Dear Parks,

OutdoorBaby.net is dedicated to supporting families who enjoy the outdoors.  We have as a mission to offer advice, stories, and reviews that will inspire novices to step outdoors as well as help others who have a lot of experience but may have a specific question.

In the last couple of years we have mostly been car camping, yet we still try to stay true to our minimalist roots and tent camp.  We believe that introducing children to the outdoors should be an experience that brings them close to the natural world and to experience a life that is different than the one they have at home.

We are writing to you because in the last few years we have on multiple occasions been turned down from camping areas because the sites were mostly all taken up by RVs.  We believe that RVing is a great way to travel and at one point we are sure that we will participate in this form of recreation, however camping in a tent is one of the historical ways to experience wild places in this country.  It is unfortunate that families who are trying to continue this tradition are turned away.  Also there seems to be many overflow or group campsites for tent camping but less so for RVs.  On a number of occasions we have had the unfortunate experience of having to stay in those areas that are overcrowded, noisy, and which are totally not a wilderness experience.

As more and more attention is being placed – from the white house to major organizations starting large campaigns - on getting families to be active, healthy and in connection with the outdoor world, we feel that governmental agencies should be looking at their camping areas and policies to see if they can work in a way that best support tent campers.

A restructuring of campgrounds may be the way to go.  RVs can easily line up next to each other and still offer amenities and privacy (since RV’s have solid walls and generators).  Tent campers need a little more space between sites to offer more seclusion.  Also, most tent campers do not need some of the utilities that RVs require.  In this way a section of a campground could be exclusively for RVs and tent campers could reclaim the spots that were originally planned out for them.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Heidi Ahrens

OutdoorBaby.Net

San Francisco is passing a law that will require retailers to give out information about how much radiation emission each sell phone has.   Read full article.

This is the most comprehensive list of information about EMF's  List

French School  limit use of cell phone  for children.

This month’s adventures?  Beating the heat and allergies, and working too much.  I did not have a very active month this time.  I worked some extra days for a coworker, so did not get the chance to get out of town to escape the heat as much as I would have liked, until this past week.  There have been a lot of days lately, in the 90’s or even above 100 degrees.  My solution was something I should have been doing anyway (and love to do) which is swim laps.  Lincoln Park’s outdoor pool is only a few blocks away from my house, so a couple times a week I hop on my bike and swim for about 40-60 minutes.  I have heard a lot of benefits of swimming while pregnant, including good breathing techniques for birthing.  I think the best reason though (personally and according to consensus), is you feel pretty normal.  You don’t have that typical uncomfortable, hot, pregnant feeling.  It’s a great escape from carrying around those extra pounds!  I highly recommend swimming regularly.  Heck, even if you’re not pregnant.  I saw a lot of parents just sitting by the side of the pool while their kids were taking lessons.  I thought, wow, what a perfect excuse to hop in the pool and swim for just 30 minutes.  That’s what I would be doing if my kid was in lessons.  I know it’s hard as a parent to find just 30 minutes to exercise, normally.

I did manage to get out twice this past week for some fun I haven’t done since last summer.  The first was fly-fishing on the mesa with my husband.  I didn’t get a single bite, but that’s not really why I fly-fish anyway.  The main reason is just being out by some beautiful mountain lake or stream, maybe even getting my feet wet.  The second is working on my casting technique.  It’s a little trickier than I had initially thought.  But I have found it to be a lot like golf, the harder you think about it the more you mess it up.  I just have to remember to slow down, breathe and watch the line, and then it usually does what it’s supposed to.  It was a great day on the Grand Mesa.  Clear skies and a little bit of a breeze.  We couldn’t have asked for better weather.  I wish I made it up there more often.

The day after we went fly-fishing, I tested out my life jacket to see how well it still fit over my belly.  My husband and I floated the Moab Daily with a couple friends I work with.  Jeff has a raft that the four of us paddled, as we laughed our way down the river.  My PFD rode up over my belly a little, but was so worth the fun we had.  I even hopped in the very chilly water for a swim.  The water took my breath away at first, but I was able to get used to it quickly.  The Daily is a pretty mellow stretch, so I was surprised to see how big the holes were at White’s Rapid at this level.  Gotta love a little excitement on a raft trip!  My husband is actually talking about getting a raft in a couple years, as soon as we can get the little one into a life jacket.  This to me is funny, yet great.  Most people I know don’t get to raft as much once they have kids.  We tend to look at things differently.  To us, having a kid is an excuse to get out and do more.  We want our kid to be outside as much as possible, to experience even more than we did as kids, and I had a great childhood in the outdoors!  But rafting is perfect with kids.  It’s like car camping, but away from the roads and campgrounds full of people.  You can bring everything you need, including fun beach games.  I can’t wait to take our little girl on some local day trips, working our way up to multi-day river excursions.

