'Are we raising a generation of nature-phobic kids?'

A good tent and proper sleeping gear are much more comfortable than a cabin or those platform tents, says this urban sybarite.

 

Moonshine for me. Tastes rustic.

 

I still spend about 30 nights per year in the woods between hunting and hiking. In my 20s, it was weeklong hiking trips into the backcountry. Wouldn't see another person for days.

Now I appreciate the comforts of a cabin or a small camper - especially for summer trips where nighttime temps are still above 80. Plus my wife's idea of "roughing" it is there not being a coffee maker or hair dryer. The kiddo and I spent a few spring nights out in her treehouse. That was awesome. Can't wait to do it again in the fall.

 

Oh, here are some tips about getting kids outside from Outside.

5 Ways to Get Kids Into Nature

 

It's mostly Trump supporters.

 

I know how to get my kids to go outside any time day or night -- leave the door to the back yard open for 5 seconds.

 

Inky not picking on you but part of the problem is parents need to have a list
to get kids outside instead of using their own instincts. Lists are everywhere...
How to have a memorable 12 yr old birthday party, how to properly eat pizza,
What to do with your kids on a rainy day......think for yourselves people.

 

I don't know if parents need lists to do things or if websites need lists to get clicks.

 

That's fair. It seems like most of the lists are done by mothers with too much time on their hands.

 

When I was a child, my parents would just say 'Get out of the house! Go outside!'

No actually related, but I had a friend whose father was really goofy. Embarrassed my friend, but we all thought he was a riot.
We'd stop by the house to get my friend, and his father would answer the door.
'We'd say 'Hey, Dr. X, is Dooby here?'
And he'd say 'He's gone to seek sanctuary in that great refuge of youth known as 'out.''
The guy was just a nut in the coolest way.

 

One of the last Cub Scout "campouts" we did was on a retired WWII battleship. Plop your sleeping bag on a paper-thin Navy cot and prepare to get no sleep as even the slightest noise echoes halfway across the Gulf of Mexico. Gave me an extra bit of appreciation for the Greatest Generation at least.

 

I had Costa Rican coffee out on the patio at daybreak this morning. If I closed my eyes I could practically hear the howler monkeys.