Girls Gone Wild part 3

Ok, so after climbing all morning we wanted to get out of the heat for a little while. We decided to go to the Cave of the Winds. I know what you are saying... a commercial cave but hey I am not opposed to commercial caves. We had a scenic drive up a mountain and enjoyed sitting outside on the balcony and had a great view. As a matter of fact we enjoyed everything about this place. Well everything except the cave. First we waited an hour to get in, then we had the world's cheesiest tour guide, the worst behaved kids, the lamest cave...It was way bad. The first time I have really wanted to get out of a cave. If I am going to pay $20 to see a cave it had better be worth looking at and this was not.

You know you had a good vacation when a lame tour is the worst part:-)

Next we went back to Red Rock Canyon and did a little hike.

Girls Gone Wild part 2

So after rafting we went up to the Royal Gorge Bridge. Hanging 1,053 feet above Colorado’s wild Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge Bridge is the world's highest suspension bridge and a legendary feat of engineering renowned the world over. It was an amazing lesson in perspective. The bridge was small, the gorge was big and the rapids were huge when we were rafting. The gorge was huge, the bridge was big and the rapids were small from the bridge.

The next morning was our first day of climbing. We showed up at Red Rock Canyon we were a few minutes early but not only were our guides there they had already rigged two climbs. The climbing at Red Rock was awesome! We started on a 5.6 and 5.7 then rigged a new spot and did a 5.7, 5.8 and 5.9. After the 5.9 they wanted us to try a 5.10 but we were getting pretty tired and wanted to finish with a win so we did another easy climb.Michele's first climb

My first climb

5.9!

Kurt and Corbin

Girls Gone Wild part 1

Last weekend Michele and I finished the second part of our birthday...Colorado Springs. Friday we got up at 4:00 and flew out there. It was not bad as far as flying goes. We got out there at 2:00 and had the afternoon to get settled in and sight see. We went to seven falls. It was a little touristy but close, easy and very nice. First we climbed the stairs to the observation platform then the 224 steps to the top of the falls. Normally this would not be a big deal but we had come from sea level just hours before so we had to keep stopping and our heart were thumping out of our chests. At the top of the falls was a hiking trail back to another fall. Overall it was a pleasant afternoon. After our hike we were pretty hungry so we went to the Mexican restaurant across the street from our resort. It was very good and pretty fancy(for a Mexican restaurant). The next morning we got up early and headed to our white water rafting adventure. When we got there they told us that we were the only rafters for the morning and the section that we were supposed to do as a warm up was pretty lame at this water lever so we opted to do the harder section(Royal Gorge) twice. What a good decision. We handled the rapids pretty well except Michele tried to fall out of the raft in the narrows. The guide said don't fall out right here because there is no shore to swim to and its a class 4 rapid. We hit a rock and Michele went flying but she managed to keep her foot in the foot strap and I was able to pull her in and save her life. When we got to the Royal Gorge Bridge(the highest suspension bridge in the world) they were having the Go Fast Games. Go Fast is like Red Bull. We stopped under the bridge and they were Bungee jumping and Base jumping off the bridge and landing right next to us. It was pretty cool and the ground crew was hanging out and throwing us Go Fast.

After our morning trip we went back to the shop for lunch and picked up our afternoon rafters. We did the same trip in the afternoon but it was different doing it with 3 other rafters in the boat. One of the guys fell out on the first rapid. We watched some bungee jumpers under the bridge but they weren't base jumping anymore.

Did I mention I decided to go for a swim??

Byrnes Lake to Gravine

Kristen got a new kayak so this weekend we had to break it in. We launched at Byrnes Lake and paddled out to the Tensaw. We crossed over to Gravine and rested at the sand bar. My intention was to go all the way around Gravine but the wind was kicking so we headed back. We paddled for 2 hours and I think Kristin likes her new boat!

Slidell Tournament

Here are a few pics of my students from the Slidell tournament. Click on the link at the bottom to see the rest.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ryangillikin1/Slidell2008#

A different kind of caving

Last weekend Jason and I took Chewie and went to Cypress Springs in Florida. Jason got a new dive computer and underwater camera and wanted to try them out before out Honduras trip. We borrowed a canoe from Taylor and paddled to the springs which was not far from the launch. The land around the springs is owned by a bottling company and now the springs can only be reached by boat. The water in the springs is crystal clear and it is a local hangout spot. There were lots of families there and Chewie had lots of dogs and kids to play with. The mouth of the spring is down about 40 feet and at the opening the flow is so strong we had to grab the rocks and pull ourselves into the cave. After you get through the entrance it opens up and the flow slacks off. We went down to 62 feet and could still just see the entrance, Beyond that point you have to take your tanks off and squeeze through and we are not cave divers so we headed back up. Jason's camera is great and he got some really good pics. Can't wait for Honduras!

The Jetty Jumper

Jason got an inflatable boat but in true Jason style he didn't go to the store and buy it. Someone bought a new house and it was in the barn so Jason bought it and built a new floor for it. That man knows how to stretch a dollar :-)