CAMP

CAMP, FAVORITE GEAR, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Pop-Up Camping With a Large Family
- July 10, 2019
Camping is a summertime essential activity! If you haven’t gone camping with your kids yet, what’s holding you back? Does it sound intimidating? Do you not think you have the right gear? Don’t know where to go? Have more kids than fit in a tent? We’re here to help! Camping might sound overwhelming, but it’s always worth it. Seasoned campers will tell you that sometimes even the most disastrous camping trips are the most memorable and fun. Today, we have the absolutely wonderful Ginny from 1000 Hours Outside here to share her best tips and advice on how to do pop-up camping with a large family. Ginny has 5 kids, an old pop-up camper and a great sense of humor. That’s the perfect recipe for a great adventure! Here’s how their family does camping.

Less stuff, more fun!

We live in an age where we celebrate minimalism. Less is more! If it doesn’t bring you joy, pitch it! As it relates to parenting, we are encouraged to own fewer toys, fewer clothes, and to have less clutter. You either own your stuff or your stuff owns you, as the old adage goes. There are certainly many benefits of a more minimalistic approach to life, but one area of childhood that we should not want to have less of is experiences. Why? Because experiences equate to learning and they bond us together as friends and as family.

Today, I want to encourage you to build as many outdoor experiences into childhood as you possibly can! Outdoor play provides significant developmental benefits to children. One way our family has substantially increased our yearly outside time is through camping. Camping can be done in a myriad of ways such as tent camping, hammock camping, car camping, staying in a rustic cabin, or even sleeping directly under the stars. With five young kids, we have tried several of the options above (hammock camping hasn’t happened yet). We found that pop-up camping with a large family is a great way to get out and see the world!

Benefits of camping

Life is hectic and no one can really prepare you for the demands that children bring along with them. Beyond the wants and needs of children, there are many other adult responsibilities to juggle. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from it all. Camping is an excellent choice for R&R because it’s affordable, accessible, and it completely removes you from the daily hustle and bustle. It’s a quick and convenient way to set all the expectations aside for a few days and to reconnect with family, friends, and with nature.

In nature, children disperse and become engaged with their surroundings. In this way, camping is an ideal vacation when you have young kids because it’s not the type of vacation that you need a vacation from. When you camp, nature surrounds you and your kids! Nature deeply occupies any age child and so this simple change of surroundings can offer some desperately needed moments of reprieve for parents and caregivers.

Why a pop-up camper?

After many years of camping with children, we found that camping with a pop-camper made camping indescribably easier and more accessible. Because it’s easy, this means camping happens more often! Campers come in all shapes and sizes, but pop-up campers tend to be on the cheaper end of the spectrum and they can offer a notable amount of sleeping space. We bought an ‘experienced’ camper (15 years old to be exact). It cost about the same as a week or two of lodging at a summer cabin. In exchange for one week of luxurious accommodations, we purchased an item that has the potential to offer us years of adventures.

Vacationing as a large family

No one talks too much about large family logistics. In fact, the only thing people told as baby number four was about to make her debut was that once we had four kids we would never get invited anywhere again. We still weasel our way into people’s lives, but the truth is there are some logistical issues once you hit the category of “large family.” Hotel rooms don’t accommodate large families well. Our vehicle choices are limited. Restaurant waits are much longer. Given these “obstacles,” camping quickly becomes an ideal way to see the world.

Pop-up camping with 5 kids

Our pop-up camper provided the answer to so many of our large family vacationing problems. To begin with, we all fit! We searched for the largest pop-up we could find. Double beds aren’t going to cut it but if you can find a pop-up with at least one king bed, you’ll find there will be ample inside space and storage. We actually found a camper with two king-sized beds that pull out on either end! Plus, there’s a bench that turns into a small bed, and a table that also turns into a small bed, fitting all seven of us comfortably inside.

Our bedtimes in the camper have provided some of our favorite memories, all together laughing and telling stories. Additionally, camping is a vacation where you can easily plan your own meals and bring your own food. Most pop-ups have storage where you can leave kitchen items at the ready! We took a quick trip to a goodwill shop to originally stock up for what we needed. Finally, we can travel and explore almost any area of the country at a fraction of the cost! The savings for a nightly campsite versus two (or more) hotel rooms rings in around 70 – 90%!

Pop-up camping tips for large families

Once your pop-up is packed with essentials, you are only a few outfits and a grocery trip away from some lifelong memories. Here are a few of our best pop-up camping tips that we’ve tried, tested and approved!

1. Research your campground and your campsite

Different campgrounds have different things to offer. Depending on the ages of your kids you might be looking for a campground that has a play structure, one with a great bike-riding trail, one with a beach you can walk to, or one with all of the above. There are typically so many options to choose from! Some have pools and others have laundry facilities. We read about a campground in Virginia that had wild rabbits running all around! Once you’ve narrowed down your campground, think through your campsite. Do you prefer shade or sunny? Close to the bathroom or closer to the beach? At each campground we visit, we make a few notes about our favorite sites for if we book again in the future.

2. Organize clothes by how they are used

With a large family, we have found that it is easiest to organize our clothes by what we use them for. We pack all PJs together in a bag. Everyone’s swimsuits and towels are packed in another bag, while jackets and long pants also get their own bag. We pack complete outfits (including diaper or underwear) so getting dressed in the morning is never a hassle. We store the bags on the beds during the day and then place them on the floor when it’s time to sleep.

3. Add a few special touches

We have a few small things that always stay in the camper. A set of matchbox cars, one small stuffed animal and flashlight for each child, a pack of glow sticks, and a special tablecloth. We only use these items on family camping trips, so they hold special sentiment for the kids. In case it rains, we also always bring along some card games and some books.

4. Think through your ideal restroom situation

As a mom, sometimes the most stressful parts of the day (and night) is figuring out how to navigate young kids to the restroom. We’ve found that keeping a small potty seat in our camper has worked wonders (we use the actual toilet area for storage). As far as showers go, we purchased a few small bathroom caddies that we keep stocked with washcloths, soap, and shampoo. Buy an extra pair of cheap flip-flops to keep feet clean in the camp showers and keep the day-to-day shoes from getting soaked. If getting to the shower is too much of a hassle, remember that toddlers and preschoolers love a bubble bath in a plastic tub at the end of the day!

Bring on the memories!

Our pop-up camper has given our large family easy accessibility to the grandeur of nature, from magnificent sunsets to breathtaking waterfalls. I often tell people it is the best thing we have ever purchased as a large family because of the multitude of foundational memories it has provided us. As our culture becomes increasingly screen-heavy, we are all in for anything that helps us increase real-life moments.

Are you a camping family?
Share some of your favorite camping memories below!

