As the Polar Vortex crippled the rest of the North America this past winter, California was experiencing an extremely warm winter. One warm winter night, my husband and I were reminiscing about backpacking/camping as we were making our summer outdoor plans. I was inspired by a fellow outdoor blogger, Tanya Koob's "The Camping Project" where her family camped 40 nights from May to September!
We decided that since we were experiencing 70 degree weather in the middle of January, we were going to take advantage of our warm weather and go camping! One thing led to another and we came up with a little project:
Camp outdoors for at least one night, each month for the entire year
For the past FIVE months we have been able to to continue with our goal with a combination of camping and backpacking:
- January ~ Camping at Half Moon Bay State Beach during the world famous "Mavericks Invitation Surfing Competition. Surfs up!
- February ~ We camped for two beautiful nights during Valentines Day Weekend at El Capitan State Beach. I love my California Winters!
- March ~ Loving the OC Spring time camping at O'Neill Regional Park in sunny Southern California!
- April ~ Roadtrip camping is always fun, especially at Pismo State Beach: North Beach Campground.
- May ~ Our first backpacking trip of the season, at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. Watch out for snakes!
We currently have plans to "Sleep Under the Stars" until August and I'm pretty sure that we will be able to complete our year long project into the Fall and Winter months with some planning and maybe visiting some yurts!
My kids love sleeping in our tents so much, that they ask to set up our tents when we are just day hiking! I encourage you to join our family with our little project and discover how fun it is to make "Sleeping Under the Stars" part of our lives more than a couple times year! In 2013, President Obama declared the month of June as Great Outdoors Month but my wish is that everyone enjoys the Great Outdoors all year long as we are doing with our "Sleeping Under the Stars" family project.
What are your family's outdoor plans for the Summer?
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