Being the daughter of a Biologist we had a revolving door of wild critters living in our house. Reptiles, mammals, birds, and insects of every shape, size, and venomocity.  (yeah, it’s a real word.)  (okay, it’s not, but it should be.) Of course our wild guests typically lived in large glass houses topped with plenty of heavy rocks.  And they usually enjoyed only short stays in our wild animal hotel.  My Mom was grateful.

There were really only two of our pets that I recall my Mom actually enjoying; in fact she even let them sorta go free range around the house. One was a tortoise, the other was a jumping spider.

The jumping spider’s name was Smedly. It enjoyed a status of greatness that Charlotte would probably understand.  I don’t know if Smedly was a boy or a girl.  I never saw offspring or love interests.  I’m not even sure where Smedly lived exactly, but since it was often seen crawling around the kitchen, one can assume ‘home’ was somewhere nearby.  No one was allowed to smash Smedly (like we did the wolf spiders). Smedly was a member of the family.

Because of my Mom I’ve started a similar tradition. We give refuge to several jumping spiders a year, all of which are (of course) named Smedly. When my kids spot one they get excited to show me, and quickly try to usher the newest Smedly into the kitchen.

Why jumping spiders make great house guests: (more…)

When we had our giveaway a few weeks ago one of the most mentioned camping tips was to make some sort of camping box. A large waterproof tote that holds the majority of your camping supplies. The idea behind such a box is that you always have the bulk of your gear packed and ready to go. I could not agree more.

The problem is that it’s hard to keep ALL your camping gear together all the time (because a lot of stuff gets used for day adventures as well).  Some stuff gets put away between adventures, but some stuff we’ve bought two of; it’s worth it to buy an extra set of supplies and make a kit that ALWAYS stays together.

I’ve already done posts that list out all the items needed to make:

1. A Mobile kitchen: a bin that houses all our cooking essentials and a few other odds and ends.
2. Mini Survival kit:  a go-everywhere kit with random survival and medical supplies (although we still also bring a larger first aid kit).

You can also easily make dedicated camping kits for personal hygiene and dog supplies (see lists below).

To make packing the rest of the gear easier, we try to keep most if it together. We turned a corner of our garage, and a corner of our guest room closet into ‘gear closets’.  They house the aforementioned camping kits, as well as our sleeping bags, sleeping pads, tent, tarp, climbing/kayaking gear, backpacks etc. When it’s time to pack, everything is easy to find.

When preparing for a camping trip we throw our mobile kitchen and survival kit in the van and use the checklist below (download a PDF of this Ultimate Camping Checklist here) to gather/remember everything else. (more…)

I’m not typically one to enter contests and giveaways, but when I heard about this I thought it sounded like it might be worth a try and figured others might be interested. I mean really, who wouldn’t want to live out of this (seriously, check out the pictures) for three months: – - – - – - – >

The SylvanSport GO looks like an amazing little contraption that can hold all your camping gear and up to 10 kayaks or 5 bikes, a few surf boards, rock climbing gear, rafting stuff, etc… AND provide a cozy place for you and your family to sleep.

To enter go to their homepage, and in 400 words or less  write about all the crazy adventures you would take in your GO expedition. They also want to know how you would promote your adventure. Blogging? Video? Bragging rights?

The three best essays win a gear package from sponsors like: Yakima, Kelty, Keen, Black Diamond, Wenger, Jackson Kayak, SPOT, Grand Trunk Goods, Orbea, and of course the GO itself for up to three months to live and document your adventure story. The most interesting and well documented story keeps the GO and a bunch of gear.

Contest ends May 31st 2012, but you may want to enter ASAP because each week contestants are automatically entered into weekly giveaways for chances to win prizes.

The first Easter that I clearly remember involved a basket, some plasticky green fluff, a bunch of chocolate, a candy shaped like the easter bunny, and a book about kittens.  All in a park.

The best Easter I remember involved a car, 15 or so puzzling clues, a compass, a few 7.5 minute maps and a highway map, binoculars, a bottle of water, some plastic eggs, and a picnic in the desert.  Best.  Easter.  Ever.

