One evening late last summer, the Cunningham family ignored the forecast for abysmal weather and set off for a night of camping. "The rain was wicked, and we awoke to coyotes howling nearby," says Sandy, who has two daughters, Daisy, 7, and India, 5, with husband Chip. "We couldn't have been closer to nature if we'd tried."
And that's exactly the point. When Chip and Sandy's friend Jan Clausen, who is one-quarter Canadian Blackfoot, offered to erect a teepee on their property in Santa Fe, the couple thought it would be a perfect way to connect their girls with the environment. "I've always wanted them to have a foot in nature," says Sandy, who lived with Chip in a tent in Kenya for a year (the couple run the safari company Uncharted Outposts).
About once a month, the family spends the night in the teepee, which is made of waterproof canvas wrapped around pine poles. "It feels like it's in the middle of nowhere," says Chip. "That's magical." During a typical sleepover, they make fajitas in the fire pit, and the girls bang on their Native American drums before snuggling under blankets.
Just as their parents had hoped, the kids seem to have inherited their love of the outdoors. Asked what she likes most about the teepee, Daisy replies, "Sleeping in it." When pressed for a reason, she adds impatiently, "Because it's outside!"
