"Let's Do It Anyway" has become my new mantra.
Things are not quite getting better in my body. Things are lingering & repeating & new things have arrived. Now when I do physical activity, particularly the 5k's I really love, my guts go on riot and make misery in new ways. Whatever. I just turned 34 & I am not going to rollover and give up.
LET'S DO IT ANYWAY!
So I did a thing today.
I kinda self invited to go along with the XC team & a carpooling friend to the Aerial Adventure Park in Keystone. It was awesome & challenging in every way. Physically, Mentally, Drop foot & dehydration, guts aflame & numb appendages. Let's do it anyway.
We started the day at a great guy who runs the sports store in Hill City's home. Pat. Pat lives right on the Mickelson Trail. Guys, if you've never..... seriously, it's a place in our backyards that winds through some of the best views you'll ever experience. If you can't follow trail etiquette, don't you dare though. It is a place to hold to the highest of respect. 
The XC team ran anywhere from 2-6 miles from his driveway, out on the Mickelson, and back. I was debating a 1 or 2 mile powerwalk as I wanted to save some energy for the aerial course, but it was so beautiful & it felt so good that I started thinking a 5k would be great to do, it's my jam, its my length, my go to & my fav. So I'm walking along enjoying every second, thinking maybe just do a 2 mile so they aren't waiting on me.....well I noticed a mile marker sign that caught my attention.....wait a second, I shouldn't be seeing that mile marker. I took a good look around, yep....missed the driveway. Dang it. Turned around, found the driveway.....right at 5k. It worked out.
I was the last one in, but not by long. Pat served everyone pancakes & was still making them. I tried one with almond butter AND SYRUP, hello, I earned it. We sat on the deck and took in the amazing views & the sweet smells of summer in the forest. Perfect morning workout.
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| the smell of hot oiled wood & the sound of your shoes on it, breathe it in, it's a good day to have a good day |
After a group picture, we went on to Keystone to Rushmore Tramway Adventures. They have many packages and options for some pretty exhilarating fun. We did a group rate on the aerial course. This is not a place or activity that all of my family could qualify to endeavor or even handle, also the upfront price, not group rate, is pretty steep. Worth it, but steep. Knowing all this, I jumped in as a "chaperone" ....I guess you'd call it. 
They have a safety & training course, then a system like a ski slope with color coded courses. You must start at yellow, conquer it, then do green & then blue, most difficult is black. Zach after finishing the yellow, scurried right up the black trail, made it most of the way through, then took an escape route zipline down. The tougher courses had zipline escape routes for those who maxed out on ability, time allotment, inclement weather, or in the event someone needs assistance. 
One of the workers came flying backwards up one of the ziplines part way through a blue course a bunch of us were on to try to get to one of our own who's course zipline didn't trolley all the way across. He had hand over hand made it to the end before she even got to him. The first obstacle past the escape route she came up was one of the most 
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| these are not the rings there but similar ones elsewhere ours were wooden w/white ropes and only one row which was way harder |
My foot was lagging & numbing, I was entirely dehydrated & nauseous. My body was definitely being challenged to the max. LETS DO IT ANYWAY. After letting our entire group go through it ahead of me, I decided ride or die & basically Tarzaned through it. Made it.
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| From an easier part of the course. I put my phone away when it got tough. |
The next obstacle was a rolling log on a swing. My numbing appendage miss judged it & I fell on my rear mid swing. I got to the opposite platform, but had my oldest son's best friend give me a hand up, thanks Devin. 
After that one was another set of trying swinging planks then a long wire with V shaped obstacles to step over on
the wire, followed by previous mentioned zipline that my body weight had no trouble whooshing me through to the end, then a wicked obstacle that had 2 wires to straddle
and walk and various boards diagonally across that had you switching sides of the parallel wires you straddle, climbing over the boards on the wire, then yanking your clips along with you. THESE CLIPS, those or your zip line trolley pouch, play a fun side game of tangle, snag & jerk through the entire route of the courses. Stopping mid slack wires above the trees to yank your clips through was just another tricky obstacle embedded in it all.