Ginny
Michigan
@1000hoursoutside

Ginny is a Michigan homeschooling mother of five and the founder of 1000 Hours Outside. She is a thought-leader in the world of nature-based play and its benefits for children. Her 1000 Hours Outside Challenge spans the globe and many people from all walks of life look to her for inspiration as well as practical tips on how to put down the screens and get outside. Ginny has a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Michigan. She is also a children’s book author and illustrator. Her book, The Little Farmhouse in West Virginia was published in February 2019. You can find her online at http://www.1000HoursOutside.com.
CAMP, FAMILY TRAVEL, LOCAL GEMS, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
A Central Washington Road Trip with Kids
- June 17, 2019
Taking local road trips with kids is a great way to teach your children about the history and beauty of your home state. You don’t have to go far to find fun new campgrounds, forests, monuments, museums, diners, shops and hikes. Today, I’m really excited to share a post all about one family’s adventures on a Central Washington road trip and camping trip with kids. Evangeline Dittman – writer, photographer and Seattle mom of two – is here sharing the good, the bad, and the bizarre of her family’s most recent camping trip. Evangeline has the most amazing way with words -she’s the perfect mix of hilarious and humble – guaranteed to make you fall in love with her and their adventure. Ready to hit the road?!

Spring break tradition

Our family has a tradition of traveling over spring break. We live in Seattle, where winters are gray and drizzly. By the time April rolls around, we’re starved for sunlight. Last year, instead of our usual trip to Somewhere Sunny, we decided to stay more local and spend our spring break camping. We had just bought a travel trailer and were feeling bold. That trip has gone down in our family’s annals as the “Mud Camping Trip.” I now have enough distance on the experience to be able to speak of it without breaking into hives, but I still choose not to dwell on it. This sums it up nicely: We ended up visiting a laundromat during that trip, and the laundromat owner said we were nuts to be camping in that area, at that time of year.

Central Washington road trip

Undaunted by our mud camping misadventure, we decided to camp over this year’s spring break as well. My husband plans most of our family adventures; for this trip, he plotted Central Washington road trip, which is sunnier in spring—and blessedly drier—than is the western half of the state. We started at a state park in Yakima (we’re big fans of state parks!). Then, we wended our way through wine country and hops fields to take up residence at a second state park, this one just south of Moses Lake. Along the way, we hiked a canyon, sampled wines, toured a nuclear reactor, visited a petrified forest, and—yes—played in mud. (Though this time the mud was contained and didn’t necessitate a side trip to the laundromat.)

Yakima

We began our Central Washington road trip in Yakima, Washington. Did you know Yakima, Washington produces nearly 75% of all US hops? Me neither! Yakima’s hops production surpassed Germany’s a few years ago and hasn’t yet given up the lead. Evidently, that’s a big deal to hops connoisseurs. Me, I just think the hops fields are pretty and the beer is tasty.

Yakima greeted us with lush hops fields and pruned vineyards. This put me in the perfect state of mind for family camping. Our campsite at Yakima Sportsman State Park was spacious and verdant, filled with friendly families and overly-friendly leaf bugs. (I had to escort out several dozen that just wouldn’t follow our social cues when we felt tired or needed privacy.)

The kids spent most of their campsite time on their bikes, checking out the lily pond and playground. The trails were wide and flat, but something on them had it in for my son’s bike tires. Husband spent his evenings applying patches, and we eventually had to go into town for a new bike tube.

Hops & wine

We hiked the Cowiche Canyon for our first outing. Offering a variety of short trails with little elevation gain, it’s a great hiking option with kids. We nevertheless chose to tackle the steeper, rockier Winery Trail because…wine. If you make it to the end of the trail, you’re rewarded with crisp rosé wines in air-conditioned tasting rooms.

Or so I assume. We didn’t make it to the end of the trail. My Seattle kids don’t tolerate unrelenting sunshine very well, and the sun was beating down on us that day. What’s more, the Winery Trail offers very little in the way of shade. It does, however, offer plenty of raptor and vulture sightings. The enthusiasm for those was almost enough to propel our kids onward up the hill, but not quite.

It’s just as well. We chased marmots back down the trail, scooted over the more treacherous stretches on our bums, and lay on shaded boulders while we snacked. Added bonus: At the end of the trail, the kids played under a weeping willow’s canopy. My daughter insists it’s a whomping willow while my son prefers to call it a happy willow.

Finding the wineries

Rest assured, we did eventually make it to some tasting rooms. The Bonair Winery features a pond with fish and ducks that the kids can feed while you sip wine. (The tasting-room hosts provide food for the critters!) The VanArnam Vineyards has a sweet old dog that will frolic with the kids while you sip wine. See? The kids can interact with nature while you sip wine: parenting done right.

Toppenish

Another day trip took us to Toppenish, a small city noted for their outdoor murals—over 70 of them—depicting various historical scenes from the region. What does 70+ outdoor murals plus two kids equal? Several hundred rounds of I Spy with My Little Eye.

We hit the famed Miner’s Drive-In restaurant on our way back into Yakima. We were surprised (and a little frightened) to discover they serve burgers as big as your head. Honestly, just order one burger. Get your photo, then cut the burger in half and share it. Ugh, three weeks later and I’m still groaning from that burger. Their shakes are purportedly masterful, but we were too stuffed to try one.

Yakama Nation Museum

We visited the Yakama Nation Museum on our way out of town. The exhibits there are a bit choppy. I needed more background information to make sense of some of the stories presented. Then again, my attention was divided between the exhibits and my antsy kids, so it’s possible all the background one needs is there and I just missed it. Alas, museums and children are ancient and natural enemies. I had to do my part to keep them both safe from each other.

Hanford Site B Reactor

Never let it be said that the Dittmans failed to explore a nearby national park. Turns out, the Hanford Site—home to the world’s first plutonium production reactor; source of the plutonium used in the first nuclear explosion (the Trinity test), as well as in the nuclear bomb that the US detonated over Nagasaki, Japan; and the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States—is now a national park. And we went there.

We did our best to prep the kids for the tour. Husband covered the science of nuclear fission while I attempted to sketch out the history and prevailing fears that led to the Manhattan Project. Imagine doing this in four-minute chunks—the approximate attention span of our youngest—using vocabulary a kindergartener and third-grader could grasp. We mostly failed, of course, but it’s important that we tried, right?

Funny aside: I went into the tour thinking it might be the inspiration for the kids’ upcoming science fair. Maybe my oldest could do a presentation on how nuclear reactors work? In hindsight, I’m laughing my butt off. The tour lasted two hours. Twenty minutes in I knew we wouldn’t be explaining nuclear fission to anyone anytime soon.

The truth about the reactor tour

The tour is very science-heavy and disappointingly light in setting the historical context. It starts with a forty-five-minute bus ride (the kids’ favorite part of the tour—the bus was very plush), during which our tour guide, whom I dubbed Euphemism King, described the geography of the area and what made it suitable for hosting nuclear reactors. He sort of glossed over the fate of the people who were farming that land when the government moved in, just as he glossed over the environmental and social impacts of operating a nuclear reactor. Details about the weapons that Hanford’s plutonium enabled, and the millions of tons/billions of gallons of the resulting radioactive waste that is oh-so-leaky were similarly glossed over. All in all, it was a very glossy tour.

Junior Rangers to the rescue

BUT, they have a junior ranger program! Never let it be said the Dittmans failed to earn a junior ranger badge when within a five-mile radius of one. The requirements for this badge were tough. We had to chase down very persnickety details, but the kids nailed it. My favorite part of the ranger workbook was the fill-in-the-blank prompt: I saw my first _____________ at Hanford. Now, I don’t know how often you hang out in a nuclear reactor, but every square foot of it was pretty stinkin’ new to me. I could have filled in the blank with one hundred things that I was seeing for the first time. The kids, however, were most wowed by the typewriter.

