For years my kids have wanted me to take them camping. FOR YEARS. But this momma is not a camping lady. I want my own bedroom, a comfy bed, no bugs, and no campfire smell…..and these things don’t happen when you are camping.
However, I long for the relaxed, family time that comes with camping. I want to disconnect and stay in a state or national park for a few days, not just as dash through like we experienced last year. So I want to reap all the rewards of camping, yet I don’t really want to camp. Make sense?
This past week, my kids had the opportunity to camp with their cousins & grandparents in Central Illinois where they rode bikes and played on the play ground and ate yummy camping food and sat by a campfire. And it made me think, maybe I could do this.
This July, we will be embarking on a week-long camping trip across Texas in an RV. I have spent the past week planning the trip and have used the discovertheforest.org to help locate some great places to camp along the way. Discover the Forest is a great website for kids to show them how fun getting outdoors can be. They feature lists, games, and more.
I used the interactive map that shows all the forests & parks within a 50 mile radius of a given area. So it will come in handy when tying to locate a new area to discover from home too.
And I just love the cute ads they have promoting the site:
The site also has fun activities and great snap guides to help identify constellations or navigating forest trails.
I love that we are encouraging our families to get outdoors more and this website is a terrific way to do it. You don’t need to go camping to get outdoors. Check out a new state park nearby (use this map to help you) and plan a day hiking, geocaching, or picnicking with the family! I always feel so much more relaxed and connected to my kid when we get outdoors and enjoy what the forest has to offer.
The website is a big help in planning our upcoming trip. I will get over the sleeping in a camper – being outdoors – phobia for the week. As long as I have lots of these on my trip, this momma will be happy!