As I am writing this, she is moving around inside me like crazy.  I am right at 24 weeks, and have to admit, my favorite part about being pregnant right now is feeling her move.  I will lay there at night with my hand on my belly, losing out on much needed sleep.  I know I have a few more months of this, but I know it won’t last forever.  But then, I will get to enjoy seeing her and watching her wiggle and squirm.  I hope she grows up to be just as active as she is now in my belly.  I know I have said this before, but I am so excited to share these small adventures with my daughter.

By Kati Sewalson

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Recently my daughter and I started a small science project.  We purchased a butterfly kit from Nature Gifts.com and cared for ten caterpillars as they grew into butterflies.  It was a great way to learn about the life cycle, to care for insects and to be scientists.

We followed the simple explanations that came wit the caterpillars and bug net from  Nature Gifts.com and added some fun activities of our own.  The kit comes with everything you need to care for your butterflies.

Follow these tips and you will soon be looking at beautiful butterflies.  It is a great activity for unpredictable spring weather that may keep you inside.  It is always great to experience nature outdoors but sometimes observing up close teaches you a lot about respecting nature’s process.

·         Caterpillars will come to you in a jar filled with the food they need to grow.  At this stage all you do is observe them.

·         My daughter and I decided to keep a log of what we saw.  In about ten days our caterpillars tripled in size, ate most of their food and cycled through slow movers, moving all the time, to sedentary creatures.

·         This is when the caterpillars wove themselves into tight cocoons called chrysalises.

·         We then transferred them to their net home, where it took about five days for them to emerge as butterflies.

·         We continued our observations throughout the activity by asking questions, making predictions and counting with sticks the number of days every stage took.

·         My daughter also did some drawings and took some pictures.

·         After all the butterflies came out we gave them some sugar water, misted their environment and kept them for a few days.

·         Then we released them.

·         Two months later my daughter still looks around for her butterflies and asks questions about where they are.

Growing butterflies at home was a wonderful nature activity to do in the spring.

Heidi Ahrens

Free outdoor Gear given away every week on OutdoorBaby.net.  Simply log on and share a story!

Children thrive on being out of doors.  Yet, they do not get a lot of time to truly experience nature.  Researchers at the University of Illinois have found that a 15 minute walk outdoors can make children with ADHD more able to function in school.  Exploring nature teaches science, pre-literacy skills, math, and problem solving.  For children on the autism spectrum who crave more intense sensory experiences, creating a sensory & nature play area in your backyard can provide them with a perfect summer.

Here are some simple ways to recreate your backyard:

1.       Plant a sensory garden. Herbs can be the easiest thing to plant. They are inexpensive, can be eaten, have different textures and smell wonderful.  I would suggest rosemary, thyme, mint, and lemon balm to start with.  Know that mint and lemon balm will take over everything if you let it, so plant it in planters that you dig into the ground.

2.       Add a place for your child to play with water and sand.  You can either purchase a small plastic swimming pool and sand box or you can just get large plastic containers to keep sand in and to add water.  When they are done playing with the water for the day, use it to water the herb garden.

3.       If you can handle the fact that your children will get very messy, which is a great experience for them, add a mud pie kitchen.  Here is a great article on how to create a mud pie kitchen.

4.       Create a quiet area and a place for pretend play. You can use items from your house or you can purchase EZ-Fort, which enables the kids the build all sorts of different hide-a-ways.

5.       Purchase any of the outdoor art toys from Crayola to add art experiences.

6.       Allow your child to experience vestibular motion by adding a small trampoline, swing, and/or jump ropes.

7.       Finally, gather together or purchase gardening equipment, sand & beach toys, items to explore bugs and nature with and measuring cups.

