Locals, young and old, ventured out to bask in the sun last week.

A particularly cold and wet winter made spring temperatures that much sweeter, according to Dawson County resident Will Carey.

“You can’t have the good without the bad,” said Carey as he jogged on an exercise trail with son, Robert, at Rock Creek Park. “If winter hadn’t been so awful, we wouldn’t appreciate this.”

Locals like Carey flocked to nearby parks like Rock Creek, War Hill and Amicalola State Park to take advantage of warm temperatures.

Lynda Ilse and son, Joshua, enjoyed a day of fishing at War Hill last week. “We thought it was a good day to give it a try,” Lynda Ilse said. “If we didn’t make it out here today, we weren’t sure when our next chance would be.”

Stephanie and Ashley Tarte took advantage of good weather to have a birthday picnic for John Gilliam at Amicalola Falls State Park last week.

“I told them it was a great day for a picnic,” said Ashley Tarte. “We came on out ... it really is a nice day.”

According to the National Weather Service, high temperatures last week reached the lower 80s. The forecast this week calls for scattered thunderstorms Thursday with sunny weekend weather. Highs for the weekend could reach the mid-70s.