simple.green.organic.happy.

Category: Nature & The Great Outdoors

  • “Summer Camp” for Adults: I Want to Go to There

    “Summer Camp” for Adults: I Want to Go to There

    archery
    image via depositphotos

    I’m in the process of clearing out my inbox today after being shut out of my email for a while (thanks, Comcast!) and as usual, there are a ton of “spray and pray” press releases in there.

    This one caught my eye.

    Let Nostalgia Reign Supreme! Allow your inner child to meet your outer grown-up by attending one of Holman Ranch’s throwback Adult Camps! It’s like summer camp when you were a kid, except no early bedtime or wake-up calls! Relax, unwind, and disconnect from the stress of the workday world.

    Enjoy a number of traditional camp activities, including:
    · Nature hikes
    · Swimming
    · Arts & crafts
    · Archery
    · Skeet shooting
    · Yoga & meditation
    · Star-gazing
    · Campfires
    · Billiards & ping pong
    · Dance classes
    · Board games
    · Barbecues

    Plus a number of adult activities, such as wine or olive oil tastings, cooking or winemaking classes, or simply relaxing and reading a book surrounded by nature on our 400-acre historic ranch. And, of course, s’mores at our nightly campfires. Ghost stories optional.

    The other great thing about being an adult is you won’t have to rough it in bunk beds or sleep on the ground at this camp. Instead, you’ll reside comfortably in one of our 10 remodeled guest rooms or one of our new Glamping tents right on the ranch!

    via GIPHY

    Exclamation point abuse aside, I wish I was in California and in possession of some money to burn because this sounds like a helluva good time to me. I think a lot of us do go on vacay with good intentions, but unless your trip is specifically planned around hiking or snorkeling or whatever exercise tends to fall by the wayside. I love the idea that here it’s built into the agenda, just like at camp. Plus, GLAMPING! When can I go glamping, please?

    Everyone I went to school with turns 40 this year (or recently has) and I wonder if there is a local option like this one available to us. It would be a great way to collectively celebrate a milestone year: we could revisit our youth, sing our high school song around the campfire while trading old stories under the stars, and re-enact gym class, albeit without the polyester brown and gold uniform (unless someone was feeling extra fancy).

    In any case, I hope the concept of adult camp/fitness getaways catches on; it’s a fantastic way to reframe exercise as play, as a reward, as a fun way to spend time with your friends or partner. I know some hotels do offer detox weekends where you turn in your electronics, but honestly I think Instagram would only help spread the word in this case.

    I’d also love to see more hotels detailing outdoor activities for families! Every town has hidden outdoor treasures; it would be great if a list was provided of ways to get outside and move if you have a full day, an afternoon, 30 minutes, etc. I know we have the internet for that, but sometimes you find yourself in your hotel room with a little time to kill and it would be nice to have the inspiration right there in front of you. I tend to find traveling super stressful anyway so the nudge to get moving and soak up some Vitamin D would be most welcome.

    What do you think? Wanna go to adult camp with me?

     

     

    P.S. If you ARE in California or inclined to travel there, here’s the rest of the info.

    Holman Ranch in scenic Carmel Valley is known for its horses, wines and olive groves, but we are also a great place to boost your fitness and health with our new Fitness Camps!
    Packages are available for 2-night minimum stay with 10 guest rooms, with Glamping tents available for larger groups, and can be customized from a selection of the following activities:
    · Individual or group fitness classes, offered in a secluded section of the estate amid olive groves and vineyards.
    · Yoga or Pilates classes or private sessions with a certified instructor
    · Dining options include catering, cooking on your own, and healthy and nutritious meals at nearby Wills Fargo Steakhouse + Bar
    · Cooking demos with renowned local chefs
    · Classes on nutrition and healthy eating
    · Guided hikes on our numerous trails, from canyons to rolling hills
    · Swimming and water aerobics in the estate’s swimming pool
    · Workouts in our fully equipped fitness room with free weights, universal weight stations, elliptical and treadmill cardio machines.
    · Customized personal training sessions available.
    · Fresh juice and breakfast bars to start your morning off with an energy boost
    · Vineyard run/walk, a fun fitness run or walk through the extensive wine vineyards on the 400-acre grounds
    (831) 659-2640 or info@holmanranch.com

     

  • Visit the National Parks for Free: Entrance Fee Free Days in 2016

    Visit the National Parks for Free: Entrance Fee Free Days in 2016

    creek

    National parks are the best idea we ever had.

