While some parents are busy belting out “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” I am desperately trying to squeeze as much outdoor fun into what’s left of my daughter’s summer break. Classes resume next week and neither one of us is ready to say so long to the season.
My family spends a ton of time outside during the summer months, and this year has been no exception, despite the record-breaking heat. Now that the new school year is about to start, we are trying to get in as many outdoor adventures as possible. Since I telecommute, I am able to partake in these educational field trips throughout the day. Sadly, savoring the joy of long summer days can be a challenge for moms and dads whose work schedules are not as flexible.
If you spend your days strapped to a desk in a windowless office all day, I highly recommend taking advantage of summer’s warm nights to bond with your children in the great outdoors. Fortunately, there are a number of family-friendly outdoor expeditions offered throughout the country, including:
Full Moon Tours: This magical outdoor adventure allows you to prove to your children that the moon is in fact not made of green cheese. Yosemite National Park in Northern California runs open-air tram tours each month on nights leading up to the full moon. The next one starts on August 26th and takes visitors to see Yosemite Falls and Half Dome softly lit by the orb of night. If you are lucky, you may be able to catch a moonbow, a rainbow created by shafts of light reflected off water droplets from Lower Yosemite Falls.
Lantern Cave Explorations: If you don’t have the time to spelunk during the day, then gather the kids and explore caves at night. Lost River Gorge in North Woodstock, New Hampshire, offers a 90-minute guided tour of area boulder caves during the summer months. Families can don headlamps and walk, climb and crawl through the maze of gorges to see waterfalls lit by lanterns. The tour also includes a nightly bonfire and marshmallow roast.
Discover the Desert at Dusk: From now through Labor Day the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona, is featuring flashlight tours on Thursday and Saturday evenings. Not only can you tour the gorgeous space without having to melt in the blazing sun and scorching triple-digit temperatures, you also get the chance to get up close with desert tortoises, snakes and geckos that only come out when the sun goes down. The two-hour tour makes 10 stops so you and your children can see, feel and hear the best the desert has to offer at dusk.
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