Camping In Style

Rock Art: Draw a line or spiral with a long stick and collect rocks and pine cones - place on the line in a pattern. Show them a picture of “The spiral Jetty” by Robert Smithson.   Camp Kitchen: Collect cooking gear from the thrift store, see if you can find items on small scale, find a flat rock, log or camp bench and draw in chalk a stove top (two circles with an “X”) Fill a pitcher of water and tell them to go to town making mud pies and cooking them. (keep mud away from where people walk). Rock & Stick Art: Hunt for sticks and rocks then paint with washable tempera   Pine Cone Critters: Glue small rocks, sticks onto pine cones to make different figures. Tacky glue works best.   Hide & Seek an old stand by.   Bug Hunt with a bug jar.   Hopscotch: Use a long sticks to make squares in dirt & small rocks to throw.   Beading: $1 store good for this, I like using a tray or baking sheet to contain every...

“HEY, THERE’S A TREE IN THERE!!” Look at all those acorns just lying around in the road, going to waste! C’mon, join the fun!! It’s all the rage!!! ACORN FLINGING!! How do you do it? By flinging every healthy hearty acorn you see off the road back into the woods! It’s fun AND convenient!! One of your far-flung acorns may grow into a tree someday thereby benefiting future generations or if not, it may make a squirrel, scrub jay or another critter happy! YUM! So Join the Fun!! Send me some photos of you gleefully flinging and I will post them here! Now get out there and get FLINGING!!! Post from Eco Activism

For a great family friendly activity, pack up the kids, the vintage camping trailer and head north of Nevada City, through the picturesque town of Downieville and Sierra City and turn left at the general store of Bassetts and follow the winding road up past the amazing look out to the Sierra Buttes to the Lakes Basin Campground. The campground is centrally located for hikes, fishing and adventures on any one of the neighboring lakes.  We brought along an inflatable kayak and took turns paddling around Gold Lake.  The fish were hoping every which way, so the boys enjoyed the opportunity to practice the sport of fishing. If water sports aren't what you're interested, try one of the many hikes in the area, options for all levels.   For a great morning activity hike out the Grassy Lake Trail up to the Long Lake Trail and reward yourself with a refreshing dip at the end. When you pack your camping goodies, don't forget your local ...

I’m a Mom in my late 40’s with a daughter who is eight. I started camping with ADR when she was 3 months old. ADR tends to like calm environments and up to the age of four she was rather fussy and clingy. Now she is eight and she loves camping, but it didn't start out that way.  This post is about camping with young kids as I see it. Simply edit the information based on your needs.  Basically I feel camping is a highly rewarding and educational activity for children. The more you like it the more they will too. I love camping with ADR so much and she has taken to it with much interest and enthusiasm. But it didn’t start out that way…………………. WHAT AGE IS THE BEST TO START CAMPING?  Start with these questions?     1- Know your child regardless of what others say about "Camping With Kids". 2- How many people are you camping with that will be helpfull? 3- How comfortable is your child outside or in new environments? 4- Does yo...

Rock Art: Draw a line or spiral with a long stick and ask them to collect rocks and pine cones and place on the line in a pattern. Show them a picture of “The spiral Jetty” by Robert Smithson Camp Kitchen: Collect cooking gear from the thrift store, see if you can find items on small scale, find a flat rock, log or camp bench and draw in chalk a stove top (two circles with an “X”) Fill a pitcher of water and tell them to go to town making mud pies and cooking them. (keep mud away from where people walk) Rock & Stick Art: Hunt for sticks and rocks then paint with washable tempera. Pine Cone Critters: Glue small rocks, sticks onto pine cones to make different figures. Tacky glue works best.   Hide & Seek and old stand by Bug Hunt with a bug jar Hopscotch: Use a long sticks to make squares in dirt & small rocks to throw Beading: $1 store good for this, I like using a tray or baking sheet to contain everything Journal:...

