Summer is upon us, so use this time to explore your child’s interests, and incorporate some real life lessons that can’t be taught in classrooms. With a number of national parks and campgrounds closed due to the pandemic, many family camping trips are canceled for the time being. But, there are still ways to take your kid on that camping excursion by crafting the perfect indoor or outdoor adventure. Vivian Chung of the Adventure Blog for Staycation shares How You Can Still Take Your Kids on That Camping Trip.

First, set the scene by pitching your camping tent in the backyard, or by clearing the living room or basement and setting up a pop-up tent for the kids there. Cozy up the spaces by padding them with blankets and pillows.

Now, take this opportunity to teach your kids about the local wildlife you might encounter on a camping trip and how to behave around them on a hike through the forest. To get the ball rolling, check out National Geographic Kids on YouTube, where your child can view short videos to learn about the wildlife and critters that live outdoors, and what their role is on this planet. Go out into the backyard afterwards, and try to identify some of these critters with your kids. The younger ones will also love a scavenger hunt using stuffed animal versions of the wildlife you just discussed.

Part of the fun of camping is being able to make your meal and eat it outdoors. This can easily be recreated in your backyard or on your patio using a camp stove, which will also shake up the dining routine a bit for the kids. End the meal by making s’mores for a fun dessert, a recipe simple enough for kids to take part in and assemble too.

Encourage your child’s love of learning by exploring the curiosities of the night sky together. You can also use your indoor fireplace, or build one by gathering branches for the base and crumpling up yellow, red, and orange tissue paper for the flames. Round out the night by singing campfire songs, or by reading camp themed bedtime stories.

Planning to really get outside and visit one of Utah’s National Parks - read this before you go. Michael Alpiner of Forbes has shared - Arches National Park Opens At The End Of The Covid-19 Curve. One of the country’s most impressive natural wonders is once again open for visitors. With over 2000 natural stone arches, soaring pinnacles, gigantic fins and balanced rocks, Arches National Park reminds us that the natural world can create landscapes of beauty, not just invisible malignancies. Lodging, commercial campgrounds, restaurants and activities are allowed with respect to recommended guidelines. Arches National Park began its phase one opening on May 29th with access to roads, hiking trails and viewing areas, though campgrounds, backcountry camping and fiery furnace access remained closed. All safety practices are being implemented in the park, even though social distance seems easy to accomplish in a park as vast as Arches.

Moab Adventure Center, a full-service resource for the adventure-minded, suggests three guided park tours to encourage the housebound into the outdoors. The daily morning and sunset tour showcases the work of 150 million years. Tour rates are $89 for adults and $79 for ages 5 to 12. A third tour offers an aerial tour of the park. Leaving mid-morning, the half-hour flyover views formations such as Courthouse Towers, North and South Window Arches, Delicate Arch, Devil's Garden, the Colorado River, Fisher Towers, and Castle Valley. Youth two and under fly free on a parent's lap. Tour rates are $109 for adults and $55 for youth 3 to 12.

The Adventure Center also arranges full and half-day Colorado River Tours along the southern border of Arches National Park via raft. A half-day morning tour showcases the mild to moderate rapids under a background of red rock cliffs, spires and buttes. Rates are $74 for adults and $64 for ages 5 to 12. Another half-day option comes with a BBQ lunch. Rates are $89 for adults and $79 ages 5 to 12. A full day on the river, with lunch, is a memorable seven-hour excursion. Rates are $109 for adults and $79 for age 5 to 12.

Along with the escape one gets from the grandeur of nature, a restful and comfortable accommodation is yet another way to return to a sense of normality. The Gonzo Inn, located in Moab, five and a half miles from Arches National Park, offers a “dessert chic vibe” in their 43 condominium style rooms. The proximity to raw nature does not distract from the rustic luxury these accommodations provide. Their deluxe suites have whirlpool tubs and fireplaces, yet all rooms have private patios and views of the Red Cliffs. In respect to the safety of its guests and staff during the pandemic, the ownership has suspended maid service and breakfast.

Not looking to travel far, The Park Record shares that Park City has approved Main Street pedestrian days, which is seen as a step toward economic recovery. Park City will invite shoppers, diners and revelers onto the Main Street asphalt this year on certain days. Cars will not be welcome on those days. The Park City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a street closure along Main Street from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Sundays from June 14 until Sept. 6. Main Street will instead become a pedestrian zone on those days in an effort to attract customers at a time of economic uncertainty caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Historic Park City Alliance, a group that represents the interests of businesses along Main Street or just off the street, supported the decision. The organization sees the pedestrian zone as something that will advance its own recovery blueprints for Main Street.City Hall staffers explained that a turnaround will be put in the Brew Pub lot toward the southern end of Main Street in an effort to keep drivers from heading into the neighborhood.

There was also brief talk about the difficulty of measuring the success and about the possibility of the city councilors conducting walk-throughs of the pedestrian zone to gather information once they launch. The elected officials plan to review the pedestrian zone in early July and again in early August.

Leaders created the weekly pedestrian zone as the summer-tourism season arrives. The supporters of the change along Main Street say the pedestrian zone will provide more space for social distancing, something that could be attractive to people who remain hesitant about returning to places where there could be crowds. The pedestrian zone will involve two stretches of road encompassing most of the commercial section of Main Street. One will run from Heber Avenue south to the Brew Pub lot while the other will run from Heber Avenue north to 9th Street. The cross streets of Heber Avenue and 9th Street will remain open to traffic.

The Sunday timing of the pedestrian days is significant after the cancellation of the Park Silly Sunday Market this year based on concerns about the sickness. The Silly Market draws large crowds on Sundays in the summer and early fall. It is centered on a car-free lower Main Street and extends to several locations on upper Main Street. It is expected that the pedestrian days this year could draw some of the people accustomed to heading to Main Street on Sundays for the Silly Market. More details about the operations of the pedestrian zone are expected to be publicized as the first Sunday approaches.