Turns out, it’s a teletype machine, so make that 101 things I was seeing for the first time.

Hanford Site gift shop

There’s a funny little gift shop at the end of the tour. I don’t think it’s affiliated with the Hanford Site, though the owner does have official-looking memorabilia—Manhattan Project pins and patches, informational booklets and the like. She also offers a unique assortment of kitsch. The shop gives a kind of 1950s garage-sale vibe. My daughter fell in love with a frankly hideous porcelain keepsake for baby’s first haircut. As it was only three dollars and I had just finished praising her for her patience on the not-so-kid-friendly tour, I bought it for her. Maybe she’ll always remember the atomic bomb when she looks at it?

We chatted a bit with the shop owner and learned that she is descended from the first wave of folks who were recruited to work at Hanford. She graduated Richland High School, whose mascot is the Bomber, usually depicted with a mushroom cloud. A survivor of the Nagasaki bombing who had visited Hanford just last year expressed shock at discovering the mushroom cloud proudly painted on the school’s hallway floor. The shop owner mentioned the visit and politely, but firmly, defended the mascot and logo as a critical emblem of the town’s history.

A little too behind the scenes

When we didn’t cringe or argue (mostly because I was preoccupied with convincing my son we didn’t need the black velvet Elvis painting), she offered to take us to the back of her shop. There, she had a nearly perfect replica of a bedroom from the Hanford Engineer Works Village. This was a 1943 federally sponsored planned community to house Hanford workers and families. I admit to some initial trepidation about following her back there. The shop and the conversation had put me at unease, and the room we stepped into was eerily Stepford Wives-ish. I felt like I was in that scene from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull where Indy wanders into a fake Doom Town minutes before an atomic bomb test. Remember the much-maligned “nuke the fridge” scene? No? Don’t worry about it—just know that the bedroom creeped me out a little.

Once we were safely back in the sunshine, though, I came to appreciate the museum-quality collection the shop owner is cultivating. It’s an important part of the Hanford Site story. If it were put to a vote, I’d tick the box in favor of integrating the shop owner’s eerie room into the overarching tour.

A Hanford Site recap

Here’s the most important thing parents needs to know about visiting the Hanford Site: there are amazing wineries nearby. It’s imperative you make time for them. We visited Col Solare, which offers panoramic vistas, but not a lot of distractions for the kiddos (we read out to them from Harry Potter). Then we dropped by the Hedges estate where walked around the vineyard with glasses in hand, watched some of the workers wrangle chickens into a new coop, laughed at an ornery turkey who looked like he’d been in a few dozen bar fights, quit our jobs, pulled the kids out of school, and moved into a trailer on the estate.

Okay, that last bit isn’t true, but Hedges is the kind of winery that dares you to chuck all your priorities and take up the oenological life.

Potholes State Park

I was apprehensive about bringing our trailer to a park called Potholes. However, it turns out it got its name for the hundreds of tiny islands surrounded by “pothole” lakes that make up the nearby reservoir. And the park offers lush campsites with shorebirds, great horned owls, and long, even groves reminiscent of the manicured lawns Jane Austen’s characters are always walking about, plotting their marital strategies.

Exploring Potholes

We spent our days at Potholes building mud dams along the lakeshore, weaving wreaths from fallen weeping willow twigs, disturbing the fish with our splashing, and—in the evenings—playing a lawn game of our own invention: a blend of soccer, tag, and Game of Thrones (in which we convince Little Sister she not only wants to give the ball back, but giving the ball back is her brilliant idea). Also, the campsites have enough strategically-placed trees to accommodate hammocks, so the kids were able to do their two-headed-burrito thing while Husband and I read and napped.

A couple of birders we met who were familiar with the park told us it gets very busy during the weekends. Sure enough, by Thursday we had quite a few new campsite neighbors. Happily, our nearest neighbors brought kids roughly my kids’ ages, and the four of them hit it off right away. They shared bikes, scooters, bubble wands, marshmallow sticks, and Minecraft stories. (Minecraft stories are interminable, amiright?)

Gingko Petrified Forest State Park

Just when I’d given up on finding ideas for the kids’ upcoming science fair projects during our travels, we found a petrified forest! The final stop on our Central Washington road trip was Gingko Petrified Forest. This state park hosts a remarkably diverse collection of petrified wood species—we saw petrified spruce, elm, maple, and Douglas fir logs during our hike on the Tree of Stone Trail (which, by the way, is a very gusty and exposed trail; pack water and a sweater!).

We sought refuge from the wind at the Gingko Petrified Forest Museum where we discovered…wait for it…a junior ranger program! The requirements for this badge were fun to fulfill; we watched a short film describing how wood becomes petrified, and then we hunted for fossils hidden throughout the museum. I was especially taken with the display of small, polished bits of petrified wood. The natural markings on the wood, when polished, reveal painterly landscapes and ghostly portraits. (My daughter saw a Harry Potter Dementor in one.)

Petrified forest museum

The museum is also home to ancient petroglyphs which were relocated to the site when rising waters created by the Wanapum Dam threatened to destroy them. My son remarked that whoever made these drawings probably led a happy life; they depict sunny scenes of families and wildlife and gave us a kind of contended feeling—a contentedness that did not diminish even when I saw the signs warning of rattlesnakes. As it happens, the rattlesnakes in this area attack only men—at least according to the sign—so I had no reason to fret.

The deck at the back of the museum provides a lunch spot with an expansive view of the Columbia River, and it’s relatively protected from the wind. If you can time your visit right, take advantage of the beautiful resting spot so you have the energy to check out the Gingko Gem Shop afterwards. It’s just down the road from the museum, and it looks tantalizing to kids. We skipped visiting the shop—we weren’t in the mood for a touristy jaunt just then—but if you need examples of petrified wood for a kid’s science fair project, this is evidently the place to go!

(In the end, my third-grader chose rocketry and the kindergartner chose soap bubbles for their science fair projects.)

About the author

Evangeline is a family photographer and freelance copyeditor in Seattle, Washington. Thanks to her tirelessly adventurous husband, she and her two kidlets (and said adventurous husband) are always exploring the vast and varied wonders of the Pacific Northwest. From camping to cross-country skiing, Evangeline’s family embodies the Swedish maxim: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.”

Website: www.rosefinchphotography.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rosefinchphotography
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rosefinchphoto
CAMP, FALL, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, RECIPES
Outdoor Cooking with Kids: 7 Kid-Friendly Ways to Make Camp Cookouts Fun and Fuss-Free
- September 5, 2018
As the weather finally starts to cool down, we’re entering my all-time favorite time of year to go camping and have family cook-outs. Today, we are so lucky to have the amazing Julia from Culinatour here with her tips on how to make camp cookouts with kids fun and fuss-free. Julia is not only a mom, but she runs a business all about helping families eat delicious and healthy food while outdoors and exploring the world! Talk about my dream job…I can’t believe I didn’t think of this first!

