My older daughter's first word wasn't Mama or Dada. It was Gus. Gus was our cat. Never mind my bruised feelings; there's a profound connection between kids and animals. I'm not just talking little kids; I'm talking teenagers, too. All three of my children put swimming with dolphins in their top ten favorite vacation experiences. They've also held alligators, parrots, and (really big) snakes (not in my top ten); they've met memorable goats, burros, potbelly pigs, and wolves. Kira, who visited Egypt with me when she was eight, still remembers Pepsi Cola the camel but shockingly few historical facts; in Baja, Molly, at six, got close enough to a 40-foot whale to recall vividly that whale breath is really bad, and to yearn to do it again ever since.
We share the planet with many creatures, some four-footed and furry, some finned, some winged. Some are beautiful, some not so much. Without getting preachy, I believe animals have the capacity to teach us something about the universe, about compassion, about ourselves. Even if I'm wrong, that doesn't change the fact that kids and animals are a natural combo, which is why there are so many cool places and programs that bring them together for a can't-miss vacation or activity. Need suggestions?
Road Warriors: The Vogels on their 2006-07 trans-America ride (courtesy, Vogel Family)
In our line of work, we get to hear about some amazing travel adventures, and this week's guest blogger, Nancy Sathre-Vogel, is about to undertake one of the most incredible and admirable yet: a 20,000-mile, 30-month bike journey down the Pan-American Highway with her husband and ten-year-old twins. Follow the family's preparations and journey at www.familyonbikes.org.
"Hey, Davy! Get your math book, would ya?" I asked my ten-year-old son as I sat beneath a towering cardón cactus somewhere in Baja California, Mexico. Rummaging through one of my bike panniers, Davy retrieved his math book from its storage place next to our cooking skillet before joining me on our tarp for his lesson on fractions.
His education may not be a traditional one but, we believe, it's the best thing going. Davy and his twin brother, Daryl, spent their entire third grade year (in 2006-07) bicycling 9,300 miles around the U.S. and Mexico, learning from the best teacher there is, Mother Nature herself. And now they are getting ready to head back out to spend Grades 5, 6, and 7 on the road.
My family (including our boys, my husband, me, and our dog) will begin pedaling from the northern terminus of the Pan-American Highway in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, on June 8, and we'll keep our bike tires pointed south for the next 30 months or so until we arrive at the southernmost point on the same road in southern Argentina. If all goes to plan, our boys will become the new Guinness World Record holders as the youngest people to cycle the Pan-American Highway.
Stuck with the vacation-planning blues? Faced with too many options and too little time? Fear not, friends, we've recruited the adventure-travel experts at GORPtravel.com to join our crack team of travel bloggers. Part of a regular series, this column will help you pinpoint that trip of a lifetime, whether it's a supported trek through the Swiss Alps, a multi-day family rafting adventure, or a quick outdoor getaway for next weekend. -- The Away.com Editors
With some parts of the U.S. enjoying record snowfall this past winter, it's now the turn of river rats to rejoice, with heavy spring snowmelt turning rivers from Vermont to California into raging torrents of whitewater. Young families or newcomers to whitewater rafting will want to steer clear of the big waves, but we've already done some of the sorting for you with our top 15 picks for the best whitewater rafting (and some canoeing) for families. Whether you're looking to take in some dramatic mountain scenery, observe otherwise-hard-to-spot wildlife, or bond with the family on a longer multi-day trip, we're pretty sure you'll find something to suit your level of watery action. Check out the map below for details on our top family picks, plus browse GORPtravel.com's 2008 Whitewater Rafting Guide for more river highlights, travel-planning info, and links to the top guided rafting adventures on over 80 of the country's best rafting rivers. -- Linda Long
Earth Day 2008 will present thousands of opportunities for people all over the world to put the planet first for a moment, from high-minded calls and concerts agitating for action against global warming to community-minded eco-events to clean up local watersheds or plant more neighborhood trees.
Many of the major events will be happening this weekend, including eight outdoor concerts around the U.S. featuring headline bands like Thievery Corporation, Arrested Development, and The Roots. Venues include the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and Central Park in Manhattan. Admission is free, with more info available at the Green Apple Festival website.
U.S.-based families should also check out the kids-focused National Park Week, including a number of dedicated events on April 26 to mark the second annual Junior Ranger Day. Program highlights in places like Kentucky's Mammoth Cave or Maine's Acadia National Park will include fishing lessons, wildlife walks, evening stargazing parties, scavenger hunts, and hands-on reptile encounters.
With special thanks to Toni Klym McLellan for this week's guest post.
Toni is a family travel and parenting writer and a mom of three sons.
She also blogs about family travel and fun at home at BringTheFamily.net. Please Contact us if you'd like to contribute.
Here in the Midwest, opportunities for outdoor fun abound, from exploring sand dunes along Lake Michigan's shoreline to backpacking
Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail to bicycling along one of the many rails-
to-trails bike paths in the region. This year, however, we're also breaking records for snow and rainfall over the area.
So what's a winter-weary outdoorsy family to do when the calendar says "spring" but the sky persists in dumping snow and rain on us? Here are some ideas for enjoying the great outdoors even if the weather outside dictates otherwise:
Don't swerve the minivan off of I-94 if you catch a glimpse of the other-worldly domes of Milwaukee's Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory rising up along the highway. This county park is comprised of three massive geodesic domes, each featuring three distinct habitats: tropical forest, desert, and floral. Kids will enjoy roaming each of the domed environments, spotting the colorful birds that call the tropical habitat home or wandering through miniature approximations of Madagascan or eastern African ecosystems within the Arid Dome.
