One On One

Hello Once Again!

I am sitting inside my house writing this and I can hear the cold wind blow outside. It seems like April flowers are anxiously waiting to bloom, but this cold weather is slowing things down.  This month is definitely coming in like a lion , so I look forward to the end of the month!
   

     Camping season is coming soon and once again it is a fight to schedule quality fun camping time among all the busy stuff that goes on throughout the summer.  This year I am planning to do some one on one trips with each child.  I am wanting to do this so that I can do a camping trip that will cater to what each of my kids like. They all have different personalities and all enjoy camping for different reasons, so I had the idea of planning trips that will suit each one of them better. This also allows me to spend more quality time with each one too.

      For example, my 13 yr old son likes to set up camp, stay there to just enjoy the campsite and just "be there". He also likes to practice his bushcraft skills. I will be taking him to a remote wilderness area to set up camp and just explore that area.

    My busy 9 year old daughter is wanting more adventures, drink coffee, see some awesome views, and she is not afraid to challenge herself.  So this year, she and I are going backpacking together.
     My 6 year old son can't think about anything else but fishing, and he often out fishes the other kids. This year I can take him on a fishing/ camping trip and help him learn more fishing skills.
     

     My teenage daughter wants to see beautiful scenery and have some adventure, but wants to keep it short and do some shopping too.
Even though its sounds like a lot time to do something like this, I wanted to try it because finding time to get to know each child's personality is hard during the the regular routine. Often times they get grouped together and are known only as "the Kids" and life flies by and you end up not really knowing them.  
My wife stays home with our kids while i work and she seems to always know them better than I do. That is why I want to do these tips ,so I can get a one on one weekend away with each one. I hope to make some good memories and get to know them better.

So Dads, I am talking to you.  Try to find that one on one time with your kids, even if you can't do a weekend campout and can only do an evening fun time. Any one on one time with Dad is special for a child and will create life long memories. Nothing is better than having an adventure with one of your children that belongs to just them. That way you can talk about it and say "you remember when"?  Guaranteed they will cherish that.

Is it Time to Go Camping, Yet?

The sun is warming us up, the leaves are starting to form on the trees, and the tulips are growing. Yes, spring has sprung! With spring come plans for the summer.  As many of you know and most likely have experienced, the calender seems to populate itself on May first.  All of a sudden weekends are being filled up with birthday parties, weddings, family reunions, community and church events - you get the picture.  All of these are really important  things to do, and fun to be a part of, but sometimes can be very overwhelming. I think it can be very exhausting to be on the run all the time and not slow down.

I know how much my kids enjoy, for example, a lazy Saturday when we just "hang out" and do fun stuff.  Unfortunately, these Saturdays do not come very often. Also, with all the summer plans, specific and purposeful family time gets forgotten.

I started this blog to inspire parents to take their kids camping, and I still advocate that getting into the outdoors is a great way to just slow down and bond with your kids.

The other day I was talking with my youngest son and we were discussing  how it was getting warm out and the robins were showing up again, and he said to me, "Is it time to go camping yet?"   I chuckled and told him that soon we will go.

I know for some of you camping seems like a lot of work or maybe you don't know where to begin, and that's a fair assessment.   But when you have a couple days to be away from the busyness of life and work (and the television) you can have a schedule-free day with the kiddos for just walking, talking and noticing the wildlife and flowers.  And what's better than ending that schedule-free day around the campfire with s'mores, funny stories and enjoy the laughter of your young ones.

So yes it is time to go camping!

Son of a Camping Dad

Hiking in the forest

Hi, I'm a son of the Camping Dad. I'm gonna tell you all about what I think about camping, and our camping trips. I really like camping because there's so much fun stuff to do!  Hiking, fishing, and just sitting around the campsite eating s'mores.
We have gone to so many different campsites One of my favorites was Afton State Park.  It was fun because there was a HUGE hill we had walk up and carry our gear, it was very hard but fun at the same time. There was also a very cool small beach that we liked to go to! Another one of my favorites was Myre Big Island State Park. It was a lot of fun because there was a steep hill we climbed and found a tiny little beach also, and a huge bike trail! We couldn't go to the end of it though because my little brother...and I...got tired. The only bad thing was the SPIDERS! It was not so bad outside, but if you went in the bathrooms...I don't even want to talk about it.  Over all it was a ton of fun! The last campsite I want to tell you about is Nemadji State Forest. It was a special trip with other boys my age and when we got there we all got out our gear and had to walk to the campsite in the dark. When we got there we made a fire, set up our tents and went to sleep.  The next day we went to a lake and I learned how to canoe! We also learned how to survive if your canoe tips in the middle of the lake.  Then we got to swim at the lake all day! We also tried fishing at that lake but I didn't catch anything. I also learned how to make a fire near a forest with only what you find and have with you. Even though the mosquitoes were awful I had a fun time camping!

Canoeing lessons

This is me tipping the canoe over, on purpose!

Just Listen

Doing Dishes

I just got back from our annual "kids and dad camping trip".  In a previous post I mentioned Sibley State Park, but our plans were change due to severe weather forecast in that area.  So we decided to go to Helmer Myre State Park instead.  It was closer and the forecast was better.  We weren't going to let a threat of ruin ruin our camping plans!  Although we had to cut our trip short because of rain, we still had a great time including a wrestling match in the tent while it rained.

