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.

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.

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