Category: Gear

Get Outside No Matter the Weather

We’ve entered the shoulder season, the reverse spring when the weather can’t decide if it’ll be warm, windy, rainy or freezing.
I have to be honest. This is not my favorite time of year. The trees by my house have already dropped their leaves so the landscape is grey and dull. There’s no sparkling white snow to snowboard on and not enough warm sun to entice me outside either. My body isn’t used to bracing against the wind, rain or cold so when I open my door, I quickly want to shut it again.

But enough whining. I know I need to be outdoors everyday in order to not turn into a mean nasty troll. My kids need to be outdoors so they can run and climb and make messes I don’t have to clean up.

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KidProof Permanent Markers

We’ve got an exciting new adventure happening here at Mountain Mom and Tots. It’s totally different from the norm and has nothing to do with hiking, biking, skiing or camping. This time it has to do with crowdfunding.

Mountain Dad is launching his first Kickstarter campaign tomorrow Tuesday, October 25, 2016!
Continue reading “KidProof Permanent Markers”

Electronic Devices on the National Park to Park Highway

There’s a grand debate over how much electronic time kids should have, both on the internet and here in our home. Our rule is that tablets, computers and games on Mom and Dad’s phones don’t work in the National Parks.

When Big E was smaller and didn’t understand how parental controls worked, it was easy to just turn off the the screen and claim the electronics really didn’t work while we drove through beautiful places. Now he’s figured us out, so instead it’s just a family rule.

But what about those monotonous times in between national park destinations? We’re on a 6,000 mile National Park to Park Highway road trip after all. In those times, I don’t mind if my kids play video games, in fact I encourage it. If they are entertained, and possibly learning something they won’t be fighting with each other or asking me to entertain them. Also, I’ve been working on my computer throughout the trip and it’d be hypocritical of me to say I get to use electronics while my kids can’t.

Having electronic devices on any trip means you have to have a way to charge them. While the car is running we can charge things off the vehicle battery, but that’s not the best option for getting energy while camping.

That’s where our trip sponsor, BioLite Energy came in. BioLite manufactures stoves, lights and solar panels that work double duty. In addition to efficient cooking from burning wood, the BioLite Wood Burning Campstovecharges your electronic devices. It’s really cool.

We’ve used the BioLite Wood Burning Campstove quite a bit on our National Park to Park Highway trip. It’s great for boiling water, which we needed every day. Finding and breaking down sticks so they fit in the camp stove was a little bit of a hassle, but the abundance of free fuel balanced that out. The built in fan keeps the heat going strong and with the BioLite KettlePot the BioLite Wood Burning Campstove worked great as a stove. Unfortunately the grill attachment was just too small for our family.

Since it boiled water so fast, there wasn’t sufficient time to charge electronics well. For charging, I prefer using a solar panel. BioLite’s SolarPanel 5+ is lightweight and portable with a built in battery, stand and sun dial to maximize the charge. The five watt panel was enough to charge my phone to half capacity during a moderately sunny day. We strapped it on the back of our bike trailer to charge on the go, or set it on the dashboard of our truck to charge while driving. But with our constant need for energy the SolarPanel 5+ wasn’t quite enough.

That’s why my favorite BioLite product was the NanoGrid. The PowerLight flashlight/lantern is also a power station to recharge phones and cameras. It’s bright, rechargeable and hooks up to SiteLights, extending the glow throughout the campsite. Charge the PowerLight at home and the internal battery stores electricity to use while you’re in the outdoors. The PowerLight would work great for about a three day camp out before running out of juice.

The other thing I like about BioLite is its commitment to bring clean energy everywhere. As a carbon neutral company, BioLite creates cleaner energy solutions for indoor cooking fires in India and Africa through the BioLite HomeStove . A portion of every purchase is reinvested in its mission to bring energy everywhere.

For you parents out there, how do you balance electronics on a road trip? What do you allow?

BioLite Energy gave me the items above for review. My opinions are my own. This post includes affiliate links. See all of our National Park to Park Highway Sponsors here.

Go Jump in a Lake!

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If Mountain Dad had an outdoor super power it would be finding swimming holes in whatever place we go. Back on our practice trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks we beat the heat by splashing in the Virgin River and exploring behind the waterfall at Mossy Cave. In Yellowstone we swam in the boiling river near Mammoth, the Firehole River swim area and found a secret spot just down river from Ojo Caliente hot spring.

Water is a main attraction on this National Park to Park Highway trip. For that reason I was glad when Safe Spash swim school approached me to review their program a month before we left. Big E and Little G have taken swim lessons before, but Safe Splash’s program is a little different. Instead of a two week intensive swim camp where your kid may or may not advance to the next level, SafeSplash offers weekly classes a lot like piano lessons. Kids go once a week and move up in levels once they’ve accomplished all the skills.

When walking into the swim lessons for the fist time Big E and Little g started complaining. “Why do we have to take swimming lessons?”

I immediately replied, “It’s a life skill.” Swimming is one of the five areas in which I choose to be a pusher parent. It’s a good skill for life, and given Mountain Dad’s love of wild swimming holes, one we will use a lot in our outdoor adventures.
I had to smile when we walked into the 24 Hour Fitness Center and saw the Safe Splash poster that said the exact same thing. See, I’m not the only one. Safe Splash gets it.

What I liked about the Safe Splash program were the small class sizes. No more than four students are allowed at once so that the teacher can give individual attention to each one. I especially liked that for Little G. At only four and a half she still is not trustworthy around water, we always have her in a life jacket at lakes or rivers. She had a watchful teacher that helped her learn to back float on her own, even though it was scary.

Safe Splash is serious about safety, with a deck supervisor on hand to act as a lifeguard and swim teacher assistant. I liked knowing someone else was watching out for my kids.

I thought the $65 per month price tag (less with each additional child) was a bit steep compared to the local rec center lessons we had last year, but the quality of instruction was good. I also would’ve preferred to schedule the lessons online instead of having a Safe Splash employee call to coordinate with my schedule. With that said, they were very adaptable especially when we had to schedule around our practice National Parkto Park Highway trip.

I’ve appreciated their swimming skills on this trip and thanks to one of our trip sponsors I’ve been able to record everything they’re doing. Intova sent me their entry level waterproof camera and I’ve enjoyed putting it to use.

The small Intova Duo Waterproof Camera fits inside a waterproof case that fastens with a wrist strap for gnarly adventures. The big buttons on the top are easy for even kids to use and the quality of the photos are decent. Plus the price can’t be beat – less than $40.

What I don’t like is that you have to open the waterproof case to change from photo to video mode. It’d be super easy to drop that tiny camera in the water while you’re switching modes. Also, there’s no zoom option so you have to move closer or farther from what you’re shooting – not always easily done while splashing in a river or lake.
Because of the big easy-to-use buttons on the Intova Duo Waterproof Camera, on our Zion trip I took thirty minutes of video of the inside of my pocket and had a dead battery when we got to the secret swimming hole we hiked to. That wouldn’t be a big deal except that the charge cord is Mini USB not Micro USB like the rest of the universe. I had to wait until home before I could charge it again.
Overall I’m grateful to have a waterproof camera, but with my smart phone being water resistant it’s not essential.

Water splashing, swimming, exploring is a big part of summer. With an ocean stop scheduled on this trip, I look forward to swimming with my tots in the water and I’m glad we can capture each moment.

Intova is a National Park to Park Highway tour sponsor. Click here to view all of our sponsors.