Options & Ideas Needed----Family summer vacation----

[aggieland]

I would like to take the family on a week long vacation this summer and would like this trip to be outdoors. Not Sea-World, Six Flags, Disney world, etc. I want to be in the mountains. Now, I would love to take the family to Unit 55 in Colorado and Scout out my P&Y buck for this season! But, trying take my wife & my two sons 3&4 yrs into the backcountry would probably end up in a big mess. I'm still trying to figure out a fun way to do this! Anyway, just wondering if any of you guy's/gal's have done any kind of fun family vacations in the outdoors that you could suggest? Thanks for any suggestions, Casey

 

[aggieland]

I'm studying Gunnison area now. Looks like their might be enough stuff in the area to keep them busy. Anyone live and have more inside info on the area?

 

[Bob]

South Dakota was fun, educational, and outdoors...we did Deadwood, Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse....and me and my daughter hunted pronghorn.

 

[Daniel_M]

Alaska.

Rent an RV for a week and travel the state! Pretty much everything is int he backcountry once you're 100 miles from town!

 

[aggieland]

Alaska is on our list of places to visit. But I don't know if we could afford the price of the trip at this point in the game. But I will check into it for sure. I'm looking at flights from Dallas - Denver and they are pretty cheap, might be about to find some things in the area. Visit Kifaru, lol hell Aron where ya at?

 

[ChanceH]

A few years ago my two brothers and I flew from SA to Denver and rented a RV from Cruise America. We Fly Fished as many day hike backcounty streams and rivers as we could. Made it as far as Jackson Hole before turning back for Denver. Although that much driving with two young kids might be a disaster!

 

[2rocky]

Headed here next week, after hiking through the Wind Rivers.

Big Sandy Lodge

Lodging
Our rustic, cozy one-room log cabins are nestled among the tall trees beside a picturesque mountain lake. Many more lakes are just a short hike away. Cabins are furnished with bedding, towels, wood-burning stoves and kerosene lamps. Modern restroom and shower facilities are centrally located. No electricity, no phone service, no TV, no microwave, no hot tub. If you can't live without those, this isn't the place for you. (Some of us would pay extra just to find a place without these things!) Cabin interior. Click on photo for a larger view. Night light is by kerosene lamps and heat by wonderful, old-style wood stoves. Cabins are neat and clean with chopped firewood stacked conveniently outside your door in racks. Picnic tables are located outside the cabins. Seeing all the night stars in the black sky are something you'll never forget our here. Our friendly staff is always there to answer questions, identify the local flora and fauna, or suggest great places to hike or fish. Just want to be left alone with your sweetie? That's fine too! Imagine the cares of the modern world fade away as enter our world and enjoy the simple accomodations of these mountain cabins.

I can let you know what I think of it in a couple of weeks.

 

[aggieland]

Excellent!!

 

[MtnHunter]

Yellowstone!

 

[colonel00]

Alaska would be great but wait until your boys can appreciate it more. Unless, of course, you just made it a yearly trip which I highly recommend

I have been to the Medicine Bow mountains west of Laramie in Wyoming several times chasing elk and mulies. The area is less aggressive and you have a good chance of seeing some wildlife.

Oh, a little closer to you would be New Mexico. For strictly a camping trip, I have always wanted to return to a spot we elk hunted several years ago. There is a spot I am trying to show below that is a great sheltered camping spot. You have to follow some forestry roads and the like that are fairly rough but it is worth it. In the link below, the camping spot is at the top of the hill in the trees right as the road turns to head south. It is nice and shaded to keep it cool in the summer. What is really neat is you walk a couple hundred yards to the east and you are on the edge of a huge bowl that stretches for miles. We sat up there and glassed for hours watching the elk in the valley below. You can see the trail that leads out of the camping spot to the north and along the ridge and if you zoom out a bit you can see better definition of the bowl as it filters down to a point. Not a lot of other stuff to do there aside from taking in nature but still a great place to spend a few days.

http://binged.it/133aOzo

 

[Bonedalien]

glenwood springs colorado. in unit 43. has the worlds largest outdoor hot springs pool(2 city blocks long). an amusement park on top of a mountain that you take a tram to.roller coasters and all. plus miles of bike trails,rafting(mellow or whitewater),a zipline park,goldmedal fishing. all the restaurants and lodging you could ask for.all right in the middle of the rockies.

