Guest Pedram Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 So now that my family is growing things are changing for me. Personally I love to drive all day. But my wife and new born don't. Maybe for two hours max before a feeding and diaper change come into play. To take things into the next level I need to update our style of trips. My wife had always mentioned that their aren't enough women to relate to. Erin and Alyison are probably the only two who have recently been active. Chris had been trying to get more involved with these trips and is doing great but that's one a year. I know at the annual last year the board had talked about some activities for young children but we are too small to give that much attention to everyone. What my goal is, is to help us expand our memberships and get everyone to participate. If you guys have activities you can think of to help with these trips or suggestions that might work, please comment. At some point half this club will be in my shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Michele is still around! Well, sometimes. Her user name ins't 'neverhome' for no reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astateofmike Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 I too remember the days when the kid (one kid still) was young and we went off road. This photo, from LRL Magazine was the Bishop trip with Enrique and kids, Phil and Mars and kids, David Bregman and kid....of the 5 rigs, 4 had kids and dogs. Keys are...short trips from a central location. Days off to play and relax..and we had a midnight run (If Enrique says "he has enough gas to make it, get gas) for the guys... It was a great trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pedram Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Some of you guys remember me when I started on my Toyota. Then when I graduated to my first discovery as a single man. Then I got married. Now I have my first son. I do over plan my trips for everything but these trips don't really involve kids or wife's with kids. I know there are a few guys here that would like to attend trips that include this. I just wanted to figure out what you guys think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astateofmike Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 My wife may not come, but kid or kids and I might. I am trying to get out on trail more. My last big planned trip was Mojave wit Brenton in 2013. But on our visit to Seattle, and I was going to ask my Dad to come along..he died. I came home and my job changed drastically...life was a whirlwind. Fair skies and a following wind....I will be out on trails more. I may suggest (with the kiddo and all) that you add the Spanish word for campsite into the planning: "La Quinta"...it is really nice to come off trail for 4 or 5 hours, take a bath, and have a bed for wife and child. Just need to find the right trails, and we can do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHappel Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 I may suggest (with the kiddo and all) that you add the Spanish word for campsite into the planning: "La Quinta"... ha! I know there's a LaQuinta in Moab. Just sayin'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdvRovr Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 I'm in the same situation as Pedram. That's actually part of why I'm still just observing and haven't paid for membership - I want to see if the group works for my lifestyle. If it was up to me, it would be driving all day long. But my wife, two 3 year olds and a newborn will definitely prevent that. I would still want some day trips that are geared towards all day driving and leave the kiddos with grandparents, but most of my interest would be for trips that involve having a decent of time to get the kids in the out doors and releasing their energy. Long lunch stops / play times would be necessary for the 3yrs while diaper and feeding stops needed for the baby. I like the idea of a day of wheeling to a cool destination, camping, spending the next day or two exploring and hanging out, maybe with a couple short trips, and then wheeling back. Also, my work schedule is pretty aggressive so I can't do a lot of mid-week stuff, but long weekends and such are usually doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco2Guy Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Look for the White Rock trip in August. There's a planning thread about it already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertcrawler Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 Death Valley (from an Expedition perspective) has usually had at least 1/2 the participants with children. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'll be leading a trip there this Easter. Have college trips in the works. If I don't lead a trip there, I am thinking about return to Gold Lake (near Graeagle.) There is excellent camping at the OHV park, with swimming and fishing nearby. And lots of opportunity to leave people back at camp while going out wheeling for various short (or long) day trips. Even a old mining operation/camp you can tour. That trip would be best done in the late summer/early fall. But before hunting season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Solis Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 The Sierra trip and white rock trip (same trip really) is geared toward the family with young kids but still want to get out. I took my 3 year old last year for 5 days and he loved it. Still asks when are going back to white rock (the answer is this year because I lead