Phoenix and Yellowstone with a 12 year old...

Next week is 'Grandpa Camp'. My grandson has been doing themed summer camps (robot camp, theater camp, etc...) for a few years and this year I get him for a week. He is almost 12.

I want to take him Go Karting in the Phoenix area on Wednesday next week. Any recommendations that are age appropriate? This article has some good info, but is a little dated.

Thursday we plan to go rafting.

Friday we fly to Montana and stay with family for the weekend. We will see geysers, hot springs, and wildlife in Yellowstone. I listened to a great audiobook about the park, 'Death in Yellowstone'. Lots of people get boiled alive in the hot springs. Buffaloes will kill you quick, given the chance. Bear attacks are actually fairly rare these days. I now know what NOT to do while we are there.

Monday night return to Phoenix. Tuesday slideshow/video and family debriefing before I fly back to Ok.

Our educational theme while we adventure will be photography. I may pick up an older digital camera as a gift. I'm thinking Nikon  D3100 or MK1 Olympus OM-D camera to learn him the use of apertures, shutter speeds, and such. I've never had a Nikon DSLR. Would the D3100, be a good cheap learner for him? I'm thinking used from KEH or Roberts Camera...  *I have a Sony and OM-D E-M1 mirrorless and a few Nikon manual lenses.

Grandpa Camp - ha ha ha.  

Cigar store, horse races, liquor store....

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

I'm saving that for next year when I fly him to Ok.

Datsun310Guy said:

Grandpa Camp - ha ha ha.  

Cigar store, horse races, liquor store....

You're thinking of Bad Grandpa Camp

In reply to AAZCD :

The problem with th D3100, based on this, is that you won't have metering on any of the AI lenses.  Maybe a D200/D300/D300s

In some ways, though, an Sony NEX-5/6/7 with an e-mount to f-mount adapter might actually be easier to use the old nikon glass on... based on what you have to do to get the Nikons working w/ AI lenses... and the NEX's have about the same resolution... although they might not "shoot as fast", but I don't think that'll be of much importance for initial steps.

I still use an older Nikon D5300. Solid cameras once you get newer than the D80 and D90

Put your hand into your boot before your foot. If a scorpion stings your hand, you can still walk.

I really like the charts in the link Sleepyhead posted. After talking with SWMBO, I'm going to hold off on buying another camera for now and bring what I have. If he really gets into it, I can shop for one with him.

The last time I visited, we went out in the yard with a UV light and scorpions were all over the place. Definitely going to check my shoes.

I think we're going to go here for Karts: https://www.k1speed.com/phoenix-location.html

Check out https://www.shopgoodwill.com/ for a camera.  A couple of weeks ago I got a Canon 40D with two lenses for like $95.

Might be a good opportunity for horseback riding in there somewhere.

Go Karts were fun and he did great for a first time driving anything other than an Xbox game. We went to Octane Racing in Scottsdale. Electric Karts and a mostly indoor track. Great for kids, but a little hard for a 200# adult to get some real speed. ...I was racing against pre-teens though, so that was fine.

All the employees commented on what a cool shirt I had.

Driving there he worked the Google maps. On the way home I made him work a paper road map to get us across town.

Cool.  Nice shirt too

I would've loved to have had this kind of adventure with my grandpa.  Good on you for doing this with him!

good idea making him run a paper map.  next time, break out the compass too 

Where are you rafting?  

And will you have a  chance to visit the Tetons?  

Awesome area to visit- Yellowstone and the Tetons.  

Indy-Guy said:

Cool.  Nice shirt too

I would've loved to have had this kind of adventure with my grandpa.  Good on you for doing this with him!

You and many of the other Dorks around here are awesome Dads. I missed a lot of time with my kids when they were growing up. I'm glad I've lived long enough to now share some time with my kid's kids.

In reply to alfadriver :

We were on the Salt River, East of Mesa today. It ended up being a float trip on tubes rather than rafting. The water was cold and we were shivering with the air temperature getting near 100. Only a few other people on the river first thing in the morning on a weekday. Fun relaxing trip, drifting past wild horses, and desert scenery.

I don't think we'll make the Tetons. Some time in Yellowstone and around Bozeman. My sister just sent me a pic of her house and it's snowing there right now. Big change from 106 degrees here today.

Just to follow-up...

It was an awesome trip. We flew from Phoenix to Bozeman and stayed with my sister. Two days in Yellowstone, one entering from the West and one from the North. We also toured the Museum of the Rockies and Lewis and Clark Caverns. We could have spent a couple weeks in the area and not run out of things to see and do. He was a fast learner with the camera and quickly wanted to do manual settings rather than auto - hopefully he'll be like that with a car in a few years.

Here's two of his best shots from Yellowstone:

A few more from the trip: