2016 - The Year of Monthly Family Adventures

[rcintx]

I don't really do New Year's resolutions, but I do use it at a time to reflect on life in the past, present, and future. There are a lot of changes I would like to make in my life in the next year and one of those is to get my family out into nature at least once a month. I hope to be able to go more than that, but I think once a month is an obtainable goal even with our overly hectic schedule.

At this point I am trying to get our gear organized so going is easier and not a chore to get everything out or put back up, this includes diligently looking for a pop up camper or camping trailer to keep things loaded in and ready to go.

Do you guys use any type of methodology to "get out" more? The simpler the better for our family (Myself, wife, 5yo son, and 6mo daughter).

Ideas:
Snow skiing
Fishing
Camping
Hiking
Zoo's

For January, we made a trip to the mountains for a ski trip. We had an excellent day on the slopes and are planning to head back in a couple of weeks.

I am really looking forward to making this happen this year.

 

[Butch1979]

I would have never thought about Geocaching before we had a little one, but it's a pretty good time for a quick adventure. You can download the app to your phone and away you go! Call it a treasure hunt and your kids will be all in.

Cheers

Butch

 

[Scoutman]

I'm also subscribing to this idea as well. Once a month should be an attainable goal. The big thing for me to remember is that getting out doesn't have to be multi-night trips with hundreds of miles. Sometimes the best trips are close to home and can be done in an afternoon. This is especially true with little ones like you have. Microadventures if you will. I'll see if I can find that article again.

Something I have found fun, and somewhat relaxing, is cooking out or dining out. This is assuming you like to cook outdoors but if you do it gives new meaning to going out for dinner and can be done during the week after work even with the right planning. I don't know what you have for a rig or how you're currently setup but if you're like most on here you're vehicle is a tool to get you out more and make it easier to do over and over. I have tried to get our camp kitchen setup so that it is more portable and can easily be tossed in the back of a rig at a moments notice. What we'll do sometimes is pre-prep ingredients for a dinner or just buy the ingredients and prep on site. Go find a park, playground, hiking trailhead, or just a cool spot outside and cook dinner. Heck one time I did it in the school parking lot while my son was at soccer practice so as soon as he was done dinner was ready. The point is to get outside regardless of whether it's a mile or 100 miles from the house. Figure out what time you have and adjust the adventure to fit. The kids can keep themselves occupied doing outside things and it's just a fun outing, weather allowing. It's also a good way to test out gear.

I have 5 things I need for one of these.
-Pelican case kitchen
-dry goods box
-small cooler
-jug of water
-stove with fuel or grill (depending on what's cooking)

Optional items are chairs and table. Just don't burden the trip with too much equipment. Less is more here. Parks have tables and benches and pavilions to save you the hassle. Playgrounds make a good stage for this scenario too.

 

[rcintx]

I forgot about geocaching. I think my son would love that. We cook outdoors at home quite often when the weather is nice, and it is very enjoyable. Definitely changes the same old dinner routine.

We are very excited to have finally after a year of looking put a deposit on a pop up camper that we think will work great for us. I will be picking it up this weekend. Hopefully, this will help us get out of town easily. :wings:

 

[rcintx]

Picked the pop-up this weekend and made the 3 hour drive home on Saturday. Pulled great! Spent all day Sunday checking out systems and getting familiar with the camper. I think it is going to be perfect for us to get away in. Hopefully get out for a weekend this month. It is not the offroad model but I think it will get us to State parks and local areas fabulously.

 

[Butch1979]

Great find! Hope you enjoy the new camper.

 

[Gizzard Stone]

My boys love camping, it's easy to convince them. I do my part by doing all the planning and prep and cooking and shopping. So it's really up to me. The only rough part is the argument we have every time about whether we leave Friday night or Saturday morning. I like to leave Friday and wake up there. My wife doesn't like the rush and stress of leaving after work...

We are going to be doing a lot of overlanding this spring and making videos too.

-M

 

[hyperboarder]

We're trying to do something similar, a weekend trip at least once a month during the warmer months. Interested to see how our experiences compare.

 

[rcintx]

Life has been flying by the last couple of months and I haven't taken the time to update this thread. Luckily, I have taken the time to have some mini adventures at least once a month. The camper is taking its maiden voyage this weekend. SOOOOO excited to finally get it out.

In February we had a warm day and took advantage to make a day trip to a little zoo a couple of hours away. We had an awesome day and trip. We spent several hours at the zoo looking at the animals, rode a small train, had a picnic in the park, and then spent an hour at a play ground before making the drive home. Full day of fun.

 

[rcintx]

March

The little one got left out of March's adventure, but my Dad was able to join. We spent a day fishing. It was only the second time my son had been fishing and he loved it. I cherish every minute my son, Dad, and I get to spend together. My Dad had a heart attack last December. It was a stark reminder that the last time we went fishing together, might be the last time we ever went fishing together.

Dad, Cason, and the "monster cat fish".

 

[rcintx]

April

Camping in the camper, finally! I signed up for a trail race a few months back, and luckily we were able to squeeze in a night of camping before hand. The camper worked great. It was very windy throughout the night, but we all slept decently. We had a few hours to hike and explore, and enjoy each other's company. The kids had a great time playing together and we are looking forward to another one. Now that we have the shakedown trip under our belts, we know of a few things we will need to do differently. Overall a great trip.

I do the trail race every year as an excuse to hang out with my best friend from growing up. He lives about 20 minutes from the park and we meet up every year and hang out. Great time!

The kiddo's playing in the camper:

Hiking down the trail. There has been a lot of rain recently and several spots have "rivers" according to my son.

And just because I thought this one was cool...

 

[Butch1979]

Great trip! Glad you guys are having fun.

 

[rcintx]

Man we are having a blast. Very busy this month but trying to find a day or two to take an adventure. I started a new blog to track all of this in for my family and friends away from Expo. I am having so much fun with this.

Beyondthedriveway.com if you care to look!