Camp food

Mmmm…camp food. Those two words make my heart sing with joy!

There’s something about outdoor cooking that adds a whole new flavor to food, right? As an outdoor adventure-loving mom, I’m constantly on a mission of sorts to pass on this love to my daughter. She may be just 2 years old, but that’s not going to stop me from equipping her with culinary skills. If, like me, you’d love your kids to be enthusiastic about outdoor cooking when you go camping the next time, you’re going to love this post.

Why teach outdoor cooking to kids

First, let’s look at why children of all ages can (and should!) learn outdoor cooking.
1. Increase self-sufficiency: When you know how to cook, you know you’ll never starve. Right? Equipping your kids with outdoor cooking skills gives them a solid head start on their self-sufficiency quotient.
1. Add more fun to family travel: Family travel is all about enjoying activities and time together. There’s nothing better than getting everyone involved in cutting, chopping, stirring and sautéing. Cooking is a fun bonding activity and perfect for when you’re traveling.
1. Encourage responsibility: When you assign a meal to a young chef, you’re instilling incredible responsibility in them. Even if it’s something as small as an evening snack, you’re sending a positive message to your child about your belief in their abilities to do the work and contribute to the family.
1. Foster creativity: Cooking is the ultimate art form and a fabulous way to foster creative thinking in kids. Let them use their imagination when plating a dish or even tweaking a recipe and enjoy their creative culinary experiments!
1. Excellent all-round education: Cooking is a great way to learn and master concepts for math, science and comprehension. That’s right. Reading and understanding a recipe is comprehension; making sense of measurements and portions is all about math; and, the process of cooking is the best way to learn about science! Plus, when you cook outdoors, you can teach the kids about foraging and plants as well!
Tips for enjoying outdoor cooking with kids

Now that I’ve sold you on the importance of teaching kids the art of outdoor cooking, let’s look at how you can get started without getting stressed (or umm… screaming your head off at them)! Yeah, mamas can have meltdowns, too!

1. Plan to succeed

The first and most important part is planning your camp meals. Sit down with the kids and involve them in deciding what you’ll make for the different meals.

If you have kids of different ages, let the younger ones pick snacks which are usually the easiest and encourage the older ones to decide on the major meals.

Cookbooks are a great way to make this process interactive and fun. For instance, I have Luisa sit with me and go through the photos in my cookbooks. She chooses her favorites and we menu plan together.

2. Shop before you chop

Once you’ve made your menu plans for your camping and outdoor adventure trip, it’s time to make a shopping list. Involve kids of all ages in the shopping process as well.

If you have older kids, then you can definitely send them off to the supermarket with a shopping list. For younger kids, take them with you to the store and encourage them to help you pick the produce and food products.

Since Luisa is 2 years old, this works best with picture cards. Before we go to the supermarket, I make a set of picture cards showing some of the key ingredients of the foods we plan to make at camp. I hand her one card at a time and then, help her find the ingredient. It’s like a mini foodie treasure hunt for her! SO much fun.

3. Prep work is key

Once you’re in your outdoor kitchen, get kids to help with food prep. Younger ones can help with washing the produce, lining up ingredients, measuring and counting. Older kids can help with chopping, peeling, dicing, grating, and slicing.

Be sure to pack kid-friendly chopping boards, knives, and graters. The Curious Chef makes a great set of kid-friendly cooking tools.

4. Kid-friendly recipes, for the win

If your kids are old enough, have a stash of kid-friendly recipes that your children can either make independently or with very little help from you. This is a step you may want to include when you’re doing the menu planning with your kid(s). Being able to contribute to the group will make your child feel both proud and helpful. And if they’ve made the recipe before and know what to do and how it’ll turn out, you’re setting them up for success.

Waffles are a family favorite for our camping trips so I have an easy orange waffle recipe that Luisa helps me mix. Need more inspiration? I got you covered. Check out these 8 campfire recipes that kids can make from the folks at Active Kids.

5. Yes, we did start the fire

You may not want to involve young kids in lighting the campfire but you can definitely get them to help collect and pile up the kindling. It’s a great physical activity and gets them involved with the cooking process. Older kids will love helping to select your fire site, digging the fire pit, lining it with stones and collecting wood and kindling.

6. Messes are welcome

Remember, when kids cook, messes will happen. Don’t stress about it and definitely don’t tell them to not make a mess because you’ll only curb their enthusiasm and creativity. Yes, I know that easier said than done, but trust me on this one.

Instead, make cleaning up any mess their responsibility as well so they know that if they spill, they wipe up!

Having said that, one of the joys of outdoor cooking is that the mess doesn’t hurt since the ground soaks up the liquids. Win-win!

7. Service, please!

Finally, don’t forget to involve kids in serving the food as well. Your kids will be proud of the food they cook. so allow them the opportunity to help dish and serve it. They can answer questions about ingredients and the cooking process. Cheer them on when they hand out their dishes and encourage them to get creative with the plating. My daughter Luisa beams like a ray of sunshine when we ask her to serve the food and share with others. It’s a wonderful way to allow kids to give the gift of service and sustenance to those they love.

Cooking with kids

Outdoor cooking is a wonderful activity for the whole family. Get your babies involved in outdoor cooking right from the start without fretting or fussing over them. You’ll be amazed at how much they enjoy it, how much they learn and how proud they are of their creations. Not to mention how wonderful you will feel when you don’t have to worry about cooking breakfast or dinner!

Do you cook with your kids when camping?
Share YOUR best tips with me in the comments below!

Julia is an outdoor culinary business consultant based in Frankfurt, Germany. She is super passionate about spending time outdoors with her loved ones. She’s made it her mission to help families worry less and enjoy more when it comes to traveling and eating outdoors.

You can check out Julia’s website and blog on https://culinatour.com or find out more about Culinatour by visiting Julia on Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest
CAMP, FAVORITE GEAR, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Camping with Kids: 101
- July 18, 2018
If camping with kids sounds fun but overwhelming, this post is for you! Today, our friend Tabby is sharing her very first camping experience with kids, since becoming a parent. She’s here to tell you that while it might seem intimidating, camping with kids is easier and more fun than you can imagine! If camping with kids is on your summer bucket list, here’s everything you need to go before you go. And if it’s not on your list, here’s why it should be!

Reasons to camp with kids

Kids need nature. I don’t feel like access to nature should be a privilege for children. Being immersed in nature is a necessity. Have you heard that quote floating around, “Children can’t bounce off the walls when you take away the walls”? I think that quote is so perfect and completely describes one of the biggest benefits of getting children outdoors and into nature.

Camping is one way to give kids the space they need to play and learn. Camping gets us away from the noise, the TV, the Wifi and all the constant begging for the tablet. We go camping and trade tablets for smores and TV for making stick-men and women. Camping allows us to tune out all the things that don’t matter in exchange for quality family time and memories that will last a lifetime. I pinky promise you, camping with kids isn’t as intimidating as you may think it is and it’s more important than ever.

Why I was intimidated

Before this experience, I was under the impression that camping with kids would be stressful, exhausting and expensive. I was convinced it would not be worth it while the kids were so young and overall not fun for us parents. I am a classic over-thinker and I was feeling incredibly overwhelmed by the idea of camping with kids because I literally had no camping gear. However, now that I have camped as a parent, I can promise you that it is so much easier than I imagined.

