Our small town is an adventure sports hub. At least it wants to be. It's still working on it. They've put up banners along the streets touting the climbing, kayaking, hiking, and biking opportunities and they've started organizing adventure events.
I had recovered from the morning's adventure on Southeast Rampart and the kids needed to get out of the house and even out of the back yard. The Adventure Sports Festival seemed perfect for us.
Two blocks of downtown (yes, there is a "downtown") had been converted into an adventure playground. The centerpiece was a 250 foot long zip line system that let two... uh... zippers zip in parallel. The line was long, but the volunteers were efficient in getting us into harnesses and helmets. Lilly and Henry race each other and I decimated poor Clara due to my added... muscle.
But that's not all! A climbing wall, the kind towed behind a truck, was set up next to the zip line launching tower. Unfortunately, there was only one person working the wall and it required manual belaying. That line was even longer and we opted to skip it.
But that's not all! At the other end of the two block party was a contraption I can only describe as the awesome-sweet jumpy-thing. Kids were buckled into harnesses and attached at the hip to ropes on the end of a pair of flexible poles. boing Boing BOING! The kids did flips and sailed sky high with big grins.
But that's not all! A multi-sport race was just wrapping up and prizes being awarded. We saw teams that had paddled, ridden, and run more than 60 miles. They were far more tired than we were.
But that's not all! The local ski/gear shop was having a killer sale. In fact, every business on the street whether outdoors-related or not was having a sale. It was a perfect complement to the beautiful weather.
We didn't stay long, mostly because the festival was closing down. It was a great event for an adventurous family that's spent all summer hiking, camping, and fishing. Next year we might even do the race. Or maybe we'll just cheer them on.
