Zip, Zoom, Pow!

With only a little over a week of this summer’s adventures ahead of us, we have been feeling the pull to re-arrange our schedule a bit on the way home…  We had not yet been over to the east side of Glacier and wanted more time to hike and explore.  So we finalized plans yesterday to add a day in St. Mary and re-route our drive on the way home – trading city time in Chicago for one last extended “camping” experience at our last stop in Cave City, Kentucky.  We had all enjoyed the increased down time in camp over the last several days, and the kids were voting for one last summer fling experience before jumping into gearing up for school upon our arrival home.  Stay tuned for details as they unfold…

Decisions and plans made, and Junior Ranger badges acquired, we pulled out of the Apgar Visitor’s Center and headed into Whitefish.  More groceries were needed and a planned zip lining experience at the Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort was on the agenda for the afternoon.  With great helpers using the “divide and conquer” method at the store, the camper fridge and pantry were re-loaded in no time and we headed up the mountain with a picnic lunch, ready for our next adventure.  Isaac was the only one of the four of us that has ever been zip lining before – so on the way up, he proceeded to give us the detailed ins and outs of what to expect.  Abby was eager to see what all the hubbub was about for herself, as this experience was her special pick of the trip.  And me – the rollercoaster-loving thrill-seeker – I was ready for an adrenaline rush!

Bellies full after enjoying a shaded lunch on the patio of Base Camp for the resort, we headed inside to get suited up for our adventure.  We were fitted for harnesses and helmets, watched a brief instructional safety video, and were issued our trolleys to carry up to our first of seven zip lines – the practice run.  Here, the guides hooked us in to the trolley and we practiced our moves… pencil, starfish, and landing positions.  Once they were confident we knew what we were doing (ha ha), they let us fly down – running through each one of the positions as indicated by the guide on the landing deck.  Wheeee!!  Down we went, two by two, feeling the air rush past us.

After graduating from the practice run, we worked our way through the next six zip lines – flying as far as 1900 feet on the longest one.  It was fantastic!  I loved every minute of the wind rushing in my face as I looked out on the valley below.  If it wasn’t for having to carry my trolley from one line to the next, and waiting in line to be hooked up to each run, I could have zipped all day.  Overall, it was a great experience – one that I would definitely jump at the chance to do again.  We have been talking about making a visit to Historic Banning Mills south of Atlanta… a resort set up around their zip line experience.  We may have to make that happen once we get home.  Anyone else in?

Windblown, sun-kissed, and complete with helmet-hair, we smiled our way back to the truck to head over to St. Mary, east of Glacier.  Since you can’t drive any vehicles longer than 21 feet by 8 feet wide (including mirrors) across the Going to the Sun Road to reach the other side of the park, we had to drive around the south side – at least a couple of hours.  We settled in quickly and were making good time – the kids were journaling and writing in the back seat and I was typing a blog post in the front… we were all still basking in the glow of our latest family adventure… when BLAM!!  A tire blew out on the trailer.

We were fortunate in so many ways – we were currently on one of the only long straightaways with good visibility in the area, there was a reasonably wide, flat shoulder, the tire that blew was on the passenger side, keeping it out of the road, the traffic was light, and we had a spare.  Matt was able to get the tire changed quickly as I stood well behind the trailer slowing down cars with orange gloves (not looking into a career directly traffic anytime soon).  As he worked, I gave thanks – for safety and protection, for the two trucks that stopped to ask if we were okay or needed help, and for the breeze that tried to keep too many flies from landing on me at once – all answered prayers.  It’s never fun to lose a tire, but I am grateful that no one was hurt and the situation was easily handled. 

On the bright side, we had an opportunity this morning to do laundry and a bit of re-organizing in the camper to prepare for the long driving days home while Matt went back into town to get a new tire.  And because we decided yesterday morning to extend our stay in St. Mary by one night, we still have a full day to do the hike we are looking forward to doing tomorrow… not to mention that we now have more confidence in how well the trailer can handle a tire blow out.