| FEBRUARY 1, 2012 -- Weston resident Lyn Kimberly and her husband, Chris, took a giant gamble in the summer of 2005 when they left their corporate jobs and created a new family life on the American open road. With their two daughters, they hiked through Yellowstone, Yosemite and Kings Canyon national parks. And that family journey changed the Kimberlys' lives forever as they turned their love for the outdoors into a new career path.
They created their own summer camp on wheels to open children’s eyes to a world they had previously only seen in books or learned about in class. What they created was American Wanderer, a mobile RV camp for kids.
Six years later, the Kimberlys have a thriving family business that every summer welcomes campers from all over the world. Unlike camps with cabins perched beside lakes, this one has the campers staying in RVs and waking up in a new town each day. The Kimberlys call them “rolling cabins.” The campers fly to an airport, get picked up by the Kimberlys and journey to national parks in the area. When the session is over, the children fly home.
“I like to say that we are a mobile summer camp where every day is a new adventure,” Kimberly said.
This summer, for example, the kids will fly into a Colorado airport, where they will be greeted by the Kimberlys and the camp's staff. They will spend the next 14 days in an RV visiting nearly 10 national parks and monuments in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. They will hike, raft and mountain climb through several historic sites of the American West while also learning about the history and culture.
“The best part is that we really spend time at these places. The kids really get this amazing educational experience. They are living their history class, they are experiencing their geology classes. It suddenly all comes to life for them,” Kimberly said.
The camp runs throughout the summer, allowing kids 11 to 17 to sign up for a two-, four-, six- or even eight-week sessions. This summer, campers will also have the opportunity to travel to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota.
“I really believe that learning is hands-on, and at our camp all the five senses come to life,” Kimberly said.
Note: The Kimberly's are members of Norfield Grange. |