Chopping wood

Making Pancakes

I know how busy and stressful things can be in summer for dads; work, family and household responsibilities take all of our time.  Even I was tempted to cancel the camping trip and maybe take a rain day to catch up with things around the house.  But the kids have been looking forward to camping for almost 3 months, so I knew we had to make this happen.

Whenever I go camping with my kids I always divide out the different tasks that need to be done:  fire building, cooking, and dish-washing.  They learn from these things and even enjoy them because they are camping.  But one thing I try not to do is try to turn everything into a lesson, and give out too many orders.  I know as a dad I tend to think that I always need to improve my children, or teach then how to do stuff right.  And I sometimes miss the little things about my kids that make them unique.  I know that I could go up north and camp in the Boundary Waters or backpack in the Rockies or hike the Continental Divide Trail - the scenery in these places is beautiful, no doubt.  But when I was at Helmer Myre State Park in southern Minnesota, I saw the most breathtaking scenery ever.  My kids smiling and laughing, and so excited to be camping.  So to take this  beauty in I just had to be quiet and listen to what they had to say.

Taking time out with kids is important - we all know that.  But taking a break from being their school teacher and taskmaster and just being with them to enjoy them is even more important.  So dads put away the cell phone and forget about work for a while and get out there with your kids and learn to just sit back and just listen!

Just sittin' around

So Much Fun, So Little Time....

Pickerel Lake - Nemadji State Forest

Right now we are snowed in and winter is still carrying on.  I am so looking forward to spring so I can get out into the woods, set up a tent and relax by a fire.  My oldest son and I have been talking about doing a winter camping trip in order to really put our sleeping bags to the test.  I don’t know if we will make it happen or not, so we will see.

We already have our first “Dad and Kids" camp trip planned for sometime in the Spring.  We chose Sibley State Park.  It looks like a nice park with some fun stuff for the kids to explore.  I told them that the campground is not up a super steep hill like last year's trip to Afton State Park. They liked the sound of that. 

One thing I want to do with my family is check out as many of Minnesota's State Parks as we can.  I hope one day I can say that I have camped in or visited every state park in Minnesota.  Minnesota has 76 state parks in all and so far we have visited 14 of them.  We have a ways to go in order to reach this goal so...shucks...we may have to go more than once a year!

Crossing Whitewater River

Other great camping opportunities are in state forest campgrounds. There are quite a few campgrounds offered in Minnesota State Forests and most are out of the way and primitive/remote.  These campsites are harder to find because they are mostly considered rustic and/or primitive sites, but if you feel adventurous they are a great place to go.  

So, all I can say is keep camping and get outside into nature where you will find the coolest and most beautiful sights.  I can guarantee you won't find those experiences on a LCD screen. Taking your family camping is still one of the best ways to connect with your kids.  There is no app that can replace good old fashioned family fun time!

Where Did Summer Go?

To say that summer flew by would be an understatement.  With a very wet spring and lots of storms it seemed like summer would never come.  Now all of a sudden school has started and the weather is cooling off.  I'm a dad who loves summertime, fairs, hot nights, swimming and of course camping.  I just can't get enough.

We had a busy but fun summer.  We were able to go camping quite a bit, but we did end up having to cancel one of our big family camping trips because we had too many other fun things happening.  And that's okay.  We did manage to squeeze in a quick overnight camp trip in Grandpa and Grandma's backyard before the weather got too cold.  We had a fire, laid on some cots and looked at the stars.  It was time well spent and we never had to pack anything.  We slept in a camper.  :)

Summer is over but next comes Fall.....and that means Fall camping!

When It Rains It Pours

It's been awhile since I've written in my blog.  I've actually been busy camping.  Between taking a second camping trip with my family and a trip to the deep backwoods with a group of 12 year old boys, summer has been flying by fast!

The last trip I took with my family, we went to a regular campground with tons of fun activities.  We pulled out all the stops.  We brought the camp cupboard, coolers of food, the big tent and all the gear.  We were able to camp comfortably by our vehicles.

The campground that we chose is one that we like to frequent with my wife's family.  It's a Jellystone campground resort with a pool, water slides, giant jump pillow, and a creek to swim in and tube down.  The kids love coming to this campground because there is so much to do.  They also have a camp store with an arcade and an ice cream shop.  What kid wouldn't like that?

Although I enjoy coming here, I always prefer roughing it in the woods with no other people for miles.  But, seclusion in the woods can be boring for some kids.  And honestly, I enjoy watching my kids have fun more than anything.

The great thing about this campground was the swimming activities.  My older son fine-tuned his water slide skills.  The two younger kids spent hours practicing their swimming skills.  It was such a blast! 

*HINT HINT*  Another way to enhance your overall camping experience:  Bring Grandma along who happens to love cooking for all of us while camping.  That made things easy.

Our camping cupboard in action!

We had fun even though we had the challenge of a couple of overnight rain storms.  The rain and the thunder scared the kids a bit, but for the most part we stayed safe and dry.  And the sun came out in the morning!  Fortunately, I had good rain tarps, an extra tent for storing gear (which is a good idea whenever possible) and a waterproof cover for the camp cupboard.

Even though we had a lot of fun and got our fill, the kids are already talking about another camping trip.  We need to take advantage of every fleeting moment of these busy summers.  They fly by way too quick.  The only good thing about the summer going by fast is the fact that fall camping is right around the corner......