Posted by Ross on July 02, 2003 at 17:28:36 from 216.193.169.174 user Ross.
In Reply to: what would they be like today? posted by Jonathan Labaree on July 01, 2003 at 19:27:25:
Unlike the formalized outdoor activities, the spontaneous adventures certainly still occur. We live at a small lake in northeast Pennsylvania surrounded by a few hundred acres of woodlands. The community is small, and there are many small children, ranging from 2 to 10, who have these adventures any day. These children much prefer to camp, cook out, swim, and boat to playing Nintendo.
The reason that this happens, in addition to the type of people who live there, is certainly in part that we have the property and the lake where these adventures can happen. To paraphrase Capn Flint says in Winter Holiday, somebody owns everything these days.
This does two things - provides accessibility and provides safety.
With their busy schedules (imagine, my 2-year old has a fuller daily planner than I do), being able to step outside anytime they need an adventure makes having adventures possible.
From a safety perspective, I am not sure that I would let my children enjoy these activities in a truly public area such as a national park. We live very near the Appalachian Trail (a hiking trail that extends along the eastern United States) and the Delaware River, where canoing, kayaking, and camping are common and which my family and I enjoy. However, I also know that every year people are attacked, abused, and worse in these public parks.
Am I comfortable camping here with my family - yes, absolutely. Am I comfortable letting my children camp here along - nope.