Have a wonderful summer playing in your back yard.  Let your child take the lead in playing.  If you feel it is safe, let them go outside and explore without you.  When they are by themselves outdoors, is when the real learning takes place.  To learn more about toys for children with and without disabilities visit letkidsplay.com .  While you are visiting the site, make sure that you sign up for our newsletter to ensure you get the latest information about toys.

Mara Kaplan is an expert in play and inclusive toys. You can find many more toy recommendations at her blog: letkidsplay.blogspot.com. Learn more about Mara's work to increase the number of accessible playspaces at www.letkidsplay.com and www.accessibleplayground.net

The Pedouins have a goal to cycle 7,000 miles from Kentucky to Alaska.  They will accomplish this goal on a Quint bike ( bike built to seat five) and will be supported by the generosity of others.  Huband Bill, mom Amarins and their three children aged 6,4,3 left Kentucky in July of 2009 and they are now just crossing the Canadian border.  They have already peddled 5,600 miles and visited 15 states.

Follow them on the final leg of their trip by visiting their website  Pedouins on Quint Bicycle.

" The journey to Alaska will provide limitless opportunities for discovery
about nature, people and the United States.

Join us as we experience the abundance of this land and...

• See the diversity
  
• Hear the stories
  
• Smell the flavors
  
• Taste the foods
  
• Touch the textures
  

• Witness the generosity and kindness that has made this land the place to be for people all around the world." - The Pedouins
  

The President's Cancer Panel released a report based on research for 2008-2009.  The document titled Reducing Environmental Cancer Risks, What We Can Do Now offers advice as well as data about the best actions we can take to reduce our cancer risks as a nation.

To access the full report please click this link.

I have to admit, I was not as active this month as I would have liked to have been, though I did manage to get in two very fun adventures .  My energy level has definitely increased, and day-long nausea has subsided.  The replacements have come in the form of headaches and heartburn.  (Almost as much fun.)  Even with increased energy, I still find I get tired more easily than I would normally.  So I can still get out and play, I just make sure to get a really good night’s sleep afterward (which I never needed an excuse for anyway).

The fun part about both of my trips, one short and one very long, is they both involved our previous and new Volkswagon vans.  We had a 1969 VW Bus that we hadn’t had a chance to take on a road trip (we only bought it last fall, and it sat most of the winter), so when we talked with a friend about going to Moab to do some rock climbing, we knew we would take the bus. I had not been rock climbing in years, so I was very surprised at how well I climbed, especially being pregnant.  The weather was unbelievable, and we had a great time climbing with friends.  Like I said, I get more tired after activity than normal, so it was REALLY nice being able to just crawl into the bed in the camper van and crash on a comfortable cushion.  We knew we were hooked on this type of “camping”.

For most of the rest of the month we were pretty occupied looking for a newer VW van that we could still camp in but would not only take us further, but also to some more remote locations, preferably in the mountains.  It also had to be more baby/kid friendly.  There were no seatbelts in the 69 van, which we would have had to install in order to use a car seat.  About the only exercise I got during this time was riding my bike to work (which is only a mile away), as well as several short walks and hikes.   Better than nothing, but not as active as I should be during the second trimester.  Things will only get harder as my belly expands!

We ended up deciding we wanted to get a VW Syncro, all wheel drive vans made mostly in the 80’s.  The one we found that best fit our needs, was in Eugene, Oregon, which meant a road trip that we were pretty excited about.  This one is a seven passenger, with the back bench seat that folds out into a bed.  It does not have any of the other camper accessories like cabinets, sink, etc., which we were ok with.  We were able to rent a car to drive one way out to Eugene in a day and drop it off there.  That was one long drive.  We got to spend the day in Eugene, my husband mostly taking care of the transaction, DMV, etc.  That evening we drove out toward the shore and spent our first night in the new van.  The next day we spent the day exploring beaches and other parts of the shore.  Our favorite stop was one where we couldn’t even reach the beach.  It was closed off because the local seals and sea lions had recently had pups.  We had a great time watching and listening to them play.

As I said in my first installment, I had intended to summit Grays and Torreys Peaks, as well as some other 14ers this summer.  I just recently read that pregnant women have to be careful gaining altitude, doing so very slowly.  Granted I do move slower than usual, and I already live at about 4500 feet.  So I think I will give an easy one a try, not pushing too hard, and see how it goes.  If I do not feel that I am getting enough oxygen for both me and my baby, I will turn around and be glad I got out for a beautiful hike in the mountains.