One thing I learned is that you don’t need nearly as much as you think you do. You don’t need to plan elaborate activities for the kids. You don’t need to go somewhere exotic. Your gear doesn’t need to be expensive. Camping with kids is not only easy, but really fun for everyone! In fact, after our first camping trip as parents, we decided to go back out into the wild only two weeks later and we have two more trips planned for next month. I already know each trip will get even easier now that we gave it a shot and have one experience under our belt.

What to pack when camping with kids

I know myself well and I know that I tend to overthink things. I make everything more complicated than it needs to be. When coming up with a packing list, I purposely tried my best to avoid Pinterest and all the millions of articles about EVERYTHING you need to pack. Instead, I thought about what we really needed. Then I asked for personal opinions from groups I am in with like-minded people (Hike it baby, Wildschooling). I also met one new friend at a park to talk about camping with kids. It was seriously so helpful to hear from someone who had done it successfully.

Here’s what we packed:
- Weather appropriate clothes for the whole family (check the weather where you are going beforehand)
- Rain boots, we use Lone Cone boots (they are affordable and durable)
- Sand toys
- Tent (preferably with rain cover)
- Camping chairs for the whole family
- Cooler with food and ice
- Flashlights and/or headlamps
- Glow stick bracelets or necklaces for the kids to wear at night (to keep track of them and because they’re fun!)
- Paper plates and paper plate holders
- Utensils, roaster sticks for smores or hotdogs (or you can find and use a stick)
- Firewood (a lot of campgrounds will also sell firewood, but you will want to find that out first) (be aware of restrictions on bringing your own)
- Sleeping bags (Our first trip it got to 32 degrees at night and we used 3 comforters and were toasty all night. If you’re camping where it gets cold at night put a blanket UNDER your air mattress or sleeping pad, on top of it and then 1 or 2 more blankets on top of you.)
- Bug spray (I just found out they make bug repellent WIPES! There are wipes with DEET OR wipes without DEET)
- Sunscreen
- Waterproof matches for starting a fire
- First Aid kit just in case (I bought a standard one and added Benadryl, children’s ibuprofen, a $3 snake bite kid because it eased my mind)
- One or more hammocks and hammock straps! (Man, this was a huge hit…the kids couldn’t get enough of the hammock. Our second trip we had 7 kids total at the campsite and they all had so much fun with it.)
I may be forgetting some things on this list, so before you go, just think “What do we really NEED?” Basically, you need somewhere to sleep, food and weather-appropriate clothes. Everything else is for fun and comfort.

Where to go camping with kids

If you have young kids that don’t know how to swim I suggest not camping close to water. This way you don’t have to worry about turning your back on the kids for a second. Finding a great campsite is as simple as Googling “campsites near me” and looking at a map. I highly suggest camping with friends who have kids around the same ages as your kids. We’ve done that twice now and it’s a blast! The kids love playing with friends, its endless fun for the kids and the parents! Another resource to look into is HipCamp, it’s the Airbnb for camping. <— By clicking my affiliate link we both get $20 after your first camping trip towards another stay!

What to do when camping with kids

If you’re camping at a campsite with a camp host, use their knowledge! Our host told us about a hike nearby and helped guide us to a hot spring that was also close. Otherwise, you can do your research on Google when you’re planning your trip. For us personally, we mainly like to relax. I don’t go camping to be on a rigorous schedule.

Above, I mentioned bringing sand toys. The kids will love digging and playing in the dirt. I was against bringing too many other toys, but that’s just me. Try a scavenger hunt or set up a slackline. Go collect wildflowers or splash around in a creek. One of our favorite activities was making Stick-Men. I found a tutorial in the CAMP bundle from Wild and Free. Basically, the kids use their imaginations to make stick people. So simple, yet it was a huge hit for us!

The moral of the story

Overall, camping with kids is so much more fun and easier than I ever imagined. All you have to do it go and have fun! If you are an anxious person like me, fight those feelings that tell you to fear everything. Try not to be a Debby Downer and kill the fun vibes while camping! Instead, give it a try and you’ll be sure to create some happy memories in nature with your kids and spouse. Make a list, bring the necessities (and a camera), relax and have fun!

Also…drown out your fire after use! Make Smokey the Bear proud!

Additional camping resources for parents

If you’re looking for even more info on how to camp with kids, we’ve got you covered. Check out these great camping resources below:
Printable camping gear lists for families

To make it easier for you to get started on your next family camping trip, we put our ultimate camping packing list for your family in a free printable 2-page PDF for you! Use this as the perfect start to create your own master packing list. You’ll also be signed up to receive our AMAZING weekly newsletter, filled with fun outdoor activities and inspiration for getting your kids and family outside! You can opt-out anytime (although we’d hate to see you go).

[maxbutton id=”1″ url=”https://mailchi.mp/6ad1ea8208c2/fw0osm9qnr” text=”PRINTABLE CAMPING GEAR LIST” ]

We hope you’ll consider a camping trip with your kids this year!
What’s your best advice for camping with kids?

My name is Tabby, I am homeschooling mama of two little wild ones. I love photography, being outdoors, dogs, podcasts and rollerblading!

You can find me on Instagram @sunshine_and_kewpie
CAMP, FAMILY TRAVEL, LOCAL GEMS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Guide to Glamis Sand Dunes with Kids
- June 1, 2018
The sand dunes in Glamis, California are the perfect spot for a family weekend adventure, full of fast-action and moto-excitement, thrills and spills! The amazing Sarah Robinson (an Arizona photographer and mom of 2) is here today giving us the complete lowdown on how to do the dunes right. She’s been adventuring in the Glamis sand dunes for years and has insider tips and advice on where to go, what to do, what to bring and where to camp. Get ready for some “duning” fun, this adventure is going to blow your mind!

The ultimate guide to Glamis sand dunes with kids

Being an Arizona native and growing up in the desert, the Sand Dunes have always been a part of my life. As a child, my family went to the sand dunes in our motorhome and my brothers and I rode around on little Honda 50’s, 80’s, 125’s. My older brother had a three-wheeler, too. As we got older and busier with life and growing up my family just kind of stopped going to the dunes.

However, when I met my husband in the late 90’s, we realized we both had a childhood at the Sand Dunes in common. He and his family were still die hard “duners.” Now, I am able to get back to this happy place of my childhood with him and introduce our little family to the sand dunes. Today, I get to tell you all about how, where and what to do while “duning” with kids in Glamis, CA.

About the Glamis sand dunes

The Glamis sand dunes are located off of Hwy 78 between and Blythe, CA and Brawley, CA. This is about a 3- 4 hour drive from our home in Mesa, AZ. The town of Glamis, CA has virtually no permanent structures, aside from a small store and trading post. These offer limited supplies for the hundreds of thousands of recreational visitors each year who pass through the Algodones Dunes and the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area(collectively called the “Glamis Sand Dunes”), located in the southern portion of the dune system. Dune season begins in October and goes until April, usually depending on the heat.

