Is your idea of getting back to nature watching The Discovery Channel on your wide-screen TV? Hopefully not. But for too many kids, wilderness is a "virtual reality," something to be seen on a screen. Someone has even come up with a name for this problem- Nature Deficit Disorder!
"When kids at an early age are exposed to nature and given a chance to explore-even simple things like feeling wind and water, moving rocks or stacking sticks-all of that contributes to brain development," says Jeff Williamson, president and CEO of the Arizona Zoological Society and Phoenix Zoo. He is also the coordinator for Be Outdoors AZ-a growing network of people and organizations trying to reconnect kids with nature and their communities. Check out the national movement called the Children & Nature Network at www.cnaturenet.org.
Not only that, getting outside builds self esteem, improves health and shows kids the rewards of caring about something other than themselves.
But Williamson fears kids don't have as many opportunities to experience the natural world as they should. So over the next five years, he and others representing 50 different organizations around the state are going to be working on ways to help get kids out and about.
In the meantime, we at Bear Essential want to tell you about some super places in Arizona where you can really get in touch with your wild side! And if these are too hard to get to, don't forget you can find nature as close as your backyard or a neighborhood park.
Go outside and go wild!
White Mountains Trailsystem
Where: eastern Arizona, including Pinetop-Lakeside and Show Low
If you're anywhere near the White Mountains, hike, bike or ride into towering pine forests, alongside lakes hopping with fish and through urban parks all without ever leaving the trail. 
The 180-mile long White Mountains TRAILSYSTEM is a series of 25 to 30 interconnecting loops stretching from the communities of Vernon to the east and Clay Springs to the west. It includes the town of Pinetop-Lakeside, the city of Show Low and connects or will connect to five different parks: Fool Hollow Lake State Park (proposed); Woodland Lake Park, Big Springs Environmental Study Area, Billy Creek Trails Park (proposed) and Billy Creek Natural Area. Plans to connect to fish hatcheries in the area are also in the works.
You can stroll, picnic, backpack, bike or ride the trails on horseback. In the winter, you can even go on cross-country skis in some areas. And civic-minded folk with a love for the outdoors can join TRACKS, a group of volunteers dedicated to protecting and expanding the trail system.
For more info, call (928) 368-6700 or visit www.tracks-pinetop-lakeside.org and www.wmonline.com/attract/trails.htm.
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Where: 9 miles from Benson, 49 miles from Tucson
Imagine drinking out of a straw that is 21 feet, 2 inches long. You can see for yourself how hard it would be at Kartchner Caverns, home of one of the world's longest soda straw stalactites. In the cave's Throne Room, you can gaze in awe at the state's tallest and most massive column-the 58-foot-tall Kubla Khan!
Paleontologists have found a treasure trove of prehistoric life in the cave, including the skeletons of an 86,000-year-old Shasta ground sloth, a 34,000-year-old horse and an 11,000-year-old bear.
You, too, can visit the wonders and learn about the amazing history of Kartchner on two walking tours of the cave. The Rotunda/Throne Room tour costs $9.95 for kids 7 to 13 and $18.95 for those 14 and older; kids 6 and younger are free. The Big Room Tour is open Oct. 15 to April 15 and limited to people 7 and older. It costs $12.95 for kids 7 to 13 and $22.95 for anyone over the age of 13. Reservations are recommended.
Aside from the caves, the park also hosts hiking trails, picnic areas and 62 camping sites.
For more info, call (520) 586-2283 or visit www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/kartchner.html.
Slide Rock State Park
Where: 7 miles north of Sedona
Waterslides are awesome on steamy, sticky summer days! Before heading out to your local theme park, think about making a splash at Mother Nature's coolest water park.
Slide Rock State Park is named for a scenic and rather slippery stretch of creek bottom that crosses what was once the Pendley Homestead, a 43-acre apple farm located in Oak Creek Canyon. Visitors have a great time hurtling down the natural water chute or just wading and playing in the creek. Don't forget to bring sun block and a pair of water shoes to protect your feet.
The park also offers a nature trail and some other short trails that go through the Homestead, picnicking, bird watching, fishing, volleyball and apples (in season). Entry to the park is $8 for a vehicle with four adults, or $2 for an individual.
And on your way to Slide Rock, don't forget to look around at Sedona's famous red rock formations. Can you identify Bell Rock or Cathedral Rock?
For more info, call (928) 282-3034 or visit www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/sliderock.html.
Liberty Wildlife
Where: Scottsdale
The folks at Liberty Wildlife hope there will be a day when people will see encounters with wildlife as a normal and important part of their everyday lives.
The organization is dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of native wildlife- birds from falcons, great blue herons and eagles down to the tiny cactus wren; mammals from rabbits to mountain lions and javelinas, and even on occasion reptiles and amphibians.
With a new regional conservation and nature center scheduled to open in the fall of 2009 in Papago Park, home of the Phoenix Zoo, Liberty Wildlife will soon be open to the public. The center will allow staff to not only continue its rehabilitation efforts, but also offer on-site demonstrations, workshops and speakers, collaborate on research with the Phoenix Zoo and provide volunteer opportunities for the community.
For more info, call (480) 998-5550 or visit www.libertywildlife.org.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Where: near Page
Stay an hour or stay a week, the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, stretching hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs in southern Utah, has plenty to occupy everyone in your family.
You can tour Glen Canyon Dam, which holds the Colorado River at bay, or while your time away boating or fishing while living on a houseboat on
man-made Lake Powell. The park's 1.2 million acres are home to golden cliffs, hanging gardens, historical sites and incredible slot canyons. Then, of course, there are the outdoor activities: back country hiking, off-road driving, mountain biking, river rafting, kayaking, camping and backpacking. In cooler weather, you can even catch a ranger-led program.
The cost of visiting Glen Canyon will depend on what you want to do, but entry to the park is $15 for a seven-day vehicle pass or $7 for a seven-day individual permit for people 16 and older.
For more info, call (928) 608-6200 or visit www.nps.gov/glca/index.htm.
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