An Education in the Majestic Sierra Nevada

By Leo Babauta We set out for the Sierra Nevada as a family, all eight of us, excited but unsure of what to expect from our first family camping trip in the mountains. I surveyed our two vehicles full of camping gear and food, and wondered at foolishly calling myself a minimalist sometimes. A family of eight people has a lot of sleeping bags, sleeping pads, tents, chairs, veggie dogs and vegan marshmallows, though. And we probably overprepared, after reading and worrying about bears and the cold and cougars and Lyme disease. At any rate, earlier this month, we drove four four hours, the scenery out our windows becoming more and more incredible, pine forests and alpine meadows and creeks winding through towering peaks, Lake Tahoe and more. We were awed, as a family from the tiny tropical island of Guam, used to beaches and jungles and swordgrass. This was the start of our adventure, our education in the mountains. One of the things we’ve learned by unschooling four of our six kids is that education isn’t just in the classroom or books: it’s everywhere. All the time. And as we arrived at our campground in the Eastern Sierra, that was never more clear. We’ve also learned that education isn’t just for our kids: we learn with them. We set up tent, learned about various pine trees (Jeffrey pine smells like vanilla!), wandered along the creek, watched the majestic stars come out. I sketched the chipmunks and deer, studied the supermoon, and then lay un...
Source: Zen Habits - Category: Life Coaches Authors: Tags: Finance & Family Happiness Source Type: blogs