Hikin_Jim, I love your kid photos! Regarding getting kids into the outdoors, my approach was just to get my daughter out doing stuff. When she was small, we were fortunate to often go car camping with a big group of friends to a nice place on a somewhat out of the way beach, where we all went fishing. It was a perfect place to just let the kids go wild around camp. There was always at least one or two adults around in the background, keeping an eye out that the kids didn't get into anything too life threatening. Moderately life threatening was OK ....just kidding there...you know what I mean. She would get muddy and cold, I would take her into the tent, dry her off and warm her up, put some more dry clothes on her, and away she would go. And get muddy, cold, and wet again.

A few parents were abhorred that we (most of the parents) were so casual about the kids safety, worrying about every tiny thing: "What if they fall down on a sharp stick?"..."What if they get too close to the campfire?"...."What if they catch cold?" We weren't really that casual about their safety, it only appeared that way. We were just OK with the idea that bumps, scratches, bruises, and colds happen sometimes. Usually those overprotective parents lightened up after a bit. A few just quit coming on these adventures.

My daughter, now grown and well launched on her own life, loves the outdoors. She doesn't always like to do exactly all of the same activities as her old dad but she has found her own things she loves to do outside I still see some of the other kids who were part of that group. They have all grown up to be awesome people. All different, but all great young men and women.