the trip!!). My wife is probably going to join us for the white rock/weekend portion with our just turned 2 daughter (Rox will just have turned 4). The trip is planned to limit the long hours without stops and getting to camp in time to relax and play. I have been taking my son since he was 2 and it has worked well but definitely required a change in priorities for camping. Let me know if you have specific questions about camping w the lil one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pedram Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Thanks Chris. Man time flies. I thought your daughter was still in the first 9 months or less. Holy bajesus. But this is the only trip bedsides the annual. I might have to start planning something myself. I guess the time between these two is a good span. Almost every 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeWare Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Thanks Chris. Man time flies. I thought your daughter was still in the first 9 months or less. Holy bajesus. But this is the only trip bedsides the annual. I might have to start planning something myself. I guess the time between these two is a good span. Almost every 6 months. Pedram, MORGs are good too, because the kids can get out and walk around, and if things get too much for them you can take them home. Until they start driving your rig and then you walk around .... Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pedram Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 With the moving MORG's like this south cow mountain that's about 300 miles of driving I could argue with you on that. Maybe Hollister for me. But even that drive might be much. I need to find out what my wife will let me get away with first. I'm fine with everything if it involves me driving the disco offroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeWare Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 With the moving MORG's like this south cow mountain that's about 300 miles of driving I could argue with you on that. Maybe Hollister for me. Pedram, I was thinking of Hollister, which is 75 from me. Don't forget, they fall asleep in the car when they are younger .... Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOwen Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 ^^ Haha!!Diversity is great and congrats again on this next chapter. It's a testament to the culture and philosophy of this club to not only be inclusive, but that we have guys like, Chris, Graeme, Chuck, Mike, Ron and others who have changed many a diaper on a tailgate. Having a diverse menu of trips is a good thing - there are diverse interests among the members. From trail and expo to Dusy, Fordyce and Rubicon. Some are geared toward kids (different precautions on fires, libations, naps and noises) and others more the standard membership (bigger fires, more libations, also naps but more colorful stories...) It depends on your parenting, but if there is something that you want to do differently to accommodate sub-set, then great! Plan it and get it on the calendar. As we look at the continual attrition and addition of members, I'm glad we are not just looking at current owners but also current and future off-spring... I call it our Junior Member Program ;-). Brings new meaning to "Go outside and play!" Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndamico Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Pedram, thanks for starting this thread. Our first outing with the club was Shaver which probably wasn't the best trip to indoctrinate the family and toddler. I do hope other trips are better as there really wasn't any opportunity to do to much in the way of stuff for the kids. I know if other trips are similar that will be the first and last one for me for quite a while. Kids need time to do things they enjoy. While my daughter may be ok with sitting in the truck watching a movie for hours, my wife isn't. She considers that not fun for our daughter and i agree. We want to enrich her life not just pacify her. I know the name of this group isn't the Family adventures 4x4 club. I was a single man up until i was 37 and until now i wouldn't have cared for the family stuff (as that was for people with kids!). However now my life is completely different and revolves around a 2.5 year old angel. We are in a couple meetup groups that are geared around hiking, camping, and mountain biking with families. In order for something kid-oriented to work there have to be KIDS, and I don’t mean teenagers. If people don’t bring their kids then the rest is moot. At Shaver there really wasn’t. Once again, I’m sure a bad move on my part to take the family. FYI Shaver was a personal family failure for me but I blame myself for taking them. When you bring kids with you the reality is that you need to devote a lot of the time to things they like which isn’t riding in the back seat of a rig down a trail. Finding somewhere nice to play for a couple hours, a beach, some toys, activities that they would like, etc.What will really decide if we go on any more trips or not will be based on what I think my daughter/wife stand to get out of it So now that my family is growing things are changing for me. Personally I love to drive all day. But my wife and new born don't. Maybe for two hours max before a feeding and diaper change come into play. To take things into the next level I need to update our style of trips. My wife had always mentioned that their aren't enough women to relate to. Erin and Alyison are probably the only two who have recently been active. Chris had been trying to get