Tips and Gadgets
Christmas Trees! »
Posted on December 16, 2010One of our favorite holiday traditions is going to the mountains to cut down a couple of trees. Here’s some tips on how to get your own tree!
Tips for Single Parents »
Posted on November 27, 2010Over the past month, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Bill McLeod and reading his book: Kickin’ Butt as a Single Parent. He offers 99 tips for single parents and I found many of them to be very applicable to single AdventureDads. Personally, I spent 9 years as a single parent and will be writing a bit more on the topic now that we are in the holiday season. He also has a great website for single parents, www.singleparentstown.com.
Preschool Parenting Tips »
Posted on November 22, 2010Following our recent football game adventure, Nathaniel and I sat down to talk about how he approaches discipline and parenting. Here’s a brief clip with a view of his tips!
Adventures with Animal Companions: Utah Hits the Trail »
Posted on September 25, 2010The following clips were shot on our recent trip to the San Juan mountains of Colorado. In them, we tried to capture some of the joys yet challenges of bringing your animal companion on an adventure. Utah has been on a lot of them with us and always adds a special emotional connection for both of us.
If you are planning on taking your animal companion along, the key phrase is, “plan ahead”. On this recent trip for instance, we found out that dogs weren’t allowed on the Durango Narrow Gauge train. While we didn’t want to kennel her, we did find a woman in Durango who would take her in her home and trail run her every day for a couple of miles. On another adventure, this time in Glacier National Park, we were informed of the park’s very rigid dog policies (because of bear problems that summer) when we arrived at the campground. Dogs must be on a leash of under 6 feet at all times, not to be left alone in the campground and not welcome on trails or lake shores! We were envisioning the demise of our adventure on the first night as the ranger spoke. About an hour later, a woman walking with her dog, told us about camping right across the border in Waterton Canada (the north side of Glacier Park) which had dog friendly rules.
The next morning, we drove to the border crossing but were told we needed her papers in order to cross the border. Unfortunately, we didn’t have them because we hadn’t planned on leaving the country. Luckily for us, we got a faint cell signal and I was able to call our vet at home on a Sunday morning). Within 20 minutes, she faxed Utah’s papers to the border station and we were able to cross. Utah was able to run free, swim in the lakes and go on all our adventures with us. Needless to say, we learned an important lesson about making sure her shots are up to date and taking along her papers while adventuring!
Finally, before taking your animal companion on an adventure, make sure they are in the necessary physical shape needed for the conditions you will encounter. Thanks to my wife running her 5 times a week as well as two very successful ACL replacement surgeries (she took out both knees just playing fetch in the yard), Utah was in great shape for our recent hikes. We did, however, realize very quickly that trails with three foot high rock fields are pretty hard on her. While she loves to winter camp and snowshoe with us, we do have to take extra care of her paws and give her plenty of time to clean them out.
Finally, make sure that in addition to your main leash, have an extra 5 foot piece of rope on hand to use as a spare leash just in case. You also have to remember that your animal needs plenty of hydration if you are out in dry climates.
We hope you enjoy these shots and taking your animals on future adventures!
Fire It Up! »
Posted on October 26, 2010Perhaps the most iconic skill of dads camping with their kids is the ability to start a fire. While there are many products you can buy to increase your chances (including old fashioned lighter fluid), it always impresses your kids when you can do it with the wood around you and with just one match.
The key to any good fire is lots and lots of kindling. While it takes time getting it split thin (especially when it’s cold and wet out), it’s a classic example of patience and time spent up front saves you a lot of time in the long run. In this video segment Alex was using wood that was out in the rain for days on end (in this case we bought chopped wood in town as there wasn’t going to be much at the altitude we were camping). Chopping off the wet wood exterior reveals a dryer interior that’s perfect for kindling when split small enough.
As for fire structure, you’ll see a tepee in the middle with a log cabin style around the outside. About a month after filming this, we found an article in the September issue of Men’s Health entitled, “Build The Perfect Campfire”. It shows the tepee/cabin structure as well and has some great illustrations. And just in case it doesn’t work, it’s always a good idea to carry along a fire starter in your camping equipment!
As for your kids, one of the earliest thrills a younger camper can have is lighting the fire. It ranks up there in rites of passage as a child measures themselves against their dad. Once you’ve taught you preschool child a healthy respect for fire (I used to rope off an area around the fire or wood burning stove), you can then teach them how to strike the match and get it going. As they age, let them build the structure and then move on to splitting kindling and eventually chopping the wood.
Carve It Up! »
Posted on October 29, 2010One of the classic family traditions involves the fall harvest and Halloween festivities. Of these, going to the store or the farmer’s field to pick out pumpkins is a child favorite. I have great memories of my Dad taking his 5 kids to pick out the perfect one. Alex and I have had the fortune of going to the same farm for the past 17 years to pick in the fields for our home and for a charity program we run.
For carving, here are a few tips we’ve picked up along the way to make it a little easier and fun. We’ve also attached a video sent in by Nathaniel and his son Devon. This flaming pumpkin goes into the very cool category for pumpkin adventures. He wrote in that his secret is a roll of toilet paper and kerosene. I’d make sure your homeowner’s policy is up to date!
- For bigger cuts, use a drywall saw. It cuts right through and is safer than gutting with a big kitchen knife.
- We like to thin out the inside by scrapping some of the meat out with a sturdy spoon or ice cream scoop. This helps with making more detailed patterns.
- There are great carving kits out there that make the finer cuts a whole lot easier. They also come with a variety of templates for carving and an assortment of designs. Just pin it on and punch holes with a pin through the pattern. If you make a mistake and cut something off, toothpicks work great for reattaching parts.
- For more unique designs, you can make a pattern out of just about any design or picture. Just photocopy it and pin it on. Our favorite designs have been sports logos and mountain scenes. Not to mention a great Darth Maul several years ago.
- For eyes and stars, try drilling a small hole in your pumpkin and putting a marble in it. The candle will send light through it for glowing effects.
- Once finished, try coating the inside cuts with Vaseline if you live in a dryer climate. This will help your design last for several days.
For costume adventures, it’s a whole lot of fun to do a theme with your kids and march around the school parade or neighborhood.