 Something else I should add is something I have found to be priceless at this stage…massages!  I have had two in the last month, and will continue to get one a month probably until the end of my pregnancy.  Unless I find that the tension headaches quit on their own.  But then I’m sure I will have new aches and pains that can be eased with a good massage by that time.

So here’s to fun hikes with friends and road trips with a great spouse!  Oh, and of course VW vans, the best form of car camping there is!  My husband and I can’t wait to get our little one out on the road to new and amazing places.

By Kati Sewalson

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The countdown to camp is fast approaching, and the American Camp Association® (ACA) has the following tips to help families prepare and pack for a fun-filled camp experience.

• Plan Ahead — Remember your happy camper will be living out of a duffel back, trunk, or suitcase for the duration. Packing light helps campers keep track of items, and guarantees that they can handle their own luggage at camp.
• Review Camp Packing Lists — Individual camps should provide a recommended camp packing list, complete with any required equipment, preferred footwear, etc. Be sure to carefully review what is needed, with special attention to those items that may not be permitted at camp. Before packing your camper’s favorite Nintendo DS, be sure that the camp permits electronic items. If you have questions, be sure to speak with the camp director.
• Label Everything — Laundry pens, iron-ons, and press and stick labels will distinguish your camper’s belongings from those of other cabin or tent mates. Most camps ask that you label each item, including clothing, personal items, and toiletries. Make sure that your child can identify the label used.
• Break in Shoes and Boots Before Camp Begins — Make sure that your child’s clothing and footwear are comfortable and appropriate. Sending a camper in brand-new hiking boots can result in sore feet and time spent sitting out of exciting activities.
• Prepare Together — Decisions about camp, like what to pack, should be made together. The more ownership your camper has in these decisions, the easier the adjustment and transition to camp will be.

For individual and special questions, contact your camp director. Camp directors welcome the opportunity to assist you and your camper as you prepare for this exciting and life-changing experience. For more information on preparing and packing for camp, families can also visit ACA’s family resource site at www.CampParents.org.

Contact Public Relations at 765.349.3317 or pr@ACAcamps.org to interview an ACA spokesperson or for more information about how camp helps stem summer learning loss. For customizable public service announcements or article reprints, visit our Media Center at www.ACAcamps.org/media_center/.

About ACA
The American Camp Association® (ACA) works to preserve, promote, and enhance the camp experience for children and adults. ACA-Accredited® camp programs ensure that children are provided with a diversity of educational and developmentally challenging learning opportunities. There are over 2,400 ACA-accredited camps that meet up to 300 health and safety standards. For more information, visit www.ACAcamps.org.

• As parents, work with your child’s coaches and qualified instructors to understand what kind of practice drills and schedule are required of each athlete.

• Emphasize that enjoying the game and satisfaction from performance are the most important for developing athletes; winning is great, but it’s not the end of the world if you lose/fail if you try your best.

• Warm up properly – start with a light jog to break a sweat then make sure to stretch muscles.

• If you are sore and feel pain, rest for a day or until the pain is gone. Use heat or ice therapy as needed for swelling or sore muscles. Listen to your body. Young players should NOT play through injuries

• It’s important to work on proper mechanics at an early age. Use proper batting and fielding technique, even during practice, to help prevent injury.

• Give your child all of the tools they need to succeed, including protective sporting gear, instruction from qualified professionals and emotional support.

• Young children ages 5 to 14 are especially vulnerable to sports injuries, accounting for more than 80 percent of all sports-related emergency room visits according to the Centers for Disease Control. Because many sports injuries can be prevented by wearing the proper protective gear, make sure you utilize it properly. Make sure to wear a helmet to protect your head, in mitt protective gloves inside fielders’ gloves and a batting glove that protects your hands.

• The hands are one of the most complex parts of our body, and also the most vulnerable to injury, with many small bones, blood vessels, nerve endings and tendons just under the surface of the skin. There is not much muscle or fat in this area to help cushion against impacts. Protective gear for hands will give youth confidence they need in the batters’ box.

• Communicate with your child about the sports they are playing. Discuss safety, protecting their body and why it’s important as they continue playing the game.

