Gulp, Gulp!

How do I answer this question?  For me, experiencing the outdoors and introducing my daughter to all its wonders includes sleeping under the stars, canoeing numerous miles or hiking with a heavy pack.  But, I also believe that my daughter’s backyard explorations have as much merit as our tent camping experiences.  I started www.outdoorbaby.net to support parents in transitioning into a more active outdoor life style.  I believed that families who have a lot of experience with outdoor travel could support families who were just starting to think about including nature into their lives.  That is the point of this website: to support families in their connection to outdoor environments where ever they find themselves on the remoteness factor.

Before I answered Sommer’s questions I asked her a bunch of my own. I wanted to find out about her reasoning around needing an RV to go camping.  Here are her answers:

“Okay so here it is!  My husband works like crazy and has his own business. It's hard to get away for long periods of time. We live in Northern Michigan where fishing and camping is common. We like to take long weekends but I'm a hoteler not a camper. I like to take a shower and sleep on a bed. I don't mind hiking, boating and all the other outdoor fun stuff; I just don't want to sleep in a tent on the ground. So we have a timeshare we are going to sell. We never use it because we can't get away for long periods of time. Flying is so expensive, too. Plus my hubby doesn't really like the beaches and resorts like I do. So were trying to compromise and find away to vacation, see things, enjoy the outdoors and do things we both like.”  Sommer Poquette

Reading her answer made it clear to me that she was in the same boat as my family.  We have very little discretionary income and we can’t really fly much or go to remote locations like we would love to do.  Sommer was ready to compromise with her husband.  My husband and I compromise with our budget and with our desires of what outdoor activities to do.  Sommer was ready to bring her family into the outdoors and experience some of its wonders but she was not willing to forgo all comforts during her vacation.  I understand this very well. That is why we tend to build into our trips a few visits to new towns so that we can do the city-dweller activities we miss.

I liked Sommer’s honesty about her time share.  She was willing to be more adventurous with her travels. Time shares can be very habitual, so she was ready to step outside that comfort box.  A good lesson.  I did wonder though if Sommer’s husband was into tent camping at all. I also wondered if Sommer and her husband should think about these questions:

What is the environmental impact of driving an RV?

What materials are used in the construction of the RV?

Why is not showering and sleeping on the ground such a ‘scary thing’?

What are key components to a vacation for this couple?

Why do they want to go outdoors/camp in the first place? What do they get out of boating? Fishing?

How could they get comfortable with the idea of sleeping outside under the stars for example?

I don’t need to know the answer to all these questions, but it does make me wonder how the answers could help me in making sure that my website helps a family like this one make a transition to a more natural experience and communion with the outdoors.

My recommendation for Sommer and her husband is to buy a pop-up tent trailer or a camper top that you put in back of a truck (if they own a truck).  I think that these options would be more ecologically sound (more “green and clean”) and they would allow there family to experience a little bit more of what camping has to offer.  With a tent trailer you hear the wind as you fall asleep and you are surrounded by the sounds of the woods.  In the camper you do most of your activities outside and therefore must take the time to sit and be in the natural environment.

The point of this website is not to compare all the different merits (or not) of different camping options and its environmental impact, but Sommer’s site looks at this stuff all the time. I am sure that if you stay tuned to her site she will shed light on her research in to the right environmental choice of camping assessor she selects.

Heidi