An Exhilerating Experience!

My friend Adam and I have been talking recently about doing something outdoors that will give us some exercise and help us to relax. What I'm about to share with you is not for everyone. If you are claustrophobic then this is probably something that you may never do. I still recommend everyone to try it though. It is called "spelunking."

I was telling Adam about the time I went a few years back and we are going to go within the next month. Spelunking is an activity also known as caving. It is where you crawl, climb, rappel and journey through tight crevices and tunnels deep into a mountain. We are very blessed to only live 2 1/2 hours away from the beautiful Rocky Mountains. We will be travelling to Canmore, Alberta to a place called Grotto Mountain to experience the Rat's Nest Caves.

The first time I went was with my Dad and it was awesome. We hiked for about 45 minutes up the mountain to get to the entrance of the cave system. From there we began our journey to the "Heart of the Mountain." The Heart of the Mountain, as our tour guide liked to call it, is a big rock that looks like a human heart located about 600 feet into the caves. It has been formed by thousands of years of dripping water wearing away the rock. As the water drips on it it looks as if the rock is pumping like a heart. It was a breathtaking site. Getting to this point is the hard part.

To reach our destination we had to venture through many tight spaces and sometimes we wouldn't even know which way was up. The cool part about it though was that you could crawl through an extremely tight tunnel going for 20-30 feet and then reach a rooms with 50-100 foot ceilings. These rooms within the caves contain hundreds of mineral formations, some over 300000 years old. We even got to do a 60 foot rappel into a black hole.

This is such an amazing experience and I'm really exciting to go again. For anyone who has ever been to the Canmore/Banff National Parks in the Rocky Mountains then you know how breathtaking the trip is, for those of you who haven't you must go. If you are interested in taking on the Rat's Nest Cave then i recommend checking out this website for more information. It WILL be an experience like no other.

Doing Things You Love Can Be Very Healthy

I don't know about you but I absolutely love roller coasters. I think it is something I get from my Dad because he is addicted to them as well. I had been planning on going to Six Flags in California since I was a little kid and last September Amanda and I were in California to visit Mickey and his gang but I knew I was not going to miss the Tatsu roller Coaster at Six Flags if it was the last thing I did. I have prepared myself by watching videos of this crazy coaster online up until the day we left. It was quite the mission to get there and experience one of the most intense days I've ever had.

Our travel agent had set our itinerary so that we were going to Six Flags on our second last day. Fortunately we found out a couple days before going to the park that they were closed on that day. We had to change all our plans just to make it to the park. We were staying in Newport Beach so I rented a car to drive to Six Flags. I must say that this was not the easiest drive through Los Angeles. I live in a city of 80000 people so we aren't that big. It was quite an exciting experience to do alot of big city driving.

Anyways, we made it and were lucky enough to have gone on a day when noone else did. We didn't wait in line once for the whole day on every ride. When I finally saw the Tatsu my heart almost jumped through my chest.

The Tatsu is 3,602 feet of blazing track. Aboard the wings of Tatsu, you'll fly at speeds in excess of 62 mph through 263 feet of deep plunges, huge spirals and sharp dives that send you flying through the Park's mountainous terrain. I couldn't believe it lets you soar above, around, and through the park. They say it gives passengers the sensation of flight and whoever said that wasn't lying. The seats are designed so you are hanging facing the ground like you would be if you were in a hang-glider. It was custom built for Six Flags so it's one of a kind.

This is by far the best roller coaster that I've ever been on and I recommend anyone and everyone to check it out if you ever get the chance. Those of you that have already been know what I'm talking about. I can't wait to go back.