Category: Kid-Friendly Trips
First Time Backpacking
November 10, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · 5 Comments
I am about to embark on a whole new world of outdoor adventures. As an avid runner, bicycle rider, and hiker, I have been fairly active for most of my life. The one thing I haven’t tried thus far is backpacking. I ran my first full marathon a year ago, which sadly left me injured for most of this last year. Being unable to run, hike, or even bike has not been easy for me. Just in the last few months, I have started back to biking, hiking, and even running short distances. My husband and I recently decided to go backpacking for a short 2.5 mile hike-in, camp overnight, followed by that same distance out. Some friends of ours go on backpacking trips with their kids and invited us along with them. I am not too worried since the distance seems doable for me. It’s the weight we are carrying on our packs that is most troubling. For one thing, we are carrying two kids and their stuff as well. Our youngest weighs about 35 pounds and the other is 47 pounds. So you can... [Read more...]
Still More Reasons to Love Texas Food
November 5, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 1 Comment
Texans take their food as seriously as they do their football. Many Winter Texans and other visitors to the Lone Star State have the good sense to agree with them—that Texan food is that of the gods. 1. City Market Barbecue fans head to downtown Luling to satisfy their craving for City Market’s succulent brisket, hot links, and pork ribs. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved One of the great joys of RVing is visiting new places and making interesting discoveries. Another is just the opposite—revisiting those places that demand a closer look. Sometimes that second chance leads to a third—and a fourth. City Market in Luling, is such a place. The meat-market-turned-barbecue-restaurant started in 1958, and over the years has become a barbecue icon. This is the arguably the best barbeque in all of Texas which helps explain why Luling is perennially included on our Texas itinerary. 2. Lockhart: Barbecue Capital of Texas A short hop, skip, a jump from Luling is Lockhart, the Barbecue Capital... [Read more...]
Fabulous Fall Camping Activities–Part 1
November 4, 2012 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
That time of year when the weather cools and the leaves start to change colors can provide some of the best camping of the year. Fall camping can be some of the most beautiful and comfortable due to these changes. Many communities have terrific activities planned for fall, due to a decline in tourist travel as the children head back to school. This can only add to the fun that is possible at this time of year. This fall, we took the opportunity to attend two small communities’ versions of Oktoberfest, one in September, the other in October. While both had polka bands, they were actually quite different, both in terms of the mood presented and the activities available for participants. We thoroughly enjoyed both experiences. The Taos Ski Valley in northern New Mexico was our first Oktoberfest experience of the year. They had had the wisdom to combine their festivities with a 10K run up a ski hill (in which we did NOT participate) with the food and polka festivities of the typical German... [Read more...]
50 Things We Love About Texas
October 23, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 5 Comments
1. Texas Hospitality 2. Paso Del Rio, or River Walk, the Jewel of the City (San Antonio) 3. Fresh from the Gulf shrimp and oysters When in the Clear Lake/Galveston area we head for Rose’s in Seabrook for a supply of shrimp. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved 4. Exploring the pine and hardwood forests of the Piney Woods of East Texas 5. Saying howdy 6. The Alamo 7. Texas’ wide open spaces 8. Hiking Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, north of Fredericksburg 9. Tex-Mex, especially in far South Texas 10. The way small-town drivers wave to everyone they pass 11. The timeless beauty of Presidio La Bahía near Goliad, and its rural setting 12. Stopping for lunch at almost any small-town BBQ joint and sitting elbow-to-elbow with folks you have little in common with except that you all love good ‘cue 13. Blue Bell Ice Cream. Wow! 14. The wind-swept, dynamic rippling sandscapes in Monahans Sandhills State Park is one-of-a-kind 15. Stopping for kolaches at a small-town bakery 16. Driving... [Read more...]
“THROWED ROLLS”
October 22, 2012 by Professor95 · Leave a Comment
Have you ever been in a restaurant where the servers throw huge 5-inch in diameter, hot, yeast raised rolls across the room with hopes that you will catch them? If you answered yes, you have most likely visited one of the three locations where Lambert’s has one of their original “Throwed Rolls” cafes. We stopped at Hinton RV Park just off I-55 in Sikeston, MO. When we checked in, the park attendant handed us a packet of information on local points of interest. The one that caught our eye was for Lambert’s Café. We were told that Lamberts would send a driver to the RV Park to pick us up for dinner and then bring us back to our RV. With an offer like that, how can you refuse? When we arrived at the restaurant our chauffer took us to our table, gave us some preliminary warnings and left us to our server. At that point, a young man in jeans and red suspenders came down the center isle of the restaurant shouting “Throwed Rolls” and then pitching them to anyone that held... [Read more...]
