Happy Trails

It's an unnerving sign of the times that there are kids suffering from childhood obesity and what Richard Louv calls "nature deficit disorder" here in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. But a new book from Steamboat magazine editor Eugene Buchanan aims to help parents pick up the trail with Outdoor Parents, Outdoor Kids: A Guide to Getting Your Kids Active in the Great Outdoors.

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• Eugene Buchanan
• Richard Louv
• Outdoor Recreation
• Parenting

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In it, Buchanan builds from his own experiences in the wilderness with his daughters, now seven and eleven, with bicycling, skiing, camping, hiking, backpacking, jogging, paddling, climbing, fishing, and swimming adventures worthy of the reporting he's best known for in magazines like Outside and Men's Journal.

"My only certification is that I’ve done everything in this book with them, whether they’ve liked it or not," Buchanan writes. "We’ve camped in the rain, hiked through mosquitoes, skied in the cold, rafted through hailstorms, flown over bike handlebars, and pierced ears with fish hooks. But the good times far outnumber the bad, and it’s my hope that our own trials and tribulations can offer hints on how and how not to get your kids involved in these same pursuits.”

The book also offers parenting tips, as well as suggestions for family-friendly destinations and gear for getting kids started early on a lifetime of outdoor activity. Buchanan will read from the book tonight at 7 p.m. at the REI flagship store, 1416 Platte Street; admission is free. Call 303-756-3100 for more information.
Wed., May 19, 7 p.m., 2010