This book embraces curiosity and earth loving activities for children and their companions “If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.” ― Rachel Carson - click here to other earth loving quotes by Rachel

Hermit Thrush As Spring nears I hear more and more birds every morning. It makes me feel hopeful, excited and curious about what birds we have here in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Then in my research I found two great resources.  Barn Owl at Folsom Zoo * South Yuba River Park Association Birding at Bridgeport by local expert Bill Cortright Bring In The Clowns photo by Mark Schmitt w/ GREAT photos Schedule for South Yuba Bird Watch Red Tailed Hawk at Folsom Zoo And a beautiful resource site through San Francisco State University listing details about the Birds of The Sierra Valley and The Yuba Pass Area click here to see their report. American Dipper taken from Wikipedia SUGGESTED READING Sierra Nevada Natural History, T. I. Storer, R. L. Usinger,D. Lukas; The classic book on all aspects of the natural history of the Range of Light. Order at Amazon A Sierra Club Naturalist's Guide to the Sierra Nevada, S. Whitney. ...

Last week we went to The Folsom Zoo with my daughters Expeditionary Learning School. I have never been fond of zoos. However this zoo has the healthiest rescue animals who are the happiest animals I have ever seen. All the animals are fed organic food, the deer come up to be pet and the animals are loved by the staff. Check it out if your ever in the area. 

Here is a video I had to watch two or three times. Perfect for kiddos too    Bear Counting in Canada - You HAVE to watch this  (The link to this is at the bottom of the page. The park is named after the Algonquin Indians.)  This clip is great for animal lovers and young children  Momma Bear and her three very young cubs in the wild of northern Ontario, Canada. Humane wildlife experts taking a winter bear census right in the hibernation dens. CLICK ON LINK BELOW   http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vJRDpTUIrJI&vq=medium Note to my bloggies: "blogger" was not allowing me to post due to many problems with the program, it looks like they have upgraded and I am back on track.  Thanks for visiting my site and Happy Camping In Style! Ruth    

   Happy Mothers Day to you and your Mother. We spent our day with good friends taking a short hike on Independence Trail and then lunch at  Rainbow Lodge located in Soda Springs California. My daughter didn't get much sleep last night so she reminded me all day of my role in her life.     

If I were on your Christmas, Kwanzaa or Hanukkah gift list this year this is what would I want, maybe the person on your list would too! A GIFT CERTIFICATE TO REI, GSI or even SIERRA TRADING POST GSI STAINLESS WINE GLASS $12.95 PATAGONIA BEANIE HAT $29   OVERLAND EQUIPMENT BAYLISS SHOULDER BAG $45   WOMAN'S WINTER BOOTIE $75   SIERRA DOWN BOOTIES $50   CAMPING ORNAMENT SET $20   A set of GLACIER STAINLESS MARTINI GLASS $10 ea For the man in your life maybe something like this? GLACIER STAINLESS LEATHER FLASK $30. For the kids: SMARTWOOL WINTER HAT $30    SAVE OUR SOULS FLIGHT SOCKS  $10 TURTLE FUR TASSEL HAT $14   Ahhh I love to virtual shop        

This is our dog Bravo who knows were camping but doesn't understand he can't go this time, very sad dog   Recently our school, an expeditionary learning school, went on a group camping trip to a local campground. The whole thing made me very nervous. Camping with 45 kids and parents most of which I didn't know.................... yet. The children were between 5 and 7 years old, the adults between 25 and 60 just to paint a clear picture. The objective is to build community and create bonding within' the group while learning by doing. This was a non stop extravaganza............ singing, dancing, 9 crafts stations, skits, individual crew routines, building a watershed at the lake, lunch, play time, hiking and then more of everything listed above. Ending the day around the campfire singing songs to a guitar and roasting smoores. Needless to say EVERYONE was exhausted by the end of the day. 9pm to be exact.  Just to give my next statement credentials:  I used to w...