• For pitchers, it’s important not to overuse your pitching muscles. Little League recommends the following rest periods for pitching:

Age 7-16              Age 17-18                            Rest Days

61+ pitches         76+ pitches                         3 days

41-60 pitches     51-75 pitches                     2 days

21-40 pitches     26-50 pitches                     1 day

1-20 pitches        1-25 pitches                        no rest day

 by Greg Gauvin from XProTex

Blackoaknaturalist

The majority of people of all ages who see this photo of my son with a millipede crawling across his face are disgusted.  A notable exception is the small circle of naturalists with whom I’m in regular communication about all manner of wild creatures.  Recently, my son and I were discussing the origin of the “great divide,” that is, the divide between people who develop  curiosity about and  affection for things that crawl and those whose first impulse is to squish or avoid and to yell “Eeewww” or “Yuck!”  We agreed that the divide usually occurs very early in life and is taught to the young by adults.

            All kids are curious, up to a point, but they begin getting messages while very young that they should not be curious.  Don’t touch!  Icky!  It might bite.  It’s poisonous.  It’s dirty.  Thus, most kids are on one side of the divide or the other before they even start school.  What a tragedy that probably the majority of the population have negative feelings toward the wide range of critters which inhabit our ecosystem in a complex of interdependence on which we humans depend.  When we buy all our food rather than grow it, and when we spend most of our time indoors and/or wear headphones most of the time when we are outside, we grow up disconnected from nature and will only have negative relations with creatures that we fear are dirty, ugly or dangerous.

            As a naturalist, I am totally supportive of the theme of Richard Louv’s  book, Last Child in the Woods, in which he discusses the frightening consequences of  kids growing up less and less connected with nature.  He coins the term “nature-deficit disorder” for the psychological and ecological consequences of alienation from nature.

            If you read Louv’s book, you will most likely decide you must get more familiar with the common critters in your environment in order to help your child become connected.  There are actually very few harmful creatures to worry about in Plumas County.  You don’t have to be a biologist to learn to recognize black widow spiders and rattlesnakes.  That’s about it!

The alligator lizard my son is holding tried to bite when first picked up.  Then it became hand-tamed almost immediately and made a great pet for a while.  We kept it in a terrarium and fed it slugs, worms, and insects for a few weeks then let it go where we found it.  The ring-neck snake wrapped around his finger was even more of a thrill. As adults they seldom exceed a foot in length and are exceptionally gentle.  They, too, eat worms and bugs and can cause no harm.

As for the big, scary millipede, it, too, is harmless, and is quite easily distinguished from its mildly poisonous cousins, the centipedes.  It is lots of fun to watch the wave motion generated by their legs when they crawl – a wave that moves forward faster than the millipede itself – and compare it to the ‘standing’ wave of the centipedes, which can be observed without handling the centipede.  The centipede seems to move forward through the wave of its legs which stands still.

Kids will not grow up caring about protecting our environment if early on they develop aversions to most of the creatures in it. In our home, we have lots of books that show kids how to care for harmless bugs and other invertebrates in terrariums.  Your local library and bookstores, as well as the world-wide web have almost unlimited sources of ideas for the beginning natural historian.

Nature journaling is also a great way to help kids not only appreciate their natural surroundings, but also to develop good habits of observation, questioning, writing and drawing that will help them out in virtually any academic pursuit.  There are many good books on this subject as well.

by Joe Willis

Black Oak Publishing

PO Box 4342

Quincy, CA 95971

530 283-1746

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When I first found out I was pregnant, I had been going to the climbing gym with my husband on a regular basis.  It was the middle of ice climbing season, and I really needed to get my upper body in shape in order to do the steeper, more technical ice I was ready to do. We were not climbing at the gym so much as upper body and core strength training. One week in particular, I started feeling really tired. I didn’t have the energy to put into these workouts that I normally had. Even though Ryan, the gym owner and a good friend, said I was getting noticeably stronger.