Red Hot Hawaii: Lava flows in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (courtesy, NPS)
Oahu might be world-famous for Waikiki Beach, Maui has its legendary golf courses and whale-watching excursions, and Kauai, aka the evocatively named "Garden Isle," is legendary for its lush green foliage. But to truly impress your kids in Hawaii, take them on a helicopter ride above the river of red lava flowing from Kilauea crater on the Big Island. Lava has been pouring out of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park since 1983—and, yup, it's still an awesome sight 25 years later.
Canada all too often falls off the radar for U.S. families. It shouldn't. I've taken my kids from Ontario to British Columbia over the years, and there's still so much we want to experience, not to mention the places we'd go back to in a heartbeat (i.e. all of them). There's not enough space here for all of our favorites, but here's a sampling of reasons to cross the northern border.
Montreal, Québec: It's a taste of Europe, no transatlantic flight necessary. Top activities: Jet boating on the St. Lawrence; exploring superb Pointe à Callière Archaeological Museum, built over a real archaeological site; shopping on eclectic Rue St. Denis (with pre-teens or teens, this is the street); savoring house-made French pastries at Premiere Moisson in Atwater Market; alternating between fascinated and grossed out at the Insectarium; taking in Just For Laughs, the annual comedy festival.
My kids were two, five, and 11 the first time my gang packed up boots and headed to a dude ranch. We arrived at Paradise Guest Ranch in Buffalo, Wyoming, and fell in love with the place, the people, and the horses. By week's end we had discovered something else wonderful, too—each other. A ranch vacation does more to bring families together than any other vacation I know. It's the antidote to our fast-paced world in which everything is digital and our kids are permanently connected by cords and wires to an array of electronic devices.
I waited until we were almost at Paradise Guest Ranch to mention that our cabin would have no TV, news met with sullen disbelief and insistence by my older daughter that this was going to be the worst week of her life.
It wasn't. And she was the first one out of the car when we went back the following year.
When Alexander Zhivotovsky's family was looking for a winter vacation from their home in Israel, a coworker mentioned Yellowstone National Park. Zhivotovsky's wife, 13-year-old twin boys, and five-year-old boy jumped at the adventure. They'd stay in West Yellowstone, a small town outside of the park, and go dogsledding and snowmobiling together. For many, it may not be the first winter vacation destination that comes to mind, but Yellowstone offers activities that appeal to the whole family—dogsledding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, wildlife viewing, snowmobiling, ice skating. Just pack the right clothes and you won't need to worry about the freezing temperatures.
Yellowstone receives about three million visitors per year, but most show up in the summer months. Therefore, traveling during the winter offers an opportunity to see the park without the hordes of people. You'll watch bison and elk roam the white landscape, backed by forests and mountain ranges, with only a few other people, if any, nearby. It's a mesmerizing experience, peeking through binoculars and telescopes, waiting for the animals' next move, Discovery Channel style. No doubt, this hands-on experience with nature will help get your kids excited to learn about the environment, wildlife, and geology.
One of the popular kids' programs in Yellowstone is the Junior Ranger Program, open to ages five to 12. For a very small fee, participants get a 12-page activity paper, in which they work through a list of items that includes attending a ranger-led program, hiking on a trail, and experiencing various other educational park activities, checking off activities as they complete them around the park. When finished, kids go over their work with a ranger and are awarded an official Yellowstone Junior Ranger patch. This is a fun experience for the whole family to share together.
It would take you weeks to drive down to Belize from the United States, so it's good to know that this small Central American country, tucked away between Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, is only a two-hour flight from Miami. But frankly, it doesn't matter how you travel to this off-the-beaten-track Caribbean destination: just get here.
Belize has rainforests, the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, and a remarkable collection of Maya ruins, still largely unrestored. Head to San Ignacio to explore the Mountain Pine Ridge on horseback or canoe along the wild Macal River. You'll swim under waterfalls and very likely spot toucans. Also be sure to visit the Maya ruins of Caracol with a guide. Kids will be amazed at the sight of the Sky Palace, which reaches 140 feet high.
My older daughter's first word wasn't Mama or Dada. It was Gus. Gus was our cat. Never mind my bruised feelings; there's a profound connection between kids and animals. I'm not just talking little kids; I'm talking teenagers, too. All three of my children put swimming with dolphins in their top ten favorite vacation experiences. They've also held alligators, parrots, and (really big) snakes (not in my top ten); they've met memorable goats, burros, potbelly pigs, and wolves. Kira, who visited Egypt with me when she was eight, still remembers Pepsi Cola the camel but shockingly few historical facts; in Baja, Molly, at six, got close enough to a 40-foot whale to recall vividly that whale breath is really bad, and to yearn to do it again ever since.
In our line of work, we get to hear about some amazing travel adventures, and this week's guest blogger, Nancy Sathre-Vogel, is about to undertake one of the most incredible and admirable yet: a 20,000-mile, 30-month bike journey down the Pan-American Highway with her husband and ten-year-old twins. Follow the family's preparations and journey at 
Earth Day 2008 will present thousands of opportunities for people all over the world to put the planet first for a moment, from high-minded calls and concerts agitating for action against global warming to community-minded eco-events to clean up local watersheds or plant more neighborhood trees.
