Awesome! Fabulous! Wonderful!

These are some of the words that come to mind after such a terrific weekend at California’s Central Coast near Santa Cruz camping with KOA with my Arwen and Billy, plus family friend Milan Martin. KOA is a private campground franchise with over 475 locations around the country. As part of our partnership with Camp California to demonstrate the various ways families can choose to camp, we decided to try a KOA for our third RV experience.

Unique about KOA are the many options to experience camping. You can sleep under the stars in a tent, pull up in an RV, or stay in a cabin or lodge. Some KOA sites offer novel arrangements such as the iconic Airstream, a Tree House or a Caboose! In addition to the sleeping options, there are many recreational activities available on site, such as swimming, mini golf, banana bikes, a climbing wall, playground, horseshoes, basketball, volleyball, and outdoor movies during peak season.

We stayed in a lodge, which I learned is technically classified as an RV since it can be hitched up and rolled out, but inside and out the structure screamed condo! We had a sleeping loft, a private bedroom (linens provided), and bathroom with shower. The kitchen was equipped with a fridge/freezer, sink, microwave, coffee maker, plates and utensils. There were electrical outlets everywhere, wireless internet, and a flat screen TV – so off the hook!

Nice, Nice, Nice

I think the staff here must train with the folks from Disneyland. I am pressed to remember a time when I have encountered such over-the-top positive, welcoming, and attentive customer service anywhere. Checking in and out was a breeze, and everyone made sure we had what we needed in between with a smile or a good joke.

The guests were super nice too, and we noticed this KOA attracts diverse visitors from around the world. Poolside we overheard several languages spoken, and made some new local camp friends Saturday who plotted to join us later in the evening for s’mores. Maintenance of the property was impeccable, clean, and there was a well-stocked camp store in case you forgot anything from home.

This central California coast KOA property sits between the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and is less than a mile away from a few beaches that overlook the Pacific Ocean.  As I have learned from our previous RV experiences, KOAs can be used as a basecamp to explore surrounding nature and other attractions nearby.

Check out the rest of our photos!

Learn more about KOA “Kamping”, and check out our other RV adventures over the last year.

Thank you Camp California, KOA and its marvelous Santa Cruz staff for supporting such a wonderful experience to share with the Outdoor Afro community!

Photos courtesy of Jeff Crider and Rue Mapp

Rue Mapp of Outdoor Afro is excited to present in Atlanta this week at Keeping it Wild and at the American Camp Association‘s (ACA) National Convention! ACA is an education partner of Outdoor Afro, and together they have designed curriculum for their e-institute entitled: Cultivating Camp Relevancy for Diverse Audiences - check it out!

Both events are designed to energize the field of outdoor recreation and camp management around how to engage more diverse audiences with the outdoors.

Click on the image above for more information for the Keeping it Wild appearance, and click here to learn more about ACA.

Here is a wonderful PSA that shares more about ACA and its mission:

Of course, being me, I thought of nature – the outdoors, and found it almost ironic how Occupy protesters in my hometown of Oakland, and in every urban hub, were also making themselves sustainably visible in protest by camping outdoors in public plazas all over the country. An ironic twist on the Great American Campout!

As I sat at home with my children following on Twitter the frightening turn of events happening in Oakland recently, I also contemplated what alternatives we might find to affirm (Occupy) peace in our everyday lives. How might we balance the economic pain that has touched us all in some way?

With African American participation clocked as low as 1% in the National Park System, I thought of the 99% of people who look like you and me; those who do not benefit from this public and important resource that holds the possibility of personal enrichment and sustainability in ways hard to quantify in dollars.

Therefore, though Outdoor Afro, it is my goal to help generate a future where people of every hue know that not only public plazas, but also parks and wild spaces are their inheritance, and theirs to benefit from and support.

What might that look like?

If you have been following Outdoor Afro for a while, I am sure you have gathered by now that we are striving to connect people to the outdoors in a variety of ways. But far too often, I hear people say they don’t like to camp, or fear trying because of perceptions about what must be given up in order to experience nature. Concerns about dirt, crawly critters, outhouses, bears, and bugs top the list of real and imagined outdoor pet peeves.

