The Best Summer Camps This Season
By Danielle Houck, Green Monkey Staff Writer
Can you imagine biking across New Zealand with your family, including an 11-month old? Just another adventure for Avid4Adventure founder David Secunda, who says, "Some of the most incredible experiences that I′ve had with my daughters have been either outdoors or while traveling. These environments provide both kids and parents with prime opportunities to grow and enjoy adventures together." David and his staff dreamed up family camping at its best.
You and your family have two chances, one in June, and one in July, for an amazing family trip, the Gunnison River Canoe Family Trip Adventure. Your canoe departs south of Grand Junction, Colorado, on the mighty Gunnison River, weaving through spectacular sandstone and metamorphic rock. This is the best hands-on summer activity you can find: the journey begins at a petroglyph site within the heavily dinosaur fossilized Morrison Formation.
You will visit the "Eighth Wonder of the World", Dominguez Canyon, a deep red sandstone side canyon. A short hike takes you to petroglyph and pictograph sites and a secluded warm natural swimming pool fed by a forty foot waterfall. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife: desert bighorn sheep, hawks, deer and brightly colored geckos.
Maybe you’d rather head to the high country of the Rocky Mountains with Avid4 Adventure. In August, get ready to enjoy the wildflower peak season while you camp at 10,200 feet in a lakeside forest at the base of Mt. Crested Butte. This is one of the premier alpine areas in the country for mountain biking, mountaineering, wildlife viewing and inspiring mountain views. Each day, the camp offers kids a half day of hiking, a water activity, or climbing instruction so parents can get out for a bit of recreation on their own, and then family time for the other half of the day. Sound good? They will also make delicious, chef-prepared meals for you, have the family tent ready, and greet you with hot chocolate and a warm campfire. Camp on!
You can’t miss the happiest kids each summer in Miami, when Olympic divers work as coaches at the University of Miami Whitten University Center Pool. Weekly camps run at the lakeside pool from June 7 - August 13, 2010. Giggling, splashing kids learn both in and out of the pool, at a unique dry-land area which includes extensive use of the trampoline, tumbling mats for gymnastics, spotting belts for safe learning of dives, and diving workouts to improve dives in the water. High diving boards are available for the kids to enjoy in a safe environment, complete with games, relays. During the requisite half hour after lunch for non-pool activities, the kids take over the university pizza spot with pool view, or use the pool tables, ping pong tables, or play other games with their summer friends. Thursdays are Olympic Day, with competitions in Trampoline, Diving, and Platform.
And let′s not forget Green Monkey′s Kids Summer Camp Program! Email danielle@greenmonkey.net for more information!
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