So fun we did it the next year.  And the next.  It became a tradition. The day before Easter, my mom and dad would drive all around northern Utah leaving plastic eggs hidden in interesting and obscure places.  Three or so eggs at each place, replete with chocolates and jelly beans, and one egg with a ‘clue’ to the next location where eggs and candy could be found.    They’d give us a clue to start with, follow us around for the first few, and then leave us on our own for the last ones.  The last clue would lead us to a place known only to them.  When we’d arrive, exhausted and excited from our morning of treasure-finding, they’d be waiting there with an extravagant picnic lunch.

One year went something like this:

Clue 1: Lq wkh Edfnbdug.  (A little letter-shifting code for:  In the Backyard.)

Clue 2: Look In Between the Ridges of the Arch to Reap Your reward.  (i.e.:  Look In Between the Ridges of the Arch to Reap Your reward; i.e.: LIBRARY).

Clue 3: Drive three blocks east from here.  Turn north.  Drive one block.  Turn north again.  Drive 3.2 miles.  Turn east.  Drive 1 mile.  Flip a u-eey.  Drive 2.6 miles.  Park on the west side.  Commence searching. (more…)

I first heard about Patricia and her daughters Alex and Sage from Adventure Parents.   This trio lives in New Hampshire, and is in the habit of hiking to the tallest peaks around–like, all of the tallest peaks.  When Adventure Parents posted this video on their site, I was instantly awestruck… completely blown away by both Patricia and her adventure-loving daughters..

I’ll also admit to a certain degree of peak-bagging-with-kids envy, because my oldest child (5), despite my best efforts, does not (yet) share my passion for putting peaks in bags (check out question #6 if you experience this same issue).

I had so many questions for her after I watched this video, so I immediately tracked her down and asked if she would be willing to be interviewed. These questions are only the tip of the iceberg, but I have a feeling the rest of my quesitons will be answered when I read her book Up: A Mother and Daughter’s Peakbagging Adventure (more about the book here).

Thanks for doing the interview Patricia. And thanks for inspiring your fellow outsidemoms.

1. What made you (and your girls) decide to start hiking peaks?

In the spring of 2008, I read information about the Four Thousand Footer Club at a scenic parking area off NH’s Route 112.  On a whim, I asked then-5-year-old Alex if she wanted to try hiking one of the “big” mountains.  She immediately responded with a yes.  At that time, Alex was a nonstop bundle of energy and I was curious about how far she’d want to hike.

2. Did you hike as a child?  A young lady? (more…)

Lets get right to it. The winner (chosen by random.org) of the $50 REI gift certificate is LAUREN!! Congratulations!

Her best camping tip:

I have to agree with those who mentioned “the bin” system. I live by it. It makes camping life so much easier. But, a tip of my own… frisbees make great plates and obviously provide other fun functionality as well, and always have duct tape on you… whether car camping or backpacking. It’s easy to have a bit of it wrapped around your water bottle or stashed and it almost always comes in handy. I mean, what can’t you fix with duct tape? :)

Now for a roundup of YOUR BEST CAMPING TIPS:

Note: Some comments were combined and most have been shortened, for details on these ideas read through the comments on this post.

1. Create “The Bin”, The Bin (a rain proof tote) has everything you need for your camping trip with mini-bins inside separating your camp area essentials (make two: one for backpacking, car camping, etc.).

2. Go often. The more often you go, the easier it is to actually get out the door because you have to establish some sort of a routine to actually get out the door!

3. Glowsticks and headlamps for kids. Makes them easier to spot in the dark, plus makes the dark that much more fun.

4. Simplifying your meals and prepare as much as you can ahead of time.

5. When camping with kids, go with another family. Everything seems a little more manageable when there are more hands on deck.

6. We have a list that we print out before every camp trip so we don’t forget anything. We have a specific list for camping near water, in the mountains, or backpacking. (more…)

**Giveaway has ended. Thanks for all those who participated!**

Yep. We made it. This blog has officially been alive for one year!  It all started with a post about minivans and a whole slew of people willing to share the site with their friends.

