by Heather Mundt The morning's bike ride had been an easy one along rail-to-trail abandoned railroad tracks repurposed as multi-use recreation trails through green meadows where cows grazed lazily as our group of riders pedaled past. As we continued along the Warm River Trail near the Idaho-Wyoming border, we finally caught a glimpse of the mountain range where our adventure … [Read more...]
Dolomites Family Adventure: Exploring Italy’s Alpine Playgrounds
By Nancy Besharah - I wiped the pastry flakes off my fingers and finished my espresso before heading outside to round up the kids. Even though we had hiked deep into the Dolomites alpine for almost two hours, the boys, then ages 5 and 7, weren't slowing down. After devouring buttery apple strudel, they raced outside to explore the Dolomites alpine playground, complete with a … [Read more...]
5 Hiking Tips To Inspire Teens and Tweens to Hike
by Traci Lehman - Like most outdoor activities, hiking offers limitless fun that can be tailored to all ages. From easy nature walks to tiring mountain climbs and challenging multi-day treks, hiking promotes fitness, entertainment and hands-on education to anyone who partakes, especially kids. Why Is Hiking Important For Kids? For tweens and teens, the outdoors is less … [Read more...]
Transformative Art – An Interview with Stephan Wanger
By Jennifer Fontaine - The year was 1990, and I was a junior in high school. More than 50 percent of the students at my school participated in some sort of arts program from drama, speech, and debate to music and visual arts. So when we learned the School Board had voted to cut art-education funding that year by more than 25 percent, we organized a school-wide walkout. In the … [Read more...]
Avid4 Adventure – Boosting Kids’ Confidence at Summer Camp
by Heather Mundt - For many kids, summer means trading school drudgery for summer-camp fun. And if they're lucky, they'll experience an Avid4 Adventure camp, where fun translates to visiting recreation areas and learning to climb, bike, paddle or hike, for starters. Little do these kids know, however, they'll be learning just as much outdoors as they would in a classroom, … [Read more...]
Family Road Trip 101: Unplug to Connect With Your Kids
by Gina Vercesi - Listen. Do you hear that? No? What you're not hearing are your kids. They're in the backseat, quietly plugged into their electronics. Maybe the silence is welcome, they're not arguing, poking each other, or asking "When are we gonna be there?" on repeat. Nor are they talking about the funky, retro billboard they just saw, or searching for the letters of the … [Read more...]
Troll Forest – Expert Advice For Hiking Norway’s Most Whimsical Trail
by Ania Krasniewska - Before children, an ideal holiday for me consisted of visiting cities without doing much of anything, lying on great beaches with a stack of books to lose myself. As any parent who's tried to read more than two consecutive sentences in the presence of small tots knows, that vacation style changes when you have children. Our style changed even more when … [Read more...]
Prompting Without Pushing: Guiding children through fear
By Bridgett Ross "Use the brakes! Use the brakes!" I shouted, watching my son soar downhill on his bike and into a parked car. Per my hopes, he took a chance, tried something new, and risked falling. I ran to my crumpled, crying boy. Thankfully, he was not hurt, but the fall shook him. In rock climbing, overcoming fear has always been my biggest challenge. I have some pretty … [Read more...]
Kayaking Georgia’s Tybee Island Region
by Lauren Gay It's hard to believe that only 4 years ago I had never been in a kayak of any kind, but now kayaking has become a favorite activity for my son and me to do together. Living in Tampa, Florida, the Southeast region affords us good fortune of paddling year-round, since even with cold temperatures the waterways don't freeze. On a trip to explore the Savannah/Tybee … [Read more...]
A Chance for Family Bonding at the Bear Grylls Survival Academies – Q&A with the “Man vs. Wild” Star
By Bear Grylls with Heather Mundt Note: I?ll admit I was uneasy last summer when my husband, Michael, and I signed up for the Bear Grylls Survival Academy 24-hour course at the only location in Colorado, Snow Mountain Ranch - YMCA of the Rockies, in Granby. Based on survival techniques from the former British Special Forces soldier and arguably television?s most … [Read more...]
My Outdoor Family: Meet a caterpillar named “Fuzzy”
by Eliana Osborn My son's rain jacket is laid across the back of the sofa. In the split second before calling, Come hang this up, I notice something yellow on the sleeve. Closer up, something fuzzy, perhaps a flower bud knocked off while running by. I lift the yellow cylinder with a piece of paper from the computer. A caterpillar, braving a stormy wet Fairbanks, Alaska … [Read more...]
