Ready for the "Great American Backyard Campout?" It's a nationally sponsored cool, free/inexpensive staycation. If you're thinking, "What do I do for hours in my yard with the kids?" http://www.backyardcampout.org/ has lots of creative suggestions. Information below is from their press release:
High gas prices keeping you at home? You’re not alone. This spring America witnessed the steepest decline in driving since 1942. Instead of packing up and hitting the road, here’s an idea for family fun, no further than your backdoor. The National Wildlife Federation encourages parents and kids alike to trade their website for a campsite, turning off computers, TVs, iPods, Wiis, MP3 players, cell phones and all things high tech, to experience a night with Mother Nature, listen for nocturnal wildlife (maybe even see a few), star-gaze, cook outdoors, tell stories about Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, and explore a whole other world right in their own backyard.
Last year tens of thousands of people from around the country participated in the Great American Backyard Campout, www.backyardcampout.org. You don’t need to go to Yosemite National Park to experience the great outdoors and the wonders it has to offer. Just open up your backdoor!
Where: Backyards across America
When: Saturday night, June 27, 2009
Why: This initiative is part of a National Wildlife Federation campaign to rescue our nation’s kids from what famed author Richard Louv calls “nature deficit disorder.” Research now shows that kids spend an average of 44 hours per week staring at electronic screens, TV, video games and computers -- for the first time in our country’s history; we have an entire generation that is growing up disconnected from nature.
Getting Started:
The National Wildlife Federation is providing everything you need to head out into the great outdoors called your backyard. The web site has packing lists, recipes, nocturnal wildlife guides, exploration activities, nature guides. Check it out at www.backyardcampout.org.
I need a new tent if I'm going to have a backyard campout! My two person pup-tent isn't big enough for my four person family! I'm gonna' have to start budgeting for a new tent!
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