As a child, I have no greater memories than my excursion with my family into the great outdoors. My parent's were children during the great depression in the 30's so living on a shoe string budget was something they were accustomed to. Activities with 5 small children sound like a great undertaking to someone in today's society but back then it was the usual and customary thing for a family to do. It was free to hike into the gorge from the trails that started in our backyard. It was very cheap to fish for bass at one of the small lakes in our area or go camping for the weekend at a local campground. I learned to hunt mushrooms, collect wild berries, fish, hike, you name it we did it and best of all we did it together as a family.

With today's economy being what it is, and the family unit seemingly falling apart I would hope that some of us can still remember what it takes to hold a family together, take from our parents or grandparents example, then start reliving some of those awesome childhood memories. It made me very happy a few days ago to see families out fishing, hiking and boating while knocking around in Houston Woods. The spring flowers were in full bloom, red bud trees were sprouted, mushroom hunters were in the woods hunting, and people were actually out doing something. It reminded me of the awesome way that I was raised to appreciate nature, the resources that we have, and that simple pleasures such as the ones described above can create a lifetime of precious memories for generations to come.

Outdoor family activities are not a cure all for today's problems, but a child will never forget that you put time aside to spend with them. In a child's eyes, you are the hero! So make the best of this image and get them outside, into the woods and fishing at a local pond or small lake. It may only take a couple of bucks but hearing those words "this was the best day ever" will be worth a million of them!