Back country adventures with kids...how do you do it?

[Old#7]

I am dying to get out on some good back country adventures, I really want to have those memories and enjoy the great outdoors with my two young boys and my wife. My boys are 1.5yrs and 3.5 yrs.

I brought up the idea to the wife about going to Canyonlands and hitting elephant hill or the maze district for 3 or 4 days, (I've been and really loved it) and didn't get an enthusiastic reply. She brought up the thought that sitting in the rig for 4-5 hours to get there and then while you are there sitting in the rig throughout the day, and sitting and sitting and sitting, doesn't sound like a good time. She thinks that the boys wouldn't have any fun because they would be strapped in their car seats "the whole trip".
I told her that it's about the journey, the scenery, the memories. She doesn't want to go on a trip to be stuck in a car for 4 days, and says that the boys won't care about the scenery, that they are too young.

My question is HOW DO YOU DO IT?

I have seen tons of pics on here of you guys out and about with your little ones, and your wives. Do they handle all the driving well? Is it like pulling teeth and more of a headache than it is worth. Help me out here. I don't want to resort to leaving them behind and heading out with the guys for 3-4 days cause that opens up a whole 'nother can of worms at home.

Thanks in advance.

 

[durango_60]

1. Try to go with another family with similarly aged kids.
2. Breaks every hour.
3. Get to camp with plenty of daylight to spare.
4. Bring toys that you think are a waste of space, ask Pskhaat about the priceless dump trucks.
5. If all else fails, have a top secret dvd player that is there for an emergency situation.

As for your wife, she's either in or out and hopefully you've got that figured out by now.

Also check out http://www.adventureparents.com/ for more info.

 

[Rexsname]

Try adventureparents.com Lots of good ideas great photography and funny writings.

REX

 

[BIGdaddy]

love my wife
love my three young daughters (5yrs, 3yrs, 8 months)
love them camping
love them in my jeep

comfy seats, yummy snacks, a break every hour to run around, DVD's to watch, books to read, etc, etc, will build up their endurance for longer trips. We drove from montana to san diego when it was just our oldest, and she did perfectly well.

Remember, your babies love your faces the best, and as long as they get to see you on a regular basis and start to understand that you didn't go anywhere, and that you're in the car with them, they seem to understand.

Mud tires WILL hum a kid to sleep. no joke.

Kids love camping, tossing stones, being in a tent, eating s'mores and pancakes for breakfast.

Thats all I got right now...haha

-Brian

 

[Bcghosttowns]

I love camping with my kids,i have been doing it since he was 3 months old,he's now 15 and its never been better or worse,just different.
Kids love it out there as long as you let them be kids.And start early they will apprieciate it their whole life.

 

[stevenmd]

Travel with kids is easy. Travel with wife, not so easy. I think it is harder on my wife than the kids. Kids seem to just enjoy everything while my wife spends too much time worrying about the kids that she does not relax and enjoy everything.

 

[Token]

I've found that the Diphenhydramine hydrochloride route often works best..

It's Benadryl..

 

[Token]

BTW.. That's for the kids and the wife.. Unless you let the kids drive in which case you should take plenty yourself so you can die quitely in your sleep..

 

[fowldarr]

We've been traveling with our kids since they were born, my only advice...start now. They have done yellowstone, tours of montana, trips from Idaho to Nebraska and back again, My kids are awesome at travel, never had a problem. They love tent camping and not having to take baths, and pancake breakfasts. My wife does fine too, and she was not a camper when we met. In fact, she is already talking about what we are giong to do this summer, and I had to talk her out of a new tent.

 

[dirtysouth]

1. Try to go with another family with similarly aged kids.
2. Breaks every hour.
3. Get to camp with plenty of daylight to spare.
4. Bring toys that you think are a waste of space, ask Pskhaat about the priceless dump trucks.
5. If all else fails, have a top secret dvd player that is there for an emergency situation.

As for your wife, she's either in or out and hopefully you've got that figured out by now.

Also check out http://www.adventureparents.com/ for more info.

+1


My 4 year old and I drove to Mission Texas from the Atlanta area to visit some family for New Years. I stopped on the beach in Biloxi to not only give her a break but to also break it up for me also. On our return trip, we drove the 1200 miles straight through and she never once gave me any problems. We stopped, stretched and took plenty of breaks. A DVD player if you don't have one will be the best money you can spend to keep everyone sane.