more involved with these trips and is doing great but that's one a year. I know at the annual last year the board had talked about some activities for young children but we are too small to give that much attention to everyone. What my goal is, is to help us expand our memberships and get everyone to participate. If you guys have activities you can think of to help with these trips or suggestions that might work, please comment. At some point half this club will be in my shoes. Well said. I'm in the same situation as Pedram. That's actually part of why I'm still just observing and haven't paid for membership - I want to see if the group works for my lifestyle. If it was up to me, it would be driving all day long. But my wife, two 3 year olds and a newborn will definitely prevent that. I would still want some day trips that are geared towards all day driving and leave the kiddos with grandparents, but most of my interest would be for trips that involve having a decent of time to get the kids in the out doors and releasing their energy. Long lunch stops / play times would be necessary for the 3yrs while diaper and feeding stops needed for the baby. I like the idea of a day of wheeling to a cool destination, camping, spending the next day or two exploring and hanging out, maybe with a couple short trips, and then wheeling back. Also, my work schedule is pretty aggressive so I can't do a lot of mid-week stuff, but long weekends and such are usually doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil. Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I too remember the days when the kid (one kid still) was young and we went off road. This photo, from LRL Magazine was the Bishop trip with Enrique and kids, Phil and Mars and kids, David Bregman and kid....of the 5 rigs, 4 had kids and dogs. Keys are...short trips from a central location. Days off to play and relax..and we had a midnight run (If Enrique says "he has enough gas to make it, get gas) for the guys... It was a great trip. Oh wow a blast from the past. I think that's my older one in front of my RRS in that pic. To think that she's driven the RRS at one of the Annual Events since that Bishop trip. For us the key is having other kids in the similar age range on the trip. Not only does it help when you do stop because then they've instantly got playmates, but you're not the only one that will be stopping the group for a pit stop - be it LR gremlins, a diaper change, bathroom pitstop, etc. But with families with similar aged kids, you're likely moving at a comparable pace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psykokid Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 FWIW, We started taking my son out camping when he was 11 months old. He's 10 now and getting ready to bridge from cub scouts to boy scouts at the end of next month. Anyhow - I'm selective on what trips I take the kids on. Trips like Mojave Road and Death Valley where there is a lot to see at the stops are great for the youngsters. In 2013 I took the kids to Pismo they had a good time. Mark from SCLR brought his gaggle of kids and IIRC there were a few others so the younger boys kept themselves busy digging in the sand. We made a couple of trips down to the beach for the kids to play in the surf and collect sand dollars and shells and to fly the kites and when the group went to run Garcia Ridge we went into town and had Ice Cream and looked at thrift stores. My kids are getting older (10 &15) so they dont need to be entertained as much when they were younger but i still like to take them places where we can get out and explore a little bit. I had done a trip over fathers day 2013 to Monache Meadows with Scott from SCLR where we did Sherman Pass and then camped at Monache. It was the first time I had been to Monache and I knew it was a spot I would bring the family to next time. We took a long weekend at the beginning of June and just went up solo and camped out. It's a great place to go with people that have kids as there is the south fork of the kern river to play in (when it's just a creek) big meadows with range cattle and deer, a dam up the river from the camp sites where the beavers have setup camp and have a good sized mound in the back pond, a glacial moraine with some neat wild flowers here and there. I have to strike a balance on trips, my wife gets car sick so on trips with the family its go drive to where we're camping, setup and stay there for a day or so while exploring the surrounding area. Trips with the family have to have a destination other than just a trail. On trips where it's more technical wheeling on really long slogs where we're just driving to drive my wife would rather stay home as it's no fun for her. I'll bring my daughter on some trips like that as she just likes getting out away from the city. The next time Frank from SCLR does the Death Valley geology tour I'll let you guys know. That's a really good trip for kids. One of the club members is a Geologist with one of the branches of the Interior Dept. and explains a lot of what you are seeing as you drive through Death Valley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROVRMAN2 Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 You want ideas to entertain kids 6+ yrs? How about getting cheap digital cameras or androids, iPhones , or anything that can take instant pics or videos while driving on or off road? You just have to convince them to take lots of pics and then you can post the best ones on this site! The poor quality pics you can delete delete delete. The club does have history minded trips too eg Mojave, Death Valley