Photos: Popluar Mechanics

We've all seen photos of amazing tree house architecture, but nothing compares to this dad's tender narrative of building his kids' their own backyard tree fort. The next best thing to letting his kids build it themselves is reading about his recollection of the construction of his own childhood perch with his neighborhood friends, an all but extinct experience these days. His story, intertwined with a descriptive How To, evoked sweet memories of my own childhood summers filled with treacherous climbs up to our homemade shack and our summer long attempts to make it cozier by adding carpet, floor tiles, and eventually shingles.