With this blog I suggest ways to get kids outside and connected with nature. The activities last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days, but some families take getting outside to the extreme.

Two blogs I've been following and been inspired by are Family on Bikes and Toast Floats.

Family on Bikes are two parents and twin 10-year-old boys. They left Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in June 2008. About thirty months and 20,000 miles later they plan to arrive in Ushuaia, Argentina. They are peddling two single bikes and a tandem.

Family on Bikes is working with Reach the World (RTW), an educational 501(3)(c) non-profit organization with the mission of linking students in under-funded schools to online, global expeditions that have the power to expand learning beyond the four walls of their classroom. The family is linked with classrooms where school kids are learning about their adventures.

According to their website:
"We are very excited the possibilities of this expedition - kids who otherwise would have no idea about the world they live in will now have a global perspective. Although small fries by some standards, we will be helping children become caring stewards of the Earth's environments and cultures. Given the geopolitical and environmental crises looming on our horizon, and the global outlook that we all must share, there may be no more important goal than this."

I've been reading their blog everyday. These kids (and their tough parents!) have been riding big hills, meeting interesting people and trying to beat winter weather to warmer climes (with only some success with that last one). Along the way they are exploring National Parks and viewing our country at a slower pace than most of us ever will. Sounds like a grand adventure! Right now they are in New Mexico, so it won't be too long before they cross the border into Mexico.

The other blog I check out daily is Toast Floats. This time it is a set of parents and three girls. I'm not sure of their ages, but I believe they are between 6 and 12. They started sailing their catamaran in Washington and are now down in Baja California. Along the way the girls are homeschooling, sailing, playing with their new kitty and learning the ways of the sea. This blog is pretty humorous. Reading the posts takes some of the romance out of sailing around the world, but it is a great way to experience it virtually.

After spending a year or more outside everyday, these kids are going to be totally connected to their surroundings, in tune with the weather and culturally enriched.

Both of these families get me thinking about what I would like to do with my family once the boys get older (at 2 months and 21 months, trips like these are a little out of reach right now). I don't know if bikes or ocean boats are right for us, but I could see extended backpacking trips (I've always wanted to hike the Pacific Crest Trail) or canoe trips (Canada, perhaps?).

What is your family dream trip? Are their any online family adventures you follow?