Camping season is coming. Camping season is coming! Time to relax and build memories. Our family of five loves this time of togetherness and time to unplug from devices. We meet up with old friends and far away family. This year we have 3 separate trips planned for June. We will spend 4 weeks in three different campers. The main setup is on family property in Wyoming. This is where our camper lives. There are no conveniences like electricity, running water or cell service but we have beds and a cook stove, a fishing pond and mountain to climb. We can truly unwind and unplug there. In South Dakota we meet up with Minnesota friends and family at a campground near Custer. The camper is a rental through Outdoorsy. Outdoorsy is the Airbnb or VRBO of the camper world. The Outdoorsy hosts/camper owners set it up in our spot and they empty it upon our leave. It is stocked full of stuff and we have grown to appreciate the hosts as we go with the same camper each year. Our third trip involves renting a camper from Cruise America. We have done this before – we took an entire month in a camper when our first born was 8 weeks old. The camper is a class C which we drive across part of the county. This option is nice too but we must pack everything we need (including the coffee pot) into our “Big Rolling Turd” (fond name from “RV, Sonnenfeld, 2006” the Movie starring Robin Williams – one of my favorite actors).
As we get ready there is so much to do for each trip. In the weeks to come, I will chronical some preps and adventures for our camping enthusiasts. Today I want to share ideas on some fun things your kids can do to pass the time driving and activities to do once there. If you are not a camper these activities will work with other vacation plans as well. My kids are teens and are pretty self sufficient but they do like it when I plan a few activities for them.
On the drive, the kids can entertain themselves but we do some old-fashioned car games since much of our travels include areas with no cell service.
We have 4 go to car games. A favorite is I spy. The player gives the first letter of the object as a clue or the color of the object. For example, if the player chooses a fence, they say, ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with F’. They may also say, ‘I spy with my little eye something brown’. Players take turns to call out guesses until someone gets the right answer. The first person to guess correctly gets the next turn to choose an object.
Another favorite game is the Rainbow Game. We identify 1 thing for each color of the rainbow. Sometimes we take turns but most often we just shout out the answer – red, stop sign – orange, cone on the road. Believe me, this game is a real challenge when you are on a dirt road with no traffic.
The Alphabet Game gets you thinking. We pick a category like animals and take turns. First player names an animal that starts with the letter A, the next player picks an animal that starts with the letter B and so on. We have picked categories like ocean animals, candy, and towns in America. Sometimes the player makes something up and we have to call bs on them.
Another game (if we are on a road with other cars) is the license plate game. We try to find cars with plates from each state. Here is a worksheet to use for the game. This works well on longer trips in more populated areas.
Once at our destination and settled in we share several traditions including 5 activities and a family hike. We have bean bag toss (with a tournament and awards), spike ball, croquet, a zip line and a slack line. The kids choreograph routines to music on the slack line. All 5 of us participate in all the activities and we have only had a few injuries on the slack line. We learned not to bounce each other off. It is like a trampoline that way.
The hike is always a good time. We often pick different places and take turns leading. I pack a snack in a paper bag for each person. I try to include a snack that is special to them like a favorite candy bar, a small bag of chips or a special granola bar. Sometimes I put in a note about something I admire about them. The key is to make it special for them individually.
Lastly, we do some sort of craft, coloring in our camp color books, painting rocks or bullet journaling. This keeps the creative side flowing and is especially good if you are stuck in the tent or camper because of rain. This year we are making a mint tin survival kit.
Camp cooking is a whole other topic but here is a favorite unique s’more recipe to try. I remember when I was a kid and we forgot our spoons and forks on our summer backpacking trip. Dad had my sisters and I carve forks and spoons out of sticks. We even carved our own initials into each one. At the end of our trip we stuck them upright in the dirt. Surprisingly, they were there the following year! We still talk about that over 30 years later.
Let me know about your favorite travel games, camping traditions and fond memories. Enjoy these adventures in your tent or a rv and build memories that will last a lifetime.