A couple weeks ago we took the kids camping at Petit Jean State Park in Morilton, Arkansas for Spring Break. It is about a 5 1/2 hour drive from Dallas deep into Arkansas. The drive, once past Texarkana, turns into a winding beautifully scenic route. The landscape turns into mountains and valleys of green pastures, farms and animals. We had headed out late, so part of the trip was in the evening, hiding some of the beautiful views.
The boys were excited about sleeping in a tent. I rented a 'Rent a Camp' setup that included a fully stocked tent on the water complete with mats to sleep on, a propane cooking stove, the tent all set up, a picnic table, and fire pit.
Michael and I cheated a bit with a cabin rental down the road (complete with heat, real beds, and an in-room toilette) (grin).
The first day after breakfast we headed to a trail to hike and get in a little family time. The boys were complaining for the first 1/2 hour about having to hike with the 'family'. The only one not complaining was the dog who seemed to delight in the adventure. We hiked up and down the trails for over an hour until we were deep into the trail. It is at the base of the Ozarks, so it feels mountainous. As we rounded a curve in the trail, we spotted a naked woman and 2 photographers. It was as if the hike, for the boys, suddenly became interesting. I think their eyes popped out of their heads a bit. Funny, it was the last thing I expected to run into on our 'family time'. I guess she was doing a photo shoot in the beautiful wooded area- but it certainly made for an unexpected encounter.
We hiked every day that we were at the park, but none of the other hikes ranked as high as the hike from that first day (from the boy's perspective). I think hiking will be seen as fun for them from this point forward. Laugh. Laugh.