Dunes Wilderness

The largest section of the dunes (located north of State Route 78) are off-limits to vehicular traffic due to designation as the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness. The federal government protected these 25,818 acres in the early 1980s and closed them to vehicles as part of the California Desert Protection Act. However, much of the area south of this road remains open for off-highway vehicle use. It is the largest sand dune area open to off-highway vehicle use in the United States. The sand dunes are an awesome terrain for many off-road vehicles: motorcycles, sandrails, ATVs, and 4-wheel-drive vehicles.

In addition to the Glamis Sand Dune Recreation area, there are other dune areas that are a little easier to find. They are right off Hwy 8 and have much of the same things to do such as large hills to ride to and sand drags of their own. These areas are called Buttercup, Gordon’s Well and Grey’s Well.

Dunes wildness

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s the sand dunes were a wild and dangerous place. The crowds were a bit out of control due to insufficient ranger and law enforcement presence, specifically, Glamis and Competition Hill. As a young adult, this was great time, but it certainly was not family-friendly. However, over the last few years, ranger law enforcement presence was significantly increased and law enforcement is now in full force in Glamis. Competition Hill was eventually shut down due to winds washing it away from existence. The Glamis dunes are a much safer, regulated, family-friendly adventure land for everyone to enjoy.

Riding the dunes

Glamis Sand Dunes is sometimes called the “Sand Toy Capital of the World,” and it truly is! Trucks, dirt bikes, quads, rzrs, and sand buggies galore! And with the recent popularity of the new 4-seater Polaris RZR’s and Can Am’s, it is so easy to now take your whole family on a fun adventure through the sand dunes.

The best sand dune buggies for kids

Before these Polaris 4-seaters were around, kids weren’t able to really go “duning” unless your family had a Sand Rail or Buggy. These were mostly all custom built and pretty pricey, making it very restrictive for families to dune together. Kids were confined to riding their quads (4-wheelers) around camp until they were old enough to operate something that could make it through the sand dunes.

Now, with these awesome machines, you can buckle them up and take them along! These overgrown quads are the perfect family fun mobile in the Sand Dunes. We call them the wagons… ha ha! My kids are 5 and 8 now and have been duning since they were babies.

How to ride the dunes

There is a “rhythm” to riding the dunes. If you are new to driving in the dunes, the best thing is to follow a leader that knows what they are doing. Never go up and straight over a hill because you don’t know what is on the other side. The way to drive the dunes is to get to the top and then turn and drive along the ridge until you can see what is in front of you, then go down. A good rule of thumb is that if it is round on one side, it will be steep on the other. But that is not always the case.

There are dangerous swirls or bowls that the wind make called witches eyes and you don’t want hit one of those going fast. Razorbacks can be tricky too. That’s where the dune is steep on the both sides. If you drive the dunes right, it can be like the smoothest roller coaster ride ever. The enormous “bowls” are exhilarating to drive around in. The G-forces push you into your seat and you can almost lose your sense of up and down while running the bowls. It’s sooooo much fun!!

Camping in Glamis

It is open camping, meaning you show up and find a spot. You do need a Camping permit as well as registration for your OHV (off highway vehicles). Here is a guide to permits. Make sure you get all your ducks in a row, they check and ticket. Remember that ranger presence I mentioned was in full force earlier? Yeah, get the permit.

There are 4 main camping areas: (1) the Washes; (2) the Flats; (3) Gecko Road; and (4) the Canal. Each of these areas has it’s own unique personalities and features. Depending on what you’re looking for in a campsite, you’ll find one that suits your needs.

The campsites

The Washes camp area runs along the rail road track. These campsites are numbered by the wash that runs under the track are a popular place for the big rigs. The sand is a little more hard-packed and gravel so getting stuck isn’t so much of an issue. While this is a very popular spot, I’m not a fan. Most of the time, the wind blows in the direction towards the Washes so all the dust kicked up gets blown right your way… which sucks, in my opinion. Also, it gets pretty packed in there and you’re basically camping on top of each other. Finding a campsite can be a challenging on a busy weekend. It used to be that you’d have to go to the railroad track, find your wash, and then go from there to find your camp. However, GPS has made this less of an issue than it used to be. Now, you can just ping your camp and go right to it.

The Flats area is located right off Hwy 78 next to the Glamis Store. The Flats area is super easy to find and is right in the middle of the action. This is where all the vendors are located. At “vendor row” you can get food, ice, firewood, t-shirts, souvenirs. You can rent ATV’s and OHV’s here. They also carry all the supplies you’d need to fix any vehicles that break down. I’d say you could rebuild almost anything right there just utilizing the vendors! If you aren’t camped at the Flats, it’s a fun ride to head down there, cruise the vendors and get a hot meal.

Gecko Road is another popular camping area. This area is a long road that turns off of Hwy 78 and goes right passed the ranger station. This road goes for miles and miles. There are camping spots off of the side of the road, as well as paved spaces down towards the end. The camping flats have names and also have restrooms. The nice part about these spots is that you are super close to the actual dunes. However, be advised that these spots fill up quickly on a busy weekend.

The Canal is another campsite for large gear. Right on the other side of the Gecko Road is additional paved camping flats for the Big Rigs. We call it the “Canal” because it’s right next to the canal. These areas are recommended if you have big fancy motor homes and are pulling some big trailers. It’s paved, so you don’t bury your $100k rig!

If you are like us, we can pretty much camp wherever we want. We have conservative camping gear that is more off-road friendly, so getting stuck isn’t a big deal. Our gear consists of trucks with box trailers, smaller toy haulers, tents and vans. This means we can pick a spot away from the crowd and not have to worry about lots of traffic or being stuck next to neighboring campers. In my humble opinion, this is the way to go when camping with kids. A little spot is all by itself means that the kids can ride around camp all day and the only people they are bothering when they fire up their 80’s at sunrise is us!

What to bring

When camping in the Sand Dunes with kids, there are essentials that you need besides the obvious food and drinks. First of all: safety gear. Wearing helmets is the law of course, so each kid needs a good helmet that fits, as well as goggles. Moto helmets can be confining and heavy for little riders; especially if they aren’t used to wearing one. We use skate or snowboard helmets. These don’t have face protection like a moto helmet, but they are light weight and don’t feel claustrophobic. Goggles are very important. Getting sand in your eyeballs isn’t fun for anybody, especially little ones.

When riding in the RZRs, kids don’t quite fit into the seats, so we use Graco car seats. They are buckled into the car seat harness and the car seat is buckled into the RZR seat. This also boosts them higher, for better viewing when riding.

Safety first

Bright colored clothing is always a good idea. I try to always dress the kids in bright colors like neons, bright reds and greens. These colors stand out against the beige background of the sand. Anything that might make the kids easier to be seen by other duners is a good idea. We’ve even made matching shirts for all the kids in camp so they are easy to spot and easy to keep track of. It was actually super helpful.

There are no trails or traffic laws out in the dunes. You make your own trail and go where you please, so anywhere you stop in the middle of the dunes can be the middle of the road for the riders the next dune over. All OHVs are required to have flags so that you can see and know where your fellow duners are when they are not visible behind the height of the dune.

