Everyone in my family loves the outdoors—it’s a pre-requisite to being a card-carrying member of the Sullivan family. However, our appetite for adventure and adrenaline varies greatly from one person to the next.
On Sundays we ski. While my husband and bonus son rip through moguls and launch themselves off kickers from first chair to last, my bonus daughter may take one or two runs down a green circle before sledding or reading her book next to the bonfire, with a hot chocolate in hand.
You’ll find me somewhere in the middle—cruising groomers and pushing my edge but firmly keeping my board on the mountain and avoiding the tree runs at all costs.
I tell you all this because fun as a family in the Great Outdoors can be hard to come by when you have a mix of adrenaline-junkies, outdoor lovers and outdoor-adjacent personalities.
To make it a bit easier this Valentine’s Day season I created a quick list of Five Simple Ways to Share Your Love for the Outdoors with your Family—Using Your Bronco.
Hopefully one of these ideas will hit with the entire fam and make for a memorable day (or night).
#1: Camp in Your Driveway
This is an especially awesome adventure if you have little ones or a spouse who identifies as a house cat. Have dinner around the table, get ready for bed as usual then head out to your Bronco in your jammies with sleeping bags and pillows in hand and, a story on Audible. If all hell breaks loose, the potty and everyone's favorite stuffy is just a few steps inside.
If you want to upgrade your driveway campout, consider adding a ROAM tent to the mix. It’s a tried-and-true favorite of BN Members and easily found in our gear store.
#2: Host a Progressive Trailgate Party
Who says you need sports for a tailgate? Rally your troops, assign a course or dish to each family and meet up at a local park. To keep it simple, forget the paraphernalia (read grills, charcoal etc.) at home by bringing warm crock pots or room temp items. Bounce from one tailgate to the next in between rounds of cornhole or horseshoes and sips of fresh air.
#3: Watch a Movie Under the Stars
There are two ways to tackle this adventure. First option is as simple and straight forward as it gets—find a local drive-in movie theater pick a showing and time and head there in your Bronco (top down if you live in a warm climate). Can’t find a theater near you? Amazon has many smartphone-compatible projectors that start under $60 which will make for an epic first showing at Garage Door Cinemas.
#4: Road Trip to a Local State or National Park
Did you know some states have over 200 state parks!? Sometimes the best adventures are just around the corner at a local state or national park that you and the family have yet to explore. Make a day of it by road-tripping in your Bronco to as many parks as possible from sunrise to sunset. You can hike, bike, paddle or ride at each destination or simply enjoy the scenic drive.
#5: Skywatch with NASA
Stargazing or “Skywatching” is a crowd-pleaser in our family and NASA has slick online resources to help. A sample of their useful content includes guidance on how to identify a planet from a star, plane or space station; what to look for each month (think meteor showers, phases of the moon) and answers to FAQs. Pile your family into the Bronco and head to a nearby Dark Sky Park to see the show from the great beyond.
Fun Fact: Bronco Off-Roadeo Moab is nearby Dead Horse Point State Park—one of the greatest dark sky parks in the country!
Tell me, how do you share your love for the outdoors with your family? Submit your stories and photos below!
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