It was so taxing. Physically exerting and exhausting. Add mentally taxing. Forget heights, which I'm pretty sure every human has a bit of fear for, it develops somewhere within your first year of life is what my Early Childhood degree taught me. That fear can be trained to be ignored. With the focus of the obstacles, you honestly don't even notice how high you are half the time. For real. Buuuuuut then, bam, after the parallel wires of wooden zig zags, you land yourself on a platform a few YARDS up a tree & you must hook to a rope & free jump down!!!! NOT REPEL, you must trust this rope will function as intended & slow you down, Arresto Momentum. (for shame, if you don't know the reference, culture yourself, click here to cheat)
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| This is a taller free standing jump tower that is a seperate pay, we watched some people jump from it & some people back out from jumping off it. The one we jumped off mid course was not quite as tall, but tall enough. It was a mind game & very exhilerating to experience. |
I really really wanted to do the black, it was the only one I didn't conquer. Buuuut I may have done some bargaining with God back a couple obstacles & decided not to push any further. I was dizzy, nauseous, my stomach was killing me, my head was hurting, there was gunk in the corners of my mouth..... I decided to go hydrate before my mind over matter landed me in some ER with an impossible to find a vein, multiple poke, IV bag. It took a long time and many stainless steel water bottle refills later, an icee snow 
That group of kids & those people are totally my people. Just sitting around picnic tables in the summer rain & listening to the chatter with them is living your best life.
I absolutely will embrace every opportunity that comes along to try something new, to meet people, to push through and experience life.
If you are in the Black Hills or visiting it, I highly recommend the Rushmore Tramway Adventure Park in Keystone (right down the road from Mt Rushmore). I would recommend the Aerial course. You get a little bit of ziplining, a little bit of that arresto momentum tree jump & a whole lot of workout. You are supposed to pay for 90 minutes, however I do believe we were up there somewhere between 3-4 hours. So worth it. You must be 50-250#s, they do have a scale there, but I didn't see anyone tested on it. Recommended over 6 years old. There are courses for each ability level and you will come away knowing the term TWEEZELING. You will TWEEZLE around 45 times per course, minimum. TWEEZELING will become second nature. 
That same blue course outlined above, in the second or 3rd obstacle (a couple before where that narrative begins), I TWEEZLED into a braid of pullback ropes, course rope, wire and TWEEZEL strap.... I would get a third into the obstacle & the pullback rope for the next person to use the obstacle would not move. I could go no farther. Head back, untangle, thought we had it, go again, get one plank further, nope, return. We were piling up on the platform by then & getting yelled at from the blue shirts below. "Coach Elsom, come save me!!!!"
On the way home it was wall to wall, both lanes full, people cutting each other off, can't get over for on ramps, traffic on I90. For some reason the entirety of the rally goers decided to show up mid day Wednesday while we were in the hills & forgot how to drive MidWest style while they were at it.
It begins #sturgisrally2019
When we met parents at the park for pickups, there was THE COOLEST dog I've ever met. He was an English Great Dane with huge droopy cheeks, tons of slobber & feet to be mistaken for wolves'. He had a rope leash that was looped around a guy's shoulder and torso. He was a service dog with 26 tasks and 11 commands for PTSD support. His man friend was known to wander during an episode & the dog knew how to 'find the car' or 'find help' (policeman). He was also an unforgettable dog that people notice tied to a man (purpose #1), everyone also wants to pet this dog & ask about him which pulls his man friend into social situations & conversations (purpose #2 as service dog). The couple was very personable. They spoke about their prior lives as Chef in Disney World, even shared recipes & where to find them, about being from Lake Eerie & Nevada & living in Maine for a spell. They anticipated being able to handle our winters with those experiences under their belts. We constantly wonder how people find & decide to live in Belle Fourche, SD from these other places???? Is it the Center of the Nation?? That's more self proclaimed than anything else, folks. Well, anyhow, welcome!
Again, totally worth it. They should pay me to promote & link them. Maybe someday that will be how I earn a buck or two, or enter a place free. But seriously, check it out....
https://rushmoretramwayadventures.com/
I did a thing today & it was amazing. I'll never forget today. And that's what it's all about.