 One day I even went to the grocery store and picked up some good, natural, energy juice drinks that are full of vitamins, thinking I was getting sick or maybe just pushing myself too hard. (I was ice climbing about twice a week, which includes travel to Ouray, and working out at the gym most other nights, for about a month.) Well, a couple days passed, and I started getting other symptoms like mild cramps, which was really strange, because I normally get cramps. Then I was about two days late, and that was when I told my husband something was up. He got really excited and told me to go get a home pregnancy test.  Of course it was positive, and my first reaction was shock. Is this real? Am I really ready for this? How much is my life going to change? Those were just a couple of the many thoughts going through my head. It really didn’t even sink in for a while. So I tried to go on through life as normally as possible. I did not have the energy to work out at the climbing gym and go ice climbing like I had, which actually worked out well, because my husband had injured his ankle ice climbing and couldn’t climb as well. We just kind of laid low and hung out together enjoying our new news for about a month. I continued to get up to the ski hill and enjoy some of the great snow we received this year on my telemark skis. This was nice because I could still sleep in a little, and take breaks whenever I needed to.

My energy started coming back slowly, but nausea had really kicked in by this time. Luckily I wasn’t throwing up much, but I still didn’t feel so hot. Also, it was getting harder to keep the secret from some of our closer friends. They noticed I was not drinking, and didn’t feel well on a regular basis, and wasn’t getting out to play as much as I normally did. They put the pieces together pretty quickly. We were pretty excited, so we spilled the beans earlier than most people anyway, I think.

 By about 10-12 weeks, I was beginning to feel a little more like myself, which worked out well, because the weather was just starting to get really nice. My husband, a friend of ours and I managed to get out for one more day of ice climbing before the season was over. I’ll admit, I slept most of the way from Grand Junction to Ouray (about a two hour trip), and slept in the car another hour while the guys picked a route, set up and got first pitches in. I almost didn’t go because I was afraid of being too tired. But by doing this, it made it a lot more enjoyable for me, because I still really wanted to get out and climb. I really appreciate my husband, Matt, for not only picking up the slack at times, but in general being very patient with me through my exhaustion.

We had also taken a little mini ski-vacation to Crested Butte with some friends. Both of the other couples had kids with them, which made the trip a lot of fun. Matt’s ankle would start bothering him, so he would go play in the pool with them when they got tired of skiing. Again, I would sleep as long as I wanted to, then get out and enjoy the warmer temps from about 10 AM through the afternoon. This trip went really well, I just had to constantly be eating something to combat the nausea. I kept a half a bagel in a baggie in my pocket, which worked great! The only downside pregnancy brings to a trip like this, is I didn’t get to enjoy the time in the hot tub that I would have liked to, and I could not have any alcoholic drinks. I’m not going to lie, I miss having a beer or glass of wine.

Last week was probably my most eventful yet, since finding out I was pregnant. I work three days a week (which is awesome when you don’t have much energy), Friday through Sunday. So I have the weekdays to get out and enjoy the ski hills and trails when everyone else is working. On my four days off last week, I went rock climbing with Matt in the Colorado National Monument, hiked up Mt. Garfield by myself, and skinned up Powderhorn with a friend/coworker. The lifts there are closed for the season because most people here in the valley start golfing and mountain biking when it warms up. But, Jeff and I couldn’t pass up the foot of snow that fell in 24 hours!  We had the runs to ourselves!

As far as this next trimester, I’m looking forward to having even more energy and enjoying the nice spring weather. Matt, our climbing partner, and I were planning on doing Grays and Torreys peaks next week, but my husband fears the avalanche danger is still too high. And since a good friend of ours was just caught in an avy and broke both his legs, I agreed to err on the side of caution. We’ll wait until early May. So instead, we have opted to take a trip to Moab to do some desert crack climbing, something which we are both new to, and car camping. The warm temps will be enjoyable too.

So as you can see, I have not quit doing anything I love to do, just because I am pregnant. Has it slowed me down? Sure, but it’s not forever. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and she called the second trimester the “bionic” phase, because she had so much energy. I am hoping I am just as lucky. And I couldn’t have timed it better. I love the spring temps and love to be very active this time of year. I will continue hiking, biking (mostly road, some mellow single track), climbing, floating the river, and just plain enjoying the great outdoors. I also plan on hiking a lot of 14ers this summer. Not only is it great exercise, but a great way to get out of the Grand Valley heat. Now come August and September, when I am getting that big belly, I’ll take it easier. I plan on hiking and walking early and late in the day when it is cooler, and spending the afternoons inside or floating in my pool, keeping cool.

I’ll keep you up to date and hope to see you all out there!

Here’s to Bionic Phase!

By Kati Sewalson

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