So for all our camp fearing friends, we dedicate this series of California RV trips to you. Outdoor Afro, along with sponsors Camp-California, El Monte RV, and Big Sur Campgrounds and Cabins, aim to share a way people can camp within another comfort zone, while enjoying the all splendor of the Great Outdoors.

As you may already know, we embarked on our first RV trip using a teardrop trailer last summer, but this past weekend, the four of us rolled in a motor home to Big Sur, California. And all I could say for the first six-hours of our trip was…wow. Our late model RV was well equipped with a stove, microwave, granite counter tops, refrigerator/freezer, flat screen monitor, three large beds, and a bathroom with a sink, shower, and flush toilet. All I had to bring was enough food for the weekend; pots and pans, bedding, and we were more than good to go!

I have to admit, in my roaring child-free 20′s, I viewed RVing as non-committal camping. I thought there was too much of a buffer between the outdoors and the personal experience. Over the years, I have camped in all sorts of conditions, from rainy and wet in a leaky tent, to nestling on the ground on a foam pad between rock formations; to platform tents with cots at family camp – so I found the RV experience to be something completely new, yet really familiar at the same time.

And I’ve got a whole new attitude about it.

Maybe there is also something about turning the big 4-0 that has slowed my roughing it roll to a skip. As a mother, I no longer feel the need to test the limits of ease with three kids in tow in order to experience nature. This weekend’s experience met me more than half-way in the comfort department, uncompromising in its connection to the outdoors. And my children were all smiles. Together, we enjoyed the amenities of home on the road and arrived in a pop-up community along a beautiful river amidst the redwoods.

Next Up…Discovering Big Sur

Following our last Outdoor Afro RV trailer trip to the Sierras this summer, we have been thrilled and grateful for the positive responses from the RV community, and many news outlets that are helping spread the word that African Americans do love the outdoors, and inspiring people to get involved!

For instance, as the result of one recently published article, I received a Saturday morning telephone call from an elderly Atlanta woman who got my number from the print version of the article. She owned a trailer, and asked if I had any advice about how she could find other African Americans RVers. Since her husband passed away, she yearned to camp, yet needed support.  While on the phone with her, I did a quick web scan and was able to put her in touch with a regional coordinator from the National African American RVers Association right in her hometown. She was thrilled! I so valued my leisurely chat with her;  learning about her love for nature, and glad to connect her to a relevant resource.

These are the kinds of real-time, authentic connections we hope to facilitate through Outdoor Afro — helping camping, and a general enjoyment of nature, be more accessible and relevant to the lives of all Americans.

Of course, we will videotape, tweet and blog about the trip so Outdoor Afros everywhere can follow along and share in my family’s experiences as we explore the splendor of the outdoors!

I want to acknowledge and thank Camp California, Big Sur Campground and Cabins, and El Monte RV, who are each generously co-sponsoring and promoting this trip! – You Rock!

This was the first time my family had ever had an RV experience, and in this case, towed a trailer along to set up camp in an RV Park, in spite of many years of tent camping and a range of other outdoor experiences. Over these two years in the Outdoor Afro community and beyond, I have heard the persistent concerns about wildlife and dirt as being a major reason why some African Americans choose not to camp.

Therefore, it was our goal in this trip to demonstrate that you can camp with comfort, yet find ways to enjoy nature too! In our case, we planed to use both the teardrop trailer and a tent to accommodate the entire size of our party. Getting the trailer hitched was a cinch thanks to the expertise of Gary from American River Sales. The trailer came with a long list of cooking supplies, utensils, and a stove, so all we had to bring was food and our favorite spices!

With limited time to spend at a site like this, there was also a more immediate sense of welcoming among our fellow campers that maximized a sense of neighborhood. Everyone who walked by our campground had a friendly word or a smile, and our teardrop trailer was the belle of the ball with a design unlike any other at our resort.

Preparing our food was also a wonderful experience using the stove provided in our teardrop, I was especially inspired by Evanne Schmarder’s website the RV Cooking Show, where she shares many recipes tailored to the RV experience. The kids and I enjoyed creating together our own recipe improvisation of grilled salmon with garlic and lemon, steamed veggies, and a Caesar salad our first night. Yum!

My younger kids did not even mind doing dishes!

