Here are some examples of families spending time in the outdoors together as a way to bond.

By the mid 1950's the suburbanization of America was in full tilt. Families were getting settled into their spacious homes and gated communities while still driving miles away to work. This modern way of living would prove to isolate many people's interactions with others and create a sense of stalling in life that propelled the need for adventure. With so much of the countryside and surrounding areas of cities consumed by sprawling suburbans, American families became infatuated with escaping to the outdoors, namely, our many thriving national parks.

Hole in the rock family attraction near Moab, Utah.

The 50's and 60's were the height of American affluence and self-prescribed "happiness." To be happy and well in the fifties was to be married. If one found themselves single and 23 years or older it was time to consider subscribing to indefinite loneliness and the possibility you might have a mental defect. While a clear majority of young adults were married, and raising large families, multiple interviews taken over several decades have shown that they were in fact not always happy. [1] This Fallacy of happiness naturally had to be vented. Families soon discovered the place to be was well outside the confines of suburbia.

National parks transformed into family escapes, proving to be the mental and spatial release the troubled, as well as perfectly happy families so deeply needed. Nine to fivers across the nation lived two lives. The First reality was centered at work and in the home. With a focus on financial stability. The second reality was based upon mental stability through weekend family bonding time with activities such as: hiking, camping and fishing. These activities formerly seen as lifelong occupations, had now become prime past times for the adventuring family to experience together. It wasn’t all sunshine in the sun though. Time away from home would prove such an allure, it could be argued the increased accessibility to the outdoors was a major step in pushing marriage rates lower and trending individuality up.

Love for outdoors activities would soon cause a shift in the American economy, presenting opportunity to anyone willing to try and cater to the ever-expanding outdoors market. Despite the family focus within national parks, and outdoor recreation in general, one area of the outdoors remained almost exclusively outside the marriage. Hunting, a very primal, masculine pursuit strengthened the disparate relationships between the working man and his beloved son.