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Meet the Smith and Jones families. Two nearly identical middle class families in every way. Each has three children, lives in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, has a yearly household income of about $90,000, owns two vehicles and shares their home with a faithful family dog.

Right now–aboard a plane destined for Orlando, FL–Mr. Smith is attempting to dodge the angry and frustrated glares of fellow passengers as his fidgety children have become bored, and then loud; annoying everyone in the cabin around them. Mrs. Smith is listening to her iPod and pretending to be asleep.

The Smiths have saved up all year for this family vacation. Between airfares, hotel accommodations, five 2-day passes for SeaWorld and 8 days of kennel fees for boarding the family dog, this family get-away has become a major investment.

Certain that SeaWorld can keep his children entertained for two full days, Mr. Smith is hopeful that the beach and swimming in the ocean will amuse them for the remaining five days of their stay; but his practical brain tells him that the beach and ocean will only be good for two or three days at best, and that he’ll be spending a lot more money on as yet unknown activities for them at some point before they return home.

At the same time the Jones family are traveling east on Interstate 80 in the family minivan, and thanks to Mrs. Jones finding that Drop Down DVD Player on ebay for $50 the kids are sitting calmly in the back seat with the family dog lying across their laps as Shrek and Donkey scheme to rescue Princess Fiona from the tower.

Soon they’ll exit on to Route 66 for the final leg of their trip north into the Allegheny National Forest, and along the road then they’ll see lots of cows, pigs, chickens and even horses roaming around fenced-in fields which will leave Shrek and Donkey playing to an inattentive crowd.

The Jones family began planning their summer vacation just last month when Mr. Jones learned that his vacation request had been approved at work.

Photo by Nicholas_T

He and Mrs. Jones discussed several options for how and where to spend their free week, and ultimately decided on a camping trip that would hold plenty of activities and adventures to keep their children from growing bored, and lots of opportunities for creating quality bonding time as a family. The added promise to take the children horseback riding on their last day if they were behaved all week would also help to make this an enjoyable trip for all.

Mr. Jones spent a couple of hours, and about $200 at Wal-Mart and Big Lots purchasing the essential supplies they would need: a two room tent that could sleep 8 comfortably, two Queen sized air mattresses, a blow-up row boat for 6, a hand powered air pump (for the mattresses and boat), oil lanterns and some additional small items, including a long “Runner” cable so that they can take the family dog camping with them and be able to secure him at their campsite.

Mrs. Jones prepared a pack with food, cooking and eating utensils; and made sure the children packed enough clothes, extra shoes and jackets for the week. Mr. and Mrs. Jones also spent a little time on the Allegheny National Forest website to spot and plan interesting activities for their stay; most of which would be completely free or at the most, very affordable.

Living in Pennsylvania, we are lucky in a lot of ways, and just one of them is having some of the most beautiful forests in the country where any family on a budget can spend a weekend, a week or longer vacationing without spending much money at all, and without having to sacrifice fun and adventure.

Photo by brandi666

And a camping vacation isn’t just a way to save money. It’s a way to create quality time with your spouse and children, explore historic attractions, learn about and experience nature, and avoid the crowds and chaos usually found in more typical tourist destinations.

The supplies and equipment necessary for a fun and safe camping trip aren’t much and will cost less than a single plane ticket to most places. You’ll obviously need a tent if you don’t plan to rent a cabin for your stay, and that will be your biggest expense. Fortunately, you can find family size tents at discount retail stores for well under $100, and if you shop for one in the fall or winter you can usually find deals of up to 50% off regular pricing too.

Your next major purchase will be either sleeping bags or air mattresses, both of which can be found for just a few dollars. After that you’ll need some light sources, either flashlights or lanterns, water canteens, and a fully stocked medical kit.

Some additional items you will probably want to take with you–most of which you will likely already have around your home–are:

• A plastic ground tarp for placing under your tent
• Fishing Rod and Tackle (if you’re interested in fishing)
• Trash bags (always clean up after yourself and preserve the beauty of our forests)
• Some rope (for clothes line and a million other uses)
• A small shovel (for digging a fire pit and toilet)
• A good knife
• A hammer
• A saw or hand-ax for sizing firewood
• Waterproof matches (bring plenty)
• Toiletries (TP, toothpaste, soap and etc.)
• Cooking and eating utensils
• Powdered and canned foods and drinks (Pancake batter, coffee, tea and so on)
• Plenty of clothes and jackets (it can get cool in the evenings)
• Extra shoes
• A small battery powered radio in the event of bad weather
• Binoculars
• Camera
• Cards and games/toys (frisbees, volleyball and etc.)

Photo by jasonb42882

You’ll also want to spend a little time before leaving on your trip to plan some activities for your time. If you’re planning to stay in the Allegheny National Forest then you could visit the ANF website for tons of ideas, as well as printable maps and information about having fun and staying safe in the wild.

There are also Ranger Stations in the forest where you can stop and ask about everything from suggestions on where to camp, where to hike and explore, and where (or what) to avoid at the current time. Remember, there are wild animals in the forest and at times it may be best to avoid certain areas, the Rangers are happy and eager to let you know about such things.

Here are just a few exciting adventures available to you for little or no money around the Allegheny National Forest:

• Fishing
• Hiking
• Bird watching (you may see some Bald Eagles in the sky)
• Boating and canoeing
• Swimming
• Horseback riding
• Elk viewing (herds of beautiful and majestic elk)
• Wine tasting at multiple vineyards
• Visit the Eldred WWII Museum
• and lots more…

The bottom line is you don’t have to spend a lot of money, or even leave Pennsylvania to have a fantastic family vacation that will generate memories and bonds for years to come.

So, what of the Smith and Jones families we met earlier? The Smith family is sardined in a small jet about to make its final decent into Pittsburgh. The children are sunburned from the beach, so have been less fidgety than they were on the flight out a week ago, though more grumpy and lippy as a result. Mrs. Smith lost her iPod at some point, so has spent the entire flight bantering bitterly with the children, and Mr. Smith is just happy this family vacation is almost over and hopeful that his wife won’t object too loudly to his plans to wait until tomorrow to pick up the family dog from the kennel.

And the Jones? After a week of fun and excitement the Jones family has just finished an afternoon of horseback riding and are getting ready to drive home, sad to see their vacation come to an end, but looking forward to a long game of “I Spy” on the highway.

NOTE: The Smith and Jones families in this article are “collective interpretations” of my own family from my childhood. We took many family vacations in those days, most were happy camping trips but a few were more stressful visits to tourist traps. They all gave me wonderful life-long memories, but some of those memories are sweeter than others.

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