Camping with Kids (and living through it)

We like any book that has the words "down and dirty" in the title. 

There has been a huge movement towards scaling back family vacations, and camping is undoubtedly one of the best ways to get bang for your buck. After all, it is 2012, not 2001. But there are fundamental differences between resort-y vacations where you go to escape your kids, and camping—where connecting with your kids AND nature can be amazing and disastrous, all at the same.

We prefer amazing over disaster, and that usually comes with experience. Take a look at Helen Olsson's guide to camping with kids. With three children under the age of nine, she's llama-trekked in Colorado's backcountry, canoe-and-kayaked in the Niobrara River Valley of Nebraska. So yes, it CAN be done.