Any families with little kids?

Hey there neighbors. This kind of turned into a personals ad but I thought I’d go that route due to the overall nature of the thread.

Anywho. As I push 40 years, I find all my friends with whom I used to get away with in my pre-dad days are so few that it’s hard to put a plan together. Many have moved far away or otherwise drifted out of contact. So, I figure this would be a good place to put the feelers out to see if there’s any family-friendly types out there with little kids. I’ve got a 3 1/2 year old boy so I thought I’d try starting a family oriented thread and see where it goes. Maybe some future camping trips? Friendly, mostly civilized conversation / philosophy discussion? Beer spilling? Fishing (at which I’m lousy). Music - I’m into lots of different types from classic country western like George Jones, good old rock n roll like Beach Boys, to jazz like The Bad Plus.

My wife isn’t really into camping in the same style that I am, and I don’t really have any friends who have kids and a capable vehicle or interest in one. Which means I’ll have to go with just the kiddo, which makes me a little nervous in case of a breakdown, plus, he’d definitely enjoy these trips a LOT more with other kids to play with. And in truth, my kid is so rowdy that it would be exhausting for me if it were just he and I for days at a time. And, I want to get him into the outdoors and the back country at this early age.

FWIW, and without getting too political (ha, as I typed this I discovered my phone auto corrects “Fwi” to “Feinstein” - yikes), I’m a recovering progressive democrat gone Ron Paul, Thomas Massie, Austin Peterson, Milton Friedman libertarian.

Can’t really think of much else to say at the moment, but if you’re like-minded, I’d love to hear from you!

 

As you push 40 I'm pushin 30. Sounds like we are very like minded. I've got a boy who turns 4 in June and another boy who is 18 months. I have a stock tacoma but I like to get out into the woods and try to find primitive campsites away from other groups.

 

Cool! Where do you live? I don’t really plan to wheel my truck hard so I’d bet a stock truck would be fine. I just ordered a 2” ome lift so my truck won’t be too heavily modded either.

 

I live in Santa Rosa. My camping trips are usually up to the Mendocino national Forrest, but last summer I spent some time up around Shasta and I would love to explore more up there, but i would also like to check out the central Sierra as well. Where do you usually go?

 

Well, I’ve found it tough to escape the crowds in CA in recent years. But I usually head over Sonora pass, sometimes down 395. Lots of potential that way.

 

That's one of the areas I've wanted to explore. It's all about finding the time!

 

Sounds like an awesome idea. But I’m way out on the east coast. Anyone in North NJ fits OP post profile want to reach out and do some camping/canoe trip up in the Poconos let’s talk.

 

Yeah, once you get over to the east side of the sierras the crowds dwindle quite a bit.

Definitely tricky to find time. Especially since my wife has her life booked up a solid 3-6 months in advance. I’m just the opposite. Hence my posting this thread!

 

Trying to put together a southwest trip for late summer too. Canyonlands Utah region. Hard to beat that landscape.

 

@scocar

 

Ya, life sometimes just gets in the way. We are in the same boat, looking out just as long jus to find time to get away for a few days. Gone are the days of spontaneous week long trips that's for sure! I'm an avid mountain biker so we have done a couple day trips receny down to Santa cruz but that's about it

 

Wow haha! We are headed out to colorado end of July and we were wanting to spend a few days out there on the way out!

 

Nice! Any trails planned or just going to play it by ear?

 

Would also love to explore Colorado but not sure what areas to check out. I know black bear (?) pass but never been. Looks beautiful.

 

We've never been to that part of the country so I'm going to pick up an atlas and spend some time on Google earth. If you know of any mellow trails I'd like to know about them!

 

Me too!

And you may not want to come back! Especially if you catch some good thunderstorms!

 

We have family in Estes Park and I am considering a job opportunity in Grand Junction. I grew up going to Colorado and i have always wanted to move there.

 

Super beautiful part of the country for sure. I’ve been saving up for a patch outside CA. Colorado may be on the radar but Wyoming and Utah are contenders as well.

 

Just going to bump this to try to keep it going.

 

Lots of us with kids in this thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2018-nor-cal-wheeling-camping-and-bs.526580/

I can't plan beyond today. It's physically impossible for me. But campsites book up 6 mos out. So I'm relegated to luck, instinct and backcountry excursions where the crowds just don't go.