After a day of flawless travel and set-up, we were all ready for bed early, with my nephew and son Seth in the tent, and my two younger children and I ready to sleep comfortably in the trailer. We very much looked forward to our river rafting trip the next day.

Next up: American River Rafting!

On Aug. 12th to 14th I will take Outdoor Afro to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada with my nephew and three children for a three-day camping trip at Ponderosa Resort in Lotus, California!

Camp-California.com and Ponderosa Resort are co-sponsoring my trip along with Auburn-based American River Sales and Rentals, which is supplying a teardrop trailer for our use. They are equally eager to learn of our experiences, and how they can expand their collective efforts to reach out to the African American community and get us involved in the Great Outdoors.

Another goal of this trip is to share an outdoor camp experience that still reserves a few creature comforts that the most tentative campers can appreciate. So I want to share how RVing or trailer camping is a terrific option for those who feel intimidated to try more rustic camping experiences.

Over the course of the weekend, we plan to do a day of white river rafting, thanks to our friends at American Whitewater Expeditions, and explore the surrounding California Gold Country. I also plan to test my culinary skills with some RV friendly recipes. From camp, I will tweet, blog and film all of our fun so that the Outdoor Afro community can follow our journey and share in our experiences.

See the full press releases HERE

We can’t wait!

How many of you RV already?

So this year at camp, I spent less time doing, and more time watching, noticing, and being. For instance, I identified new species of birds and bugs (yes, bugs). I stared at a doe at rest among the Ponderosa Pines for what seemed like forever, and I was still enough to observe without meddling the humorous social entanglements between my children and their camp friends. As a result, I am back home feeling rested, and revitalized instead of in need of another vacation.

I encourage more of you to take the chance this summer to get out with your loved ones and simply be in nature. It really is enough.

To learn more about accredited family camp options in your area, check out the American Camp Association website.

Check out the promo of the camp we attend:

The folks at Eastern Mountain Sports thought it would be nifty to look back at the old tools of the trade through some research, and used their results to put together this neat-o infographic.

What camping innovation can’t you live without?

Denene Millner and her family set up a tent

It’s summertime and the living is easy, especially if you’re a kid.  Schools out and fun is all that is on their hyperactive minds.  We adults still have jobs to attend, bills to pay and bellies to feed, but there’s no reason why we couldn’t be on the same page, at least for a single night. So, what’s the best way to enjoy the summer with your kiddos that’s fun, affordable, and engaging? Well, outside camping of course!  And even if you’re not big on ruffing it I think you could handle this one — camp out in your own backyard! On Saturday, June 25, 2011, the National Wildlife Federation is asking everyone to pitch a tent in your yard and participate in the The Great American Backyard Campout. It is a grassroots initiative to Leave No Child Indoors while also raising awareness and funds for more outdoor youth programs.  Families and communities are encouraged to spend time together and while you’re outside in the fresh air  why not explore nature (and science)!

So get your family and neighbors together and go camping – at a local campground, state or national park, or in your backyard. Being outdoors is a perfect time to connect to science. You can explore biology, conservation, ecology, astronomy, geology, geography, environmental science, and more.

COPUS – the Coalition of Public Understanding of Science – is encouraging everyone to participate in the Great American Backyard Campout and use that time to not only connect with family/neighbors but have fun exploring science, too.  Check out the blog post (link here) and read the whole list of recommended Citizen Science and Arts and Science activities.  Plus here’s one I overlooked: Waving at the International Space Station as it orbits over your night time sky! The International Space Station is visible in the sky, assuming the weather agrees, so you could actually keep an eye out for it while you tell campfire stories and eat s’mores. Visit the website http://www.isswave.org/ for details on how to plan your wave. You can also follow them on Twitter @twisst for a tweet when it’s visible from your skies.

Or if you’re ready to sign up right now, then go for it.  You can register your ‘camp site’ – your family, church or community event with the National Wildlife Federation Great American Backyard Campout website (link here).

Do you need to check your supply list? Well, you know Outdoor Afro has you covered.  Here is a handy-dandy list of Tent Camping Essentials for Outdoor Afros.  In the meantime, check in with us and let us know if you plan on participating and how you’ll be connecting to science while you’re under the stars. We have some prizes for Outdoor Afros who participate.