Arkansas is a strong contender on the all-underrated states list. Over spring break, I was reminded about just how underrated and how close – in Texas distances – it is to home. Austin Cub Scout Pack 14 took 13 scouts and 12 parents on a two-night backpacking trip on the Little Missouri River Trail inContinue reading “The Little Missouri River Trail”
Category Archives: Kids
Outfitting Scouts for Backpacking
There are plenty of resources on lightweight backpacking for adults. But there is not much on outfitting kids, particularly late-elementary and middle school kids, for practical backpacking. As the den leader for a bunch of 5th grade Cub Scouts, this post explains the gear we have found to be useful for backpacking trips. Note thatContinue reading “Outfitting Scouts for Backpacking”
Be Prepared
With three kids in scouts, we spend a lot of time in the outdoors learning life skills through experience. One of the best things about the scouting method is that us parents are encouraged to let the scouts fail. Forget your sleeping bag once and you will remember it next time. This is learning toContinue reading “Be Prepared”
Chilling Out About Middle School
For those without little kids, it may come as a surprise to learn that much has changed when it comes to school choice. With a current 7th grader and 5th grader, among others, I have learned that going to middle school is no longer “just go the middle school.” Instead, students in our district mayContinue reading “Chilling Out About Middle School”
Colorado Bend
One can live for decades in the same place and yet be ignorant of awesome things near home. For me one of those things is Colorado Bend State Park, which is now my favorite Texas State Park. Colorado Bend is located a little over two hours from Austin and San Antonio; just far enough toContinue reading “Colorado Bend”
Time for Real School
As a follow-up to my recent COVID post, this weekend I came across a survey database of infection rates at schools in the US. It strongly suggests that schools are not impacting the spread of COVID and that in-person schools are not an elevated risk for teachers. These data were collected by a company calledContinue reading “Time for Real School”
In Praise of the Humble Pop-Up Camper
After six years of faithful service, we sold our old pop up camper last month. Pop-ups occupy the extreme modest end of the RV spectrum. Think of it as an awesome big mobile tent rather than an apartment on wheels and you will have an accurate picture. But for a family on a budget, aContinue reading “In Praise of the Humble Pop-Up Camper”
Biking with the Kids
One of our favorite family activities, particularly in coronavirus time, is the neighborhood bike ride. I have taught all four of my kids to ride big kid bikes. Along the way, I learned that there is a hard way and easy way to do this. This post explains how to get the family riding. Note:Continue reading “Biking with the Kids”
Vamonos Baby! 