which plant is which, they can cook up some pretty special concoctions. Soothing skin balm, for instance, relieves any burning feeling they might have. Because what sim hasn’t caught themselves on fire once or twice before?

 Collectors

As previously mentioned, Granite Falls is bug infested. Not only do your sims have to deal with the bathroom flies and swarms of mosquitos, but they have 21 different species of insects to keep an eye out for.

Although, not all need to feared. Some should be scoped out for their beauty… or value. The rare dragon dragonfly sells for a whopping $480 simoleons. Sure, that might be chump change for a Landgraab, but it’s no laughing matter for a dedicated collector.

Forewarning – collecting bugs isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires hard work, perseverence, and plenty of time. Different species come out at different points throughout the day and night, so don’t think you’re in for a little traipse through the forest with your sims.

Sims also need to watch out for the more dangerous insects because bug bites are no laughing matter. Keep in mind, a friend with the herbalism skill can do wonders allieviating even the worst of those bites or stings.

While these are the types of sims best fit for a vacation to the middle of nowhere, they’re not the only ones who should spend some time living “off the grid.” The quiet solitude of the forest is perfect for any loner sims looking to get away from… well… everyone. And it goes without saying, but sims that love the outdoors will clearly love everything Granite Falls has to offer. A trip to a cabin would also be great inspiration for the artistically inclined sims whether they be painters, sculptors, musicians, or writers. It’s the perfect trip to clear the head and gather new ideas.