etc. All parents have to do is have historical knowledge of the areas of travel beforehand and point them out to the kids. kids can give a school report or to grandparents with photos etc afterwards and be able to say been there done that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROVRMAN2 Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Infants can get hurt just by being bounced around during aggressive off-roading best to leave them with spouse at campsite or have mom drive and poppa stay at campsiteThere was a bounce house once at the annual but some kids got over exerted became very tired and overwound and then their parents had too calm them down for the evening. Those parents lost relaxing social time with peers. There was another time which we all thought was a great idea was to train kids in use of emergency whistle. Unfortunately kids will be kids. The adults became desensitized to the whistle blowing and a child did wander off and luckily found. How does one act as a babysitter for other children? Remember the movie "the Slap"? Ones little darling maybe another's little turd. I'm for bringing kids on trips. It's how to keep them entertained and out of trouble that's tough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRover Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 There was another time which we all thought was a great idea was to train kids in use of emergency whistle. Unfortunately kids will be kids. The adults became desensitized to the whistle blowing and a child did wander off and luckily found. Sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but this is one of those "great in concept, horrible in execution" ideas. I got a chuckle out of reading that.-Jared Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROVRMAN2 Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Agree, laughable now, but the panic incurred was felt though out camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astateofmike Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Infants can get hurt just by being bounced around during aggressive off-roading best to leave them with spouse at campsite or have mom drive and poppa stay at campsiteThere was a bounce house once at the annual but some kids got over exerted became very tired and overwound and then their parents had too calm them down for the evening. Those parents lost relaxing social time with peers. There was another time which we all thought was a great idea was to train kids in use of emergency whistle. Unfortunately kids will be kids. The adults became desensitized to the whistle blowing and a child did wander off and luckily found. How does one act as a babysitter for other children? Remember the movie "the Slap"? Ones little darling maybe another's little turd. I'm for bringing kids on trips. It's how to keep them entertained and out of trouble that's tough The emergency whistle...I still hear them in my house. Really, I have not found all the ones my kids brought home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinw.rrc Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Nick, I think White Rock Lake would be a great trip for your family. Last year, there were lots of kids, including young ones about Brooklyn's age, lots of moms... and it was a great trip. While there was a small group that spent a couple of hours driving trails, most people stayed down at base camp and either went fishing, canoeing, rafting, and hiking among other activities with their kids. The hike around the lake is really something spectacular! Also, the annual event at Hollister every year is a big family event! I'm already looking into activities for the kids for this years annual so I'm taking ides now as the planning process takes time. Hint Hint... if anyone has some awesome outdoor activity ideas for ages 2-12, I will probably split the groups to keep similar ages together. Send me a PM as I don't want to Hi-Jack this thread. -Erin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRover Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Nick, I think White Rock Lake would be a great trip for your family. Last year, there were lots of kids, including young ones about Brooklyn's age, lots of moms... and it was a great trip. While there was a small group that spent a couple of hours driving trails, most people stayed down at base camp and either went fishing, canoeing, rafting, and hiking among other activities with their kids. The hike around the lake is really something spectacular! This -- White Rock Lake (the 3 day weekend, be-a-lazy-butt-at-camp, not the 5 day expedition to get there) is a great base camp experience where a lot of folks kick back and stay around camp. Nick, apologies if you got the impression that the Shaver Lake Snow Run was going to be a family-friendly event. While it certainly isn't family-"unfriendly", I would acknowledge that the environment isn't conducive to keeping the interest of a child. On years with actual snow both on the ground and coming down, even less so. In my mind I have always put Shaver Lake more in the 'rugged' trips group -- this past 2015 run was actually more mild due to the lack of snow. If you review photos from previous trips, you will frequently see trucks just buried in snow with folks digging them out to get an additional foot or two forward motion. If I were a child sitting in the back of a car for 3+ hours on a trail with no chance to explore, I would be royally bored. Probably even as an adult. ::amuse:: -Jared Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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