The Great Outdoors!

Recreating outdoors is my favorite pastime.  The outdoor activities I enjoy most are; exploring nature, hiking, biking, horseback riding, metal detecting, fishing, kayaking, sporting clay shooting, and hunting. Some would call me an outdoor recreational enthusiast.  It’s ok by me, because being outdoors has diverse benefits. More people should experience being outside and participating in different outdoor recreational sports.

Spending time outdoors has always been fun for me. This may sound crazy to you but before I was four years old I remember walking back deep into the woods with my little friends to catch tadpoles, frogs and critters. It was our daily pastime, and we couldn’t wait to fill our buckets. Once I remember catching a large milk snake early in the morning and carrying it into my mother who was still sleeping soundly in her bed. This was the first time I realized how terrified she was of snakes.

For my wife and I there is no better place to get the exercise we need to help us stay physically and mentally fit, than in the outdoors. We’ve been together now for 35 years and spent a lot of time outside recreating.

A great outdoor activity I would recommend trying is hiking.  If you’re just starting out, a 3-4 mile hike should take you less than an hour to complete. You can figure walking about one mile in 15-18 minutes. My wife and I like to hike through Michigan State and also National Parks. State and National Parks all have great maps available for you to locate the trail that suits your needs. For additional hiking options, click on this Pure Michigan link.  http://www.michigan.org/Things-to-Do/Outdoors/Hiking/Default.aspx  

Kayaking is another great activity; everyone should try at least once.  Two weeks ago my wife and I went on a full moon paddle down the Shiawassee River in Linden with about 25 people.  The trip started in the evening and as the sun set behind us in the west a full moon rose in the east. It’s an awesome feeling to be enveloped in nature in a little kayak, calmly floating down a stream like a leaf.

Today, studies show people who play outside are healthier both mentally and physically. A quote from the National Park Service (2006) Committee on Health and Recreation states..“Increasingly, scientific evidence points to the fact that the American public needs to increase their level of physical activity to improve overall health and wellbeing. Recreational attributes inherent to National Parks play a vital role in what is now emerging as a powerful prescription for our nation's health: physically active outdoor recreation”.

Besides being very inexpensive, I know recreating in the outdoors has benefited my wife and I in at least two more ways over the years. It’s helped us to keep fit and relieved stress. If you’re not already getting  your fix outside please find a friend and get out, in our great outdoors!