When going on a ride, you should always be prepared for a breakdown or some situation where you can’t get back to camp immediately. Have repair tools, a first aid kit, a blanket, and warm clothes in case you are out past dark. As well as snacks and drinks in your cooler.

Bring the fun

Some other fun things to bring for the kiddos are glow sticks, S’mores fixings, fireworks, sparklers, wish lanterns, sand/beach toys (shovels, buckets, etc.), toy trucks and quads. The kids can play for hours duning their toy monster trucks in the sand. They also love their own camping chairs and picnic tables. Sunscreen is also a must. The desert sun is pretty powerful and if it’s a cold day you can’t even tell you’re getting burned. I just slather it on first thing in the morning and apply a second coat after lunchtime. If you have really little ones, a pack and play and a baby carrier are a must to bring. And of course, don’t forget your camera!

Where to go and what to do

For the most part, when we’re at the sand dunes, we stick to the same tentative schedule. First, the kids wake up at the crack of dawn and ride their bikes around camp waking everyone up! We either get up and go on a breakfast ride to the vendors at the Flats (where they have the best waffles and breakfast burritos you could ever ask for) or make breakfast at camp.

Next, to keep them entertained, we find or make tracks for the kids to ride on. There is a great track about a ½ mile from our camp that the kids love to ride around and around on. These are great because they stay confined to the track and they usually don’t run into each other since everyone is all going the same direction. These tracks are the stuff of childhood memories learning how to ride your quad and pushing yourself to go a little faster each time.

Explore the swingset

After breakfast, we all head out for a “ride.” We pack everything up and plan on being gone all day. From our camp we ride to the “Swingset.” The swingset is exactly what it sounds like, a giant swingset in the middle of nowhere! This is a relatively new family-friendly destination, built as a Memorial. It is out in the middle of Dunes, so you have to know how to get there and have something to ride/drive that will make it across the sand. The dunes swingset is a perfect destination to take the kids. They get to get out, run around, and of course…swing! The adults get a refreshment break while we hang out and watch the kids have fun for a bit.

Oldsmobile Hill

When the swing set gets old, we load up and head to Oldsmobile Hill. There are a few stops or destinations you can hit along the way to Oldsmobile Hill, if you want to lengthen the trip. There is a memorial flag pole in the middle of nowhere, a slide, and a few smaller hills that people like to race up and down (China Wall and Brawley Slide).

“Oldsmobile Hill” is kind of the epicenter of Glamis. It is a huge hill where everyone goes to hang out and watch the show. The show being everyone racing up and down the hill and cruising the rows. People park in rows down at the bottom and hangout, have lunch, and be social. Usually some of the trucks from our camp will meet us there by taking Sand Highway, which is just what it sounds like… a sand road. Almost any 4 wheel drive can make it to the hill by taking sand highway.

Sand Drags

After the midday Hill session, we either ride back to camp to regroup or ride straight to the Sand Drags. The “Sand Drags” is an area similar to the Hill except, there is no actually hill. It’s a flat drag strip that runs parallel to Gecko Road where people race. There are no set lights or flags to tell you when to go. The races start going about 3 or 4 pm and go until sunset.

We park along either side of the drag to watch and participate in the races. We usually prefer to go back to camp to get the trucks so we can put the kids up high in the back where they can see the show and are a little safer in case anything loses control and comes flying into the crowd. I know, it sounds crazy, but it occasionally does happen! The Sand Drags go until sundown, then it’s back to camp to make dinner.

Dinnertime

Around dusk is dinner time. There are a couple of restaurants to ride to like Boardermanville and Duners Café. But honestly the kids have a ton of fun just playing at camp, so there’s no need to leave. They make ant farms, dig in the sand, roast s’mores, ride around and around and just play and get dirty. We usually do a big camp potluck meal. And let me not forget to mention how epic Glamis sunsets can be by the way. Carne Asada and Pollo Asada burritos are the most popular with our group.

We eat dinner, make s’mores around the camp fire, play with glow in the dark Frisbees, have glowstick dance parties, burn some sparklers, let off a few fireworks, then clean the kids up and put them to bed. They are usually so tired that they literally sleep through everything. The adults can have adult time by the campfire and do adult stuff (or in my case I usually pass out right with the kids)! And then we wake up and do it all over again!

Insider tips

The biggest tip I can give to highway vehicles going off-road in the sand dunes is to let a little air out. Actually, not just a little air…a LOT of air. You want a PSI of no more than 20. Trust me, this is the ticket to getting through the soft sand without getting stuck. The trucks can bring chairs and easy ups for shade and anything else we might need (firewood, coolers, etc.). We usually hang out at Oldsmobile Hill for a couple hours. The kids can race up and down the Hill, have lunch, and even take a nap on a blanket or in the RZRs if they need to.

Breaking down in the middle of the dunes happens, but it isn’t necessarily a terrible thing. It can actually be a great time! RZRs are notorious for burning belts, but if you have a spare and your tools… no problem! We usually have a lot of unexpected fun when this happens (or at least the kids have a blast). The sand is so soft and clean out in the middle. They can climb to the highest peak and look out and see the entire sand dune area. It is a beautiful intriguing wondrous site. It makes you wonder how all this sand got to the middle of a rocky mountain landscape.

Ice cream truck, for the win!

Oh and I almost forgot to mention…the ICE CREAM TRUCK!! How many of you remember the sweet sound of the ice cream music coming down your street when you were a child? We don’t hear that anymore. However…the ice cream truck is alive and well in Glamis! There are actually multiple ice cream trucks that cruise around. This is a highlight for all children in the sand dunes.

Some people actually complain about the trucks’ music being too loud (particularly those people in their $100k rigs who have freezers full of ice and bring their own ice cream). They just don’t fully appreciate the excitement of the ice cream truck. We have broken down on the side of Gecko Road before and the sweet sound of the ice cream man coming down the road is music to our ears. We get bags of ice for our coolers and the kids get their favorite ice cream treat, literally in the middle of nowhere. It’s such a luxury… ha ha!

Kid-friendly Glamis

The Glamis Sand Dunes are such a fun adventurous thing to do with kids. If you are smart, have the right gear, and always pay attention to your children, it can be the absolute best time! Like most outdoor adventures, there are accidents and owwies and things out of your control. The only thing you can do is pay attention, be aware of your surroundings, buckle them up and make sure they have everything they need to have a great time. Before hitting the dunes, I always have the talk with my kids to remind them that there are a lot of stupid people out there that aren’t looking for little kids (I probably should come up with a better word, but it’s true) and that they have to look out for everyone. Prepping them ahead of time has made a big difference.

Plan your trip

I hope this gives you some insight about how to do the Glamis Sand Dunes with children. If you are hesitant to take them for whatever reason, I encourage you to give it a chance. It opens up a whole new world of trucks, dirt bikes, quads, rzrs, sand buggies. Kids LOVE that stuff! And letting them learn the lessons on how to ride and drive these machines, be brave and careful, will be lifelong skills and amazing memories that they will have forever. And as I always say, “falling or crashing in the sand isn’t bad at all. It’s a nice soft cushion to fall down on.”

