Our afternoon of rock climbing is a big success for the kids - not so much for me. Liam clambers up each route like he is part monkey reaching the top in under 5 minutes most of the time. Devlin is next best in the family. She is fearless and capable but sometimes struggles a bit due to her height. It is hard to reach a hand hold when you are only four feet tall. Mack battles through his fear and does a good job as well. I struggle to get no more than a few feet off the ground. My hands cramp up trying to hold on and I feel like I cannot get close enough to the wall to balance due to my size. Beginner climbs are not easy enough, I think I need to find the bunny slopes.
In the late afternoon the children go over to the barn for an arena ride and I pour the last of my firefly vodka into a glass of lemonade and curl up with a book. The quiet is nice. The kids are making friends and at dinner we sit with another family. They are from Huntsville AL and have a boy halfway between Devlin and the boys' ages. We have a nice chat and after dinner the kids head to the movie room to watch puss n boots. I go over to the barn for the adults only twilight ride. It is relaxing and quiet and fun. Back to the room at about 9 we each crawl into bed with a book.
Wednesday morning is the day the kids and I have been looking forward to all week. In the morning the boys and i head out to ride to Goat Cave. Devlin is with all the younger children on a wagon ride. We stop for a campfire breakfast. The food is delicious and marred only by a shortage of coffee. We continue onto the cave where the climbing staff demonstrates expert level rock climbing. I am amazed. I will never understand how what they do is possible.
The ride home has more excitement than I hoped for when, on a downhill my horse gets too close to a sapling, and while trying to get my foot unhooked I lose my balance and tumble to the ground. Sunned but not hurt, I get my self up and remount my horse to continue to ride back to the ranch
The afternoon is filled with zip lining, rappelling and the via ferrate. This last is something I have never seen before. Using rebar handles set into a cliff face we work our way horizontally along the cliff face. The first half is frustrating as we Re a large group and we remove fairly slowly. After the first cut out Liam, Devlin, the guide and I are the only three going on. We move much faster and it becomes more enjoyable. Well, enjoyable in a challenging, great accomplishment kind of way. Afterward we rappel down the cliff face (much hardere than it looks) and zip line. We are a bunch of speed freaks and all enjoy the ride. In the evening the kids go the barn for games and I enjoy some quiet reading time.
Thursday morning we wake up excited for another day, but a little sad that this is our last full day here. We choose rock claiming for our morning activity, although I spend my time taking pictures rather than attempting to climb. I learn that the bunny slopes that I was wishing for were part of Sunday's itinerary. Oh well, next time I will know. The kids do a great job once again.
This afternoon we will split up with some members of the family climbing and some riding. Skeet shooting is scheduled for late afternoon and the boys are eagerly waiting.
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