    Absolutely American, absolutely democratic,
    they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.

    -Wallace Stegner

    The National Park Service turns 100 this year! It was formed on August 25th, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the “Organic Act.”

    To celebrate this amazing milestone, the 127 National Park Service sites that normally charge an entrance fee will waive it for 16 days in 2016. Free admission for everyone! That includes entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. A pass covers entrance, standard amenity fees and day use fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person).

    Those fee-free days are:

    January 18th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
    April 16th through the 24th for National Park Week
    August 25th through 28th, National Park Service’s Birthday
    September 24th, National Public Lands Day
    November 11th, Veterans Day

    Of course, there are hundreds of sites that are free all year long. You should totally try to visit as many of those as you can too; just maybe not on these fee-free days.

    FYI, annual passes cost $80, which is a pretty good deal; a DE parks pass costs me $70 as I technically live in PA (would only cost me $35 if I lived a hundred yards to the west, across the state line). Free annual passes are available for active military and their dependents, for those with permanent disabilities, for those who volunteer for 250+ hours, and for fourth graders. Seniors over the age of 62 can get a lifetime pass for $10 (plus a processing fee unless you do it in person).

    When did you last visit a national park? Which ones are a must-see?

     

  • #GIFtATree in 5 Seconds: Create a GIF or Send a Tweet

    #GIFtATree in 5 Seconds: Create a GIF or Send a Tweet

    treehugger

    The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.

    —John Muir

    This treehugging photo is from the first post I published on this site, in 2008. Cass still pretty much looks exactly like this, and while she’s not really compelled to give them spontaneous displays of affection anymore, we’re still treehuggers at heart.

    That’s why we love the #GIFtATree holiday campaign from NBCUniversal and the Arbor Day Foundation. During the month of December, if you create and share a holiday GIF from greenisuniversal.com, or send a tweet using #GIFtATree, a tree will be planted in a state park or national forest— up to 25,000 trees!

    The GIFs are very cute and are animated; creating them would be a fun activity for kids, especially over winter break. Every time you share one a tree is gifted, not just once. 

    I made one during the Rockefeller tree lighting special in NYC, and Cass made one a little bit later, and I was quite a bit delighted to find she’d made the exact same one I had.

    #GiftATreenot animated bc I couldn’t quickly figure out how to put that here and dinner’s almost ready

     

    Every tweet you send out that includes #GIFtATree counts as a tree gifted, too. What an easy way to make a difference: after all, just one large tree can provide a day’s supply of oxygen for up to four people. Over the course of a year, just one mature tree will absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, releasing oxygen in exchange.

    thousand forests one acorn Ralph Waldo Emerson

     

    There are many practical reasons to protect existing trees and plant new ones:

    • Trees help clean our air and water
    • Trees improve our mental and physical health
    • Trees help to fight climate change
    • The cooling effect of trees saves energy
    • Trees provide habitat essential for wildlife

    Trees are so important to our ongoing physical existence, and we’ve come to think of them in ways that correlate to our emotional existence. Trees are dependable; they stay in one place. Like trees, we aim to lay down firm roots in the earth, but lift our arms and faces to the sky. We strive to grow strong like tree trunks yet flexible like branches in a storm. We try to breathe in the bad and breathe out the good. And when we are tired, broken down, we remain resilient, confident that the next season will come and we will once again be bursting with energy and new growth, like trees in spring.

    mossy tree

    Most importantly, trees are promises. Trees are potential.

    Inside a tiny acorn lies majesty that can weather a thousand storms.

    Go on, make yourself a pretty little card and feel good about your role planting a tree. Or three. Or three dozen!

    (And while you’re thinking about all this tree related goodness, pin this list of ways to repurpose or recycle your Christmas tree for later.)