Five Sites to Inspire Outdoor Adventure

[mrkstvns 486]

It's sometimes easy to forget WHY scouts (and scouters) come to scouts....it's the promise of OUTDOOR ADVENTURE.  

When we lose sight of that, we lose sight of anything that makes scouting special and that differentiates it from ordinary youth activities.

Here are 5 web sites that I think every scouter should visit periodically as they scout their way across the web...

• Outdoor Project: Excellent resource for ideas for places to explore, things to make the adrenaline rush, and ways to do it efficiently, safely, comfortably, and ethically. 
  https://www.outdoorproject.com/
   
• Outside Online:  Outside magazine has been a go-to authority for dependable outdoor adventure information since 1977.  Sometimes a bit too enamored of style and travel, its heart is in the right place and there are always solid viewpoints on outdoor adventure places, stuff, tips and more...
  https://www.outsideonline.com/ 
   
• The Adventure Plan (BSA):  When scouting is done right, everything happens outdoors and adventure is the name of the game that enables everything else to work. Help your troop plan a genuine adventure...
  https://tap.scouting.org/ 
   
• National Geographic:  I often find that the world becomes a much smaller place when people starting thinking only inside their own little box. If your troop's idea of "adventure" is going to the closest state park then maybe it's time to think about all the possible adventures that exist wayyy outside the box. I might never get to most of the places that National Geographic writers go to, and I might not do most of the things that they do, but I can always dream...
  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/ 
   
• National Park Service:  Ever since Congress made Yellowstone the first park back in 1872, America's national park system has been a shining jewel to showcase and preserve America's natural wonders and our collective national heritage. Today's National Park System encompasses some 84 million acres of parkland that generates $35 million annually in direct revenue.  Parks include wild rivers, majestic mountain ranges, dense forests, and deserted, uh, deserts...  
  https://www.nps.gov/index.htm