 

[JoshTX]

In my opinion, there is no reason not include the family into scouting your unit. My family and I just returned from a 4 night 5 day backpacking trip to the unit in which I drew my tag for archery elk. I was originally going to go solo, but my wife likes to backpack and we thought this would be a good time for the kids. I've got a 14 year old daughter, and 12 & 6 y/o boys. We hiked about 5 miles per day and changed camps each day so they got the full experience. When we started pouring over the map of the area and I explained where we were going, they thought "this is going to be a piece of cake". When we actually got boots on the ground and they saw with their own eyes, the enormity of the valley and where we were going, they became overwhelmed. I continually asked them..."How do you eat an elephant?...one bite at a time". This mantra helped them and made the trip seem doable. Obviously the first day was the toughest on them, but each subsequent day got easier and by the last day, they didn't want to come out!!!

The kids each carried about 20-25% of their body weight in their packs. The little one had to carry his snacks, sleeping bag and thermarest. The others were responsible for their personal kit and one piece of crew gear. We dehydrated a bunch of our favorite meals and I built cozy's for each of them (which they each personalized). We let them each build their own trail mix bag and each child was assigned a camp duty (the daughter wanted to work the stoves, oldest boy was responsible for purifying water for each member and the youngest was responsible for helping keep the various camps clean. I think it's important to give them responsibilities and not try to do everything yourself. It creates cohesion and makes them feel like they are part of a team. This is just my opinion and others may not agree with me. During the bushwacking, I used the KU cargo chair to carry the little one's pack, as the terrain was simply too much for him to navigate while carrying a pack. In addition, each child found a walking stick which we brought home so I could sand up properly, attach a lanyard and give them something to remember the trip by.

I realize that mine are a bit older but the six year old did it and he had a ball. If you keep the mileage down, and provide lots of treats during the trip, I think you should be fine.


Take care,

Josh

 

[aggieland]

I might can do a 1 day scouting trip but the wife and kids would bet burned out pretty fast. I do like the idea of Glenwood Springs! I'm going to look into that as well. thanks everyone

 

[Becca]

In my opinion, there is no reason not include the family into scouting your unit. My family and I just returned from a 4 night 5 day backpacking trip to the unit in which I drew my tag for archery elk. I was originally going to go solo, but my wife likes to backpack and we thought this would be a good time for the kids. I've got a 14 year old daughter, and 12 & 6 y/o boys. We hiked about 5 miles per day and changed camps each day so they got the full experience. When we started pouring over the map of the area and I explained where we were going, they thought "this is going to be a piece of cake". When we actually got boots on the ground and they saw with their own eyes, the enormity of the valley and where we were going, they became overwhelmed. I continually asked them..."How do you eat an elephant?...one bite at a time". This mantra helped them and made the trip seem doable. Obviously the first day was the toughest on them, but each subsequent day got easier and by the last day, they didn't want to come out!!!

The kids each carried about 20-25% of their body weight in their packs. The little one had to carry his snacks, sleeping bag and thermarest. The others were responsible for their personal kit and one piece of crew gear. We dehydrated a bunch of our favorite meals and I built cozy's for each of them (which they each personalized). We let them each build their own trail mix bag and each child was assigned a camp duty (the daughter wanted to work the stoves, oldest boy was responsible for purifying water for each member and the youngest was responsible for helping keep the various camps clean. I think it's important to give them responsibilities and not try to do everything yourself. It creates cohesion and makes them feel like they are part of a team. This is just my opinion and others may not agree with me. During the bushwacking, I used the KU cargo chair to carry the little one's pack, as the terrain was simply too much for him to navigate while carrying a pack. In addition, each child found a walking stick which we brought home so I could sand up properly, attach a lanyard and give them something to remember the trip by.

I realize that mine are a bit older but the six year old did it and he had a ball. If you keep the mileage down, and provide lots of treats during the trip, I think you should be fine.