Do you know what the best part of this blog has been for me?  It’s provided a new way for me to ‘meet’ moms and dads who care as much about incorporating the outdoors into the lives of their children as I do.  I’ve learned so much from you folks, and enjoy every chance I get to interact with you.  We can’t thank you enough for being a part of this blog.

But before we get ahead of ourselves and talk about trivial things like $50 REI gift certificate giveaways, here are a few stats from our first year.

29,341 – # of individuals who visited our website

∞ - # of thanks we owe all the aforementioned visitors

136 – # of posts we published

1,349 – # of comments left by all you lovely visitors

1 – # of blessed, blessed blog-saving contributers

211 – # of times our most popular post (make your own hammock) was shared on facebook and twitter

252 – # of days I’ve spent pregnant

22,290 – # of times the video How to Turn your Minivan into an RV has been viewed

50 - # of dollars you could win to spend however you wish at REI

Please note that ‘smooth’ segue into our one year anniversary giveaway… (more…)

The other day I was teaching an after school science lab at our local elementary school. My students hadn’t come to my classroom yet, so while I waited I watched the fourth and fifth graders playing outside. Soccer balls bounced on the field, girls hung from the bars, and two little boys squatted over an insect that had emerged too early and was struggling to deal with mud and snow. They poked at it with a stick for a minute—and then skewered it.

I winced for some reason, and then watched as they, fascinated, lifted the part of the skewered bug that stuck to their stick and examined its legs up close. One reached out to touch the hard exoskeleton. Then the other grabbed the stick and started chasing the girls with it.

Boys will by boys, I thought.

But what is it about boys that leads them to skewer animals, tie strings to flies, stomp on ants with wild abandon, and eventually ask dad if they can try out the beebee gun on the birds in the backyard? And is it bad? (more…)

I’ve had a few outsidemom.com readers suggest getting involved in Project BudBurst. I’d never heard of it until recently, but after looking into it a bit more I can see several reasons to get involved.

1. It’s a great excuse to get you and your kids out for a weekly walk.
2. Your kids get to become little scientists, they collect data. Real data.  And they learn that science isn’t that scary–it’s actually fun!
3. The data actually gets used by scientists and educators, and they can see how their contributions help.
4. It’s a good way to get your kids accustomed to making observations.

Projects like this are important because scientists can’t be everywhere at once. In order to investigate some of today’s most pressing questions, which are often global in nature, scientists are relying more and more on help from citizen scientists across the globe. The ability to gather and manage data on this scale has only been possible in the past decade or so, giving people like us the opportunity to help answer previously inaccessible questions.

So, what can we do?… scientists need data collectors.  Enter:  your kid.

What Project Budburst wants you to do: (more…)

Does this sound familiar?  You’ve….

• loaded your pack with snacks, bandaids, baby wipes, extra clothes, spare kleenex, candy, and a bazillion other things
• cleaned off the carseat(s),
• strapped the kiddo(s) into the car,
• driven 25 minutes to an exciting looking trail head
• sung row your boat and the song that never ends over 346 times on the drive
• extracted the kiddos from the car
• and set them off down the trail….

only to find that they are tired and ready to go home five minutes into the hike.  You try candy, coaxing, singing, follow the leader, knock knock jokes and as many other tricks as you can think of, but have only made it another 50 feet down the trail… and two hours have passed.  Let me recommend one more trick for getting little ones moving down the trail (and, truth be told, this still works on me today): the Hiking Stick.

Tell them they need to find a hiking stick because it will give them the energy to go further.  They’ll try 30 different sticks, cruising down the trail in search of new and improved ones, and totally forget that the point was to go for a ‘walk’.  They’ll try them forwards and backwards.  Between their legs like a horse.  Over their shoulder.  It might turn into a gun. They’ll balance it on the palm of their hand.  And who knows what else they’ll think of.

Point is, they won’t think about the hike.  Tell them to find you one too–it has to weigh a certain amount, be a certain length, be the right height, have a curve for your grip, etc.  The hiking stick is the ticket to at least 100 extra feet.  And if you’re in the Mojave and there are no ‘sticks’ to be had?  Substitute something else:  find me a white rock, a tortoise shell, a flower, etc.  Scavenger hunts are wondrous motivators.