Sarah Robinson is mom of two awesome kids, photographer, blogger, model and outdoor adventurist in Arizona. You can find her at any of the following locations:

Sunshyne Life Blog

@Sunshyne.Diaries on Instagram

Sunshyne Pix Photography

@SunshynePix on Instagram
CAMP, FAMILY TRAVEL, HIKE
Overnight Backpacking on the Appalachian Trail with a Toddler
- June 21, 2017
Hi friends! As you know, Run Wild My Child is all about helping parents get their children outdoors and back into nature, one adventure at a time. While I wish I could quit my day job and spend all my time traveling and outdoor adventuring with my kids so I could share everything with you, I sadly cannot do it all. However, I’m thrilled to announce that in the upcoming months we will be featuring some great posts from some really awesome outdoor mamas around the country (and hopefully the globe). We’re always looking for fun, unique content about outdoor adventures with kids, so if you have a trip, hike, activity, craft or area that you’d like to be our resident expert on, just click on that CONTRIBUTE button at the top of the website.

Today we are bringing you our very first guest post – a three-night backpacking adventure on the Appalachian Trail with a toddler in tow. Talk about awesome and ambitious (and possibly terrifying)! This post was submitted by Rachel Sims of the OutboundTribe.com and is packed with great tips/advice on how to successfully backpack with a toddler. I’m super impressed with all of Rachel and Bryan’s adventures and wish we lived closer so our families could adventure together. If you have any questions about the post or want any additional information from Rachel, leave a comment below and she’ll get back to you. Enjoy!

When and where

After our first daughter (Summer) was born, we could not wait to take her backpacking on the Appalachian Trail as soon as possible. We knew there were some initial logistics we would need to work out regarding time of year and where to hike and our first big question was…when? May is one of our favorite months to backpack on the Trail – the nights are usually a little warmer with the days still cool. However, we also knew that in May, somewhere along the trail it always seemed to rain, so we’d have to make sure we account for the weather. We planned our first trip for May 2015, when Summer was 20 months old. This was a great age – old enough to walk a bit on her own and explore, but still small enough to pack in a carrier while hiking.

The next big question was…where to go? We knew we wanted to start her off on the Appalachian Trail, but with over 2,000 miles of trail, we had a lot of options. We knew there were some particular things we wanted along our hike, so after much research on different sections of the trail, we chose to start at Grayson Highlands State Park in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, near Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, Virginia’s two highest mountains. Grayson Highlands offers scenic views of alpine-like peaks more than 5,000 feet high with campgrounds, and hiking trails leading to waterfalls and overlooks. The park also provides year-round access to the Appalachian Trail and the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail.

Here are my top reasons why we chose this spot as our access point to the Appalachian Trail:
1. We could start at a campground (secure place to park the car)
2. The 2nd night in we could camp at a campground along the trail (this allowed me to dump the diapers!)
3. There are several road crossings along the trail (we can easily get off in case of emergencies)
4. This section has wild ponies and we knew Summer would love that!
Four days, three nights on the trail

On May 17, 2015, we arrived at Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia. We planned to hike 5.8 miles for our first day before arriving at our campsite. However, we didn’t realize there was a 0.8-mile approach trail and 2 more miles inside the state park that we didn’t account for. So at the end of the first day, we hiked 8.6 miles total. We were thrilled that these extra miles did not affect Summer at all. She loved every minute of it! We collected sticks, acorns, and leaves along the way. The first night we camped at Old Orchard Shelter. We decided ahead of time we would bring the tent instead of sleeping in the shelters.

The next day we hiked 8.7 miles to Hurricane Campground. Our campsite sat right next to a beautiful creek. I will admit that this day I had some struggles. I used the Osprey Poco AG backpack to carry Summer. While it’s a great backpack (by far our favorite), it does not fit me correctly. The frame is designed more for a male, so I had to make a few adjustments (adding more weight to Bryan’s backpack) to get comfortable. Once we made the adjustments, I felt much better. We learned our lesson from this trip and now Bryan carries Summer and I use my Osprey Ariel 65 Womens Hiking Backpack and carry more of the equipment. Live and learn! We spent the 2nd night at the campground and it was such a great decision. This allowed me to trash all the diapers from the last 2 days (wet diapers add lots of weight!). From here we would turn around and head back the next day.

The third morning we woke up to rain. Luckily, by 10:30 am it moved out. The original plan was to hike back to Old Orchard Shelter; however, we decided to push the limits and see what Summer could really handle and ended up hiking all the way to Wise Shelter which was 14.5 miles away. About 1.5 miles away from Old Orchard Shelter the rain returned, but we had the rain cover for the backpack, so Summer never got wet and actually thought the rain was very entertaining. Once we arrived at the shelter we took cover for about 45 minutes until the rain cleared. That’s when we made the decision to head on to the next shelter.

The evening ended up being absolutely beautiful. We hiked through the grassy hills where the ponies roam right around dusk. Summer did start to get a little cranky but we were saved by other hikers. One hiker shared his Goldfish while another one gave her some peanut butter cookies. All it took was a little food and she was a happy little hiker again. Lesson learned! We finally reached the shelter around 7:00 pm.

On the fourth (and final) day, it was a quick 2.8 miles back to the car since we’d hiked so many miles the day before. By 10:00 am we were at the parking lot and packing up to head home. As soon as we reached the car Summer started crying, “I want to go hiking!” and didn’t want to leave. We could not have been more proud!

Tips for backpacking with a toddler

Want to try backpacking with your family? Here are some helpful tips that helped make our experience successful!
1. Take Plenty of Breaks – Let your little one(s) get out of the backpack and explore. There’s no magic number when to stop for breaks. If they are happy keep moving along. Sometimes Summer is perfectly content for two hours while other times she’s ready to stretch those legs after 30 minutes. Let them set the pace.
2. Sing Songs & Play Games – My husband loves to create songs as we’re hiking along. His silly songs entertain Summer and I get a good laugh. Sometimes we will have her point out objects or name everything she spots green.
3. Cut Back on Miles – Before baby, Bryan and I could hike anywhere between 15-20 mile days. Now we plan 8-10 mile days. Start off small. It’s better to get to your campsite early than pushing everyone and exhausting yourself. You don’t want to make the experience miserable.
4. Prepare your Toddler – Before you leave on the trip show your child pictures where you will be hiking. Set up the tent in the backyard and let them explore inside. I’ll even wear the backpack around the house with Summer in it or take her on a few short hikes in a park or our neighborhood. This gets her use to being in the backpack so it’s not a surprise when we’re on the trail.
5. Bring their Favorite Snack – This one was very useful for us. At some point in the trip, every toddler has a meltdown – trust us, it happens to everyone! When all else fails and Summer is just getting cranky we make sure her bunny crackers are a hand reach away. This will buy us at least 10-15 minutes and we can regroup. Most of the time after her snack she’s a happy little hiker again.
Rachel and Bryan Sims have been married for eight years and are the proud parents of two young daughters. They’ve enjoyed the outdoors together since their first date backpacking a section on the Appalachian Trail. They love backpacking, rock climbing, caving, camping, kayaking, road/mountain biking, any anything outdoors. They now share their passion for adventures and the outdoors with their girls. You can read more about their family, travels, and outdoor tips at Outboundtribe.com.

Now who’s ready for a hike?!!