Take care,

View attachment 8952View attachment 8953View attachment 8954View attachment 8955View attachment 8956Josh

Your post and photos made my day Josh! Way to get out there with your whole family! Simply awesome!

 

[aggieland]

Sadly, this little vacation will probably end up being in the smaller mountains of Arkansas as opposed to Colorado due to funds & vacation time. But we have a little time to figure it all out. thank you all for the input! The good news is I have over 2 weeks to spend in unit 55 this archery season!!

 

[hockeymudd]

IMO you can't beat the gunnison basin. With kids that size I would look at the cabins @ the Taylor Park trading post. It's a quick drive over to CB and the Mt. Princeton hot spring are over cottonwood pass. The fishing is good and it happens to be in the heart of 55.

With views like this how can you go wrong.

 

[aggieland]

Man that is a sweet picture!

 

[bz_711]

In my opinion, there is no reason not include the family into scouting your unit. My family and I just returned from a 4 night 5 day backpacking trip to the unit in which I drew my tag for archery elk. I was originally going to go solo, but my wife likes to backpack and we thought this would be a good time for the kids. I've got a 14 year old daughter, and 12 & 6 y/o boys. We hiked about 5 miles per day and changed camps each day so they got the full experience. When we started pouring over the map of the area and I explained where we were going, they thought "this is going to be a piece of cake". When we actually got boots on the ground and they saw with their own eyes, the enormity of the valley and where we were going, they became overwhelmed. I continually asked them..."How do you eat an elephant?...one bite at a time". This mantra helped them and made the trip seem doable. Obviously the first day was the toughest on them, but each subsequent day got easier and by the last day, they didn't want to come out!!!

The kids each carried about 20-25% of their body weight in their packs. The little one had to carry his snacks, sleeping bag and thermarest. The others were responsible for their personal kit and one piece of crew gear. We dehydrated a bunch of our favorite meals and I built cozy's for each of them (which they each personalized). We let them each build their own trail mix bag and each child was assigned a camp duty (the daughter wanted to work the stoves, oldest boy was responsible for purifying water for each member and the youngest was responsible for helping keep the various camps clean. I think it's important to give them responsibilities and not try to do everything yourself. It creates cohesion and makes them feel like they are part of a team. This is just my opinion and others may not agree with me. During the bushwacking, I used the KU cargo chair to carry the little one's pack, as the terrain was simply too much for him to navigate while carrying a pack. In addition, each child found a walking stick which we brought home so I could sand up properly, attach a lanyard and give them something to remember the trip by.

I realize that mine are a bit older but the six year old did it and he had a ball. If you keep the mileage down, and provide lots of treats during the trip, I think you should be fine.


Take care,

View attachment 8952View attachment 8953View attachment 8954View attachment 8955View attachment 8956Josh

Job well done Dad! I am already laying the groundwork for such a trip. My four kids are 2, 5, 7, 9. Colorado is our favorite family destination - so it's just a matter of accumulating the gear in time now. Please continue to share updates of your family trips backpack trips - I'm sure I'll learn a little tip each time!

aggie - my suggestion would be RMNP in the Estes Park, CO area. I know many say it's overrun with visitors and Estes is too "touristy"...but we've taken many trips with large extended family groups there and it is what has gotten my wife/kids addicted to the mountains. RMNP has great access to many trails, streams, lakes...starting at only .5 miles to get into great views. My kids could play in the streams for hours (all the while I'm glassing the opposite hills). Also - the wildlife is 1/2 tame (sadly)...but does allow for great viewing for your young kids (Elk, Mulies, Bighorn...). Estes Park offers a great change of pace at night to get some good food or ice cream, all the while with a great backdrop of the mountains. Estes just a little over hour from Denver. PM me if you want any particulars to do...

 

[aggieland]

Thanks Matt, I have considered RMNP but never knew what it was like there. Sounds like something even my little ones would enjoy!

 

[2rocky]

My wife and kids hit RMNP while I was Antelope hunting further East. Crowds aren't as bad in the fall, and the elk are rutting.