About the Camping Resource Guides

As a child, I often went on vacations with my parents but they were typically places for tourists. Although I remember a few places such as the Florida Everglades (because of the alligators), for the most part, those places were really wasted on me. It was the places we went where we camped outdoors that I always remembered, not the "stay in a hotel" type vacation that my parents dragged me to.

It wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I experienced my first "real" camping trips. I was working with autistic and schizaphrenic adolesents in a program in Berkeley California, and part of the program consisted of one month camping trips. We camped in various places such as the Mohave desert and the Mendocino Woodlands. We lived in tee-pee's and were assigned various duties such as fire (gather fire wood and build community fires), water (clean up after meals and wash dishes), etc.

Although our schedules were packed with things to do, we had a great time hiking, jumping into the freezing cold streams in the early morning, sitting around the campfire in the evenings, playing music, mapping out the next day's events and places to visit, and generally spending most of every day paying attention to our survival needs.

They were great times, and what made them great was the element of survival. Camping out under the stars is much different from the safety and security of a hotel or motel room. The bonds developed between the staff members and the kids were stronger than anything I've ever experienced as an adult -- many of which have developed into relationships that have survived more than 30 years later.

If you are planning a vacation with your kids, consider getting them outdoors. Forget about the hotels and the motels and the security of four walls and a comfortable bed. Although it's easy to fall into wanting necessities taken care of for us, it's the fending for yourself that makes for a truly memorable experience. Your kids will thank you later.

Get my free report on "Camping with the Family".