My parents loved to camp, and thus I went camping a lot as a kid. We did several long cross country trips, where we would hit every national park possible. We would cook all of our meals on the Coleman stove, and sit around a fire each night. One of my early memories of camping was in great Smokey Mountain National Park, where each day at dusk the noise of spoons drumming on pots to announce the bears descending on the campground. I remember shining a flashlight on a "bear proof" garbage can, only to see a bear with his head down in the can. As we slept in our little tent trailer, a bear came along and bit through a can of matches that sat on a table only inches through the canvas from my sleeping mother. Imagine her reaction in the morning when she saw the can! It was high adventure for an eight year old, which would have a big influence on my future activities and career.
Every state has campgrounds, and every kid can find adventure in a weekend overnight in the woods. You just have to do it.
Here's an article from the Seattle Times on getting out there.
