Taking a few, basic, first aid items with you when you venture into the backcountry is an important consideration that is often overlooked until the first time an item is actually needed. You don’t have to run out and buy a first aid kit, though, because if you have kids then you surely have most of this stuff in your house, already.
Share your Wildlife Photos
Outdoor photography can be a fun hobby for the entire family
I’ve never been a big photography-nut, but one of the things that I really enjoy in the outdoors is trying to get pictures of wildlife. My current camera is a Cannon PowerShot A720 IS, which has a bit more zoom (6x) than most cameras in the $250 class. I probably don’t use 10% of this camera’s functionality, which speaks well of its quality because it still gives me good results.
My girls, who are 7 and 8, are just starting to get interested in taking their own pictures on our family camping trips. I think this will be a great way to develop their interest in the outdoors as they grow older.
Learn all about Geocaching at Husky Hiker
Geocaching is a great outdoor family activity
Jim Bradley over at Husky Hiker started a series yesterday on geocaching. This is a great outdoor activity that the entire family can participate in, and we have some family friends with older kids who say they have a great time doing it.
At 4, 7 and 8, our kids aren’t quite ready to tackle this, but they are probably close. I’m looking forward to teaching them how to terrain associate, which is being able to look at a topographic map and “see” the terrain around you. I’m pretty sure that my kids are much smarter than I was at that age, so it should be a quick lesson!
Geocaching is one of those outdoor activities that can really build a child’s self-confidence, and it incorporates technology (GPS) which is always interesting to kids.
Do you have a childhood memory of family camping?
Sometimes playing in the mud can be a lot more fun than seeing another big tree
I was reminded this weekend of one of my earliest childhood memories about camping with my family, and it made me curious about how “normal” my experience was, so I’m hoping some of you will share your experiences, also.
Throughout the early and mid-1970’s, we lived in California which, despite the concrete jungles of the cities, offers some of the most interesting and varied landscapes to see in this country. From Death Valley in the southern part of the state, to the great redwood forests bordering Oregon in the North, one could spend a lifetime exploring California without running out of places to see.
I think I was 8 years old, when my parents bought a 1966 Dodge Van and we started exploring California in 1973. I can remember disappointment; hiking to the top of the volcano at Lassen National Park – which ended-up not looking anything like what I thought a volcano should look like, and the ancient bristlecone pines of the Inyo National Forest, which were just (to this child) a bunch of old, twisty trees.
Kick the kids outside
Camping is a great way for our children to develop an appreciation for the outdoors
Coming to you this morning from Australia is an article by Adele Horin in The Sydney Morning Herald about an American professor of family science at the University of Maryland, Sandra Hofferth, who gave a talk there about how our children’s lack of outdoor activity is leading to obesity at younger ages.
“There’s been a quadrupling of the number of overweight children in the US since the 1960s,” she said. “A big part of the problem is that play has become more sedentary.”