Birding Hotspot: Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, NM
September 1, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
UFO sightings may have put Roswell, New Mexico, on the map, but at nearby Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, strange creatures are more than visitors. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge offers a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities. Visitor Center can be seen in the distance. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved They inhabit odd sinkholes, playa lakes, seeps, and gypsum springs fed by an underground river. Straddling the Pecos River the Refuge consists of an assortment of water habitats. Numerous seeps and free-flowing springs, oxbow lakes, marshes and shallow water impoundments, water-filled sinkholes, and the refuge namesake, Bitter Lake, make up these unique environments. Scattered across the land are over 70 natural sinkholes of different shapes and sizes. Created by groundwater erosion these water habitats form isolated communities of fish, invertebrate, amphibians, and other wildlife. Located where the Chihuahuan Desert meets the Southern Plains, Bitter Lake National Wildlife... [Read more...]
Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies
August 28, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
If you are looking for an exciting vacation with beautiful views then consider exploring Forest Service lands in the Northern Rockies for beautiful landscapes, scenic byways, historic trails, and diverse wildlife. For sheer beauty and allure, few regions match the Northern Rockies. Discover a convenient new way to research and plan absolutely incredible Rocky Mountain travel adventures—the Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies. Beartooth All-American Road The Beartooth Scenic Road has 10,000 mountain lakes, 20 peaks reaching more than 12,000 feet in elevation, and 12 national forest campgrounds. Witness the rare transition of lush forest ecosystem to alpine tundra in just a few miles on the highest elevation road in the Northern Rockies. International Selkirk Loop All-American Road The public lands along the loop are home to the largest diversity of wildlife in the lower 48 states. Travel the Selkirk Range of the British Columbia, Idaho, and Washington Rocky Mountains to see... [Read more...]
Top 10 National Parks: Is Your List Better Than Mine?
August 14, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
People like lists. No, check that, they love them. Particularly when they disagree with them and think they have a better list. So, here’s my personal Top 10 list of national parks. How does it match up with yours? 10. Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Arizona) Spider Rock, the unofficial symbol of Canyon de Chelly, is a sandstone obelisk that rises more than 800 feet from the canyon floor at the junction of Canyon de Chelly and Monument Canyon. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved A comparatively little-known canyon, Canyon de Chelly has sheer sandstone walls rising up to 1,000 feet, scenic overlooks, well-preserved Anasazi ruins, and an insight into the present day life of the Navajo, who still inhabit and cultivate the valley floor. The northernmost and southernmost edges are accessible from paved roads—the North and South Rim drives. The South Rim Drive offers the most dramatic vistas, ending at the most spectacular viewpoint, the overlook of Spider Rocks—twin 800 foot towers... [Read more...]
Canadian Museum of Nature
August 6, 2012 by Canadianladybug · Leave a Comment
Back on July 1st, we decided to take advantage of the fact that museums in our former hometown were open for free. To celebrate Canada Day we decided to visit the Canadian Museum of Nature which has been revamped in recent years. I hadn’t set foot in that museum for over 15 years – not even it got reopened after the major renovations a couple of years ago. Knowing that we would be moving in a near future, we thought it would be a great time to discover the new and improved Canadian Museum of Nature. Though the entrance brought back memories of when I was younger, you can see that many things have changed. I was disappointed to learn that the famous bee hive was gone but quickly got over it when I discovered that the museum has done a great work with the presentation of its animal collection. We decided to start at the top of the museum and slowly go down as we explored the levels. The first exposition we went to was the birds. Via interaction and observation, we discovered... [Read more...]
Lewis & Clark Caverns, Three Forks, MT…
July 28, 2012 by Dana Ticknor · Leave a Comment
So often I find that my family takes our home state for granted. While we love to explore new places all across the country, we still have so much to discover right here in Montana. We’ve decided that, while we are ‘back home’ for the summer, we need to keep up our exploring; just here close to home. One thing that we have discovered tho, is that if we don’t set a specific time or date aside, the time goes by and we never get around to exploring around here. So, our family decided to set each Monday aside and visit someplace that is either new to us or that we haven’t visited in years. The Lewis and Clark Caverns Montana State Park was a destination that we haven’t visited in years – in fact, none of our kids, who are ages 22 and under, and ever been there. My husband and I had each been there, but not since grade school (and a lot had changed since then!). The Lewis and Clark Caverns are located approximately 20 miles west of Three Forks, MT, and... [Read more...]