 

[Detour]

we wheel moab every year and most the time its my little family with me. my 6 year old daughter and her 10 year old brother have been going since they could walk.

me being the trail boss; i get to decide... period we have never had problems with kids. the rougher it is, the better they sleep in the back seat.

there will be things for them to do. there will be things expected of them. they will expect to have fun and they do! make sure you stop so they can chuck rocks for a while while you take pictures of it all...

one of the coolest things is how i finally got my wife to drive. i didn't think i would like giving up the wheel but after all these years it was wonderful seeing her enjoy herself that way.

the kids help fix things around camp and they hand tools, air down tires, get snacks and watch out for each other. lots to do... just make sure you let them participate as much as possible.

10 yo handing me tools

the wee one airs down my tires

my wife the very first time behind the wheel on poison spider (wedgie)

 

[Expedition Key]

I am dying to get out on some good back country adventures, I really want to have those memories and enjoy the great outdoors with my two young boys and my wife. My boys are 1.5yrs and 3.5 yrs.

I brought up the idea to the wife about going to Canyonlands and hitting elephant hill or the maze district for 3 or 4 days, (I've been and really loved it) and didn't get an enthusiastic reply. She brought up the thought that sitting in the rig for 4-5 hours to get there and then while you are there sitting in the rig throughout the day, and sitting and sitting and sitting, doesn't sound like a good time. She thinks that the boys wouldn't have any fun because they would be strapped in their car seats "the whole trip".
I told her that it's about the journey, the scenery, the memories. She doesn't want to go on a trip to be stuck in a car for 4 days, and says that the boys won't care about the scenery, that they are too young.

My question is HOW DO YOU DO IT?

I have seen tons of pics on here of you guys out and about with your little ones, and your wives. Do they handle all the driving well? Is it like pulling teeth and more of a headache than it is worth. Help me out here. I don't want to resort to leaving them behind and heading out with the guys for 3-4 days cause that opens up a whole 'nother can of worms at home.

Thanks in advance.

I've got a 4 year old daughter and we go on "adventures" or "explore" like Dora the Explorer. Playing up the adventure/exploration side is the only thing that has worked so far and it has worked well. We always have some theme ruling our trips like looking for lost treasure (picking up rocks with quartz etc in them) , pirates (she thinks they are everywhere , looking for ghost towns, referring to the map going accross the desert..., over the river... and to the mountains!

On the road to our destination it's DVDs. I never hear a peep.


Thats what works for me.

 

[Harald Hansen]

You've already got lots of great feedback. I just want to chime in to assure you that it's really doable. I had my 1.5 yo and 5 yo in the rear of the car for 6000 km this summer, using most of the tips in this thread.

I would also like to second durango_60's first bullet point about going with another family with kids the same age. It gives the kids something to look forward to on breaks and when setting up camp, and will give the wives someone who understands their troubles...

 

[Klierslc]

X3 on the other family

If you go with a family that you know well, you can also rearrange the seating during your breaks. I.e. Guys in one vehicle, women in the other; older kids in one, sleeping kids in the other; Terminator on DVD in one, Winnie the Pooh in the other; etc. The possibilities are endless.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

One key point, is don't expect to head off on a 4 day trip right off the bat. You need to get them used to it.

We travel a lot, and my son got used to being in a car seat for long periods of time right from birth. For a while we were using a DVD player to keep him happy, and then that broke, and we never replaced it. He was about 3 at that time, and he's been fine ever since. He seems fairly content now to look out the window, or ask us millions of questions, or sleep. But, the longest trip we've taken recently was 5 hours, so if we go for more than that, we might need a DVD again. We do try to plan our travel time around his sleep schedule to make things easier, but I'm happy he doesn't need to be glued to a DVD player during a trip. I was really not liking the idea of him missing all the sights outside the car. It would be fine if you could choose to use it for certain periods, but the problem is, with kids, if he knows you have one, he's going to want it.

I also use the "going on an adventure" line with him. He likes Dora and Diego, and so this seems to work really well. It also works well for hikes. We've gone for a 5k hike, and he runs about half the way. Not bad for a little kid. The key is to let him have fun, get dirty, and explore. I think most kids love to explore, but don't get much chance due to an overprotective society. "Don't get dirty!" "Don't run, you'll trip and fall!" "Don't touch the frog!"

I think your bigger hurdle is your wife. She has to buy into the trip.

Actually, I started off going on a few day wheeling trips with my boy while my wife stayed home. I took some video of how much he enjoyed it, and now she's into it too.