Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Wednesday July 24 Texas and New Mexico

I enjoyed my drive today. I saw a lot of green in the Texas panhandle. Lots of corn growing. There were also a bunch windmills which I always like to see; they are fascinating!

It was exciting to see the mountains come into view in New Mexico. Angel Fire is gorgeous! I was sitting in front of the lodge just enjoying the view.

I am at Angel Fire Lodge, but don't have a room tonight. I got here too late to see the people in charge of the zipline.

They have an 8 A.M. tour I hope to be on, but we shall see. I wouldn't mind staying here a couple of days.


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Tuesday July 23

OK! I have been at McDonald's for 6 hours working. I am ready to drive. I got every place on the list that I have zipped. I still need to add more info and pics, but at least i have everyone there.

I am headed to Angel Fire, New Mexico, but I am 480 miles away.

I decided to stop and work because it was so hot. I will be cooler to drive now, but I don't know how far I will go before I stop.

I have zipped 32 places in 25 days! I may not zip for a couple of days; hope I don't have withdrawals!

After Angel Fire, I head to Colorado! Cooler temperatures here I come! 

Tuesday July 23 DFW Adventures


I arrived at DFW Adventures about 9 A.M. Taylor and Gabe were my guides and they were awesome. I got to try out a new line that they haven't opened yet, as well as, do the other 4 lines twice. They let me do some upside down stuff. I was braking myself with a glove, but I managed to turn upside down and right myself in time to brake and land feet first on the platform.

I had a great day and enjoyed seeing this beautiful part of Texas with lots of trees.

They also have ATV adventures and Paintball. They have the largest paintball field in Texas. The entire property covers 170 acres.

After I zipped, the owner, Larry Lipscomb, took me on a tour of the property in his 4 wheel drive jeep...in was also air conditioned! How cool is that?

It was a wonderful experience and I had a great day!

DFW Adventures
13055 Cleveland Gibbs Rd.
Roanoke, TX 76262
Facebook

lwl@dfwap 
















Monday July 22

When I left OKC, I drove down to Davis, Oklahoma to check out another zip. I knew they were closed on Monday and Tuesday, but I hoped someone would be there for other activities...gate was locked. 

I decided I did not want to hang around Davis for 2 days in the heat. 

A couple I had met in Eureka Springs, Carla and Vance had invited me to their home in Roanoke, TX. They had a zipline within 2 miles of their house. I checked their address on my GPS and I was only 112 miles from them, so I contacted them to see if it was convenient for me to come down. 

I headed that way and stopped at DFW Adventures in Roanoke to check them out! I talked to Mike, the manager and he said if I could come back in the morning I could zip.

I heard from Carla and it all worked out that I could spend the night with them. We had a nice visit and enjoyed visiting. It was so nice to take a real shower and have a bed, AC and WiFi! Ahhh!

Monday July 22 Riversport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

I left Tulsa and drove to Oklahoma City on Sunday night.

On Monday morning I drove to Riversport.

Riversport is a really nice adventure park right on the Oklahoma River. The have a ropes course with 4 levels; the highest is 80 feet!

At the present time, they only have one zipline, but with a day pass you can ride it multiple times. By September, they hope to have 2 700 foot lines that cross the Oklahoma River! I promised them I would come back and check it out!

Roni sent me out to the course and Jackson and Rebecca took me on the line! I zipped it twice. Riversport is right next to the Oklahoma River.

A 700 foot zipline across the Oklahoma River is planned for Fall 2013.

Very nice park!

Other activities: kayak plunge, stand up paddle boarding, long boarding, kayak excursions, dragon boating, and more!



Riversport
725 S Lincoln Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK 73129
Facebook

(405) 552-4040 





Sunday July 21 PostOak Canopy Tours

When I left Okolona, I drove toward Tulsa, Oklahoma. I wasn't sure how long it would take, but I knew PostOak was only open on Saturday and Sunday, so if I was going to zip it I needed to get as close as possible on Saturday night; I was 348 miles away. I was able to get within 150 miles which made me very happy! 

I arrived at PostOak about 10 A.M. and was able to get in on the 11 A.M. tour. It was raining, but there was no thunder so we were able to zip. We were all thankful for the rain, the day before I had zipped in temps in the high 90s. The rain really cooled us off. It was ending as we finished the tour and we could feel the temperature rising quickly and it was quite steamy.

The zip lines were great and I enjoyed a beautiful tour in rolling land in Oklahoma. We had 10 people on this tour and had a lot of fun on the 3,865 feet of cable, 6 lines, and 7 platforms with fabulous views of the Osage plains and downtown Tulsa. 

PostOak is owned/managed by the same group that owns Buffalo Canopy Tours in Ponca, AR. My awesome guides were Kayla and Jesse.

Coty is the manager and Jennifer runs the office! Great people!

They use the block brake, which I love because I don't have to do anything and so I can look around and enjoy the view. A new feature they used that I had not seen was gadget on the end of the block that captured the trolley and prevented the zip rider from bouncing off the block and going back out on the line. I like this! 




PostOak Canopy Tours
5323 WEST 31ST STREET NORTH, 
TULSA, OK 74127
Facebook

918-697-2700


















Saturday July 20 Rowdy Adventures in Okolona, Arkansas

I next drove to Rowdy Adventures in Okolona, Arkansas. They have 14 awesome lines through the trees. I had a great time.

They also have a free fall swing, that I did not try, and other  activities.

It was a very hot day, but they kept us hydrated with several stops where we received bottles of water! A very nice tour with a great bunch of people!

Thanks!

Rowdy Adventures
13695 Hwy 51 South
Okolona, Arkansas 71692
Facebook

870-274-3001










Saturday July 20 The Zip Lines at Ouachita Bend

Today I drove from Conway, Arkansas to The Zip Lines at Ouachita Bend in Malvern, Arkansas. I arrived at 10 A.M., just after their last tour for the day. However, I was able to join the tour on Line 3. It was beautiful; really in the woods and the views were wonderful. When we finished, my awesome guides, Keturah and Clay, took me on the first two lines which were the highest and longest lines of the tour.

I was also able to meet the owners: Cindy and Bruce Smith!

Thanks for a great time!



Zipline at Ouachita Bend
Highway 171, 2.2 miles north of I-30 at Exit 97
Ouachita Bend, Arkansas
Facebook

501-318-3711

 Ziplines@ouachitabendadventures.com  


Friday, July 19, 2013

Friday July 19

Well, I have been at the McDonald's in Conway, Arkansas for about 5 hours catching up! I think everyone is on the blog. I am hoping for some more pics to be sent to me by various people on my tours. As I receive pics and/or more info, I will add it to the appropriate blog post! 

Please make comments under the different zipline places if there is info I have left out or you were on the tour and want to add something.

All comments are welcome!

I have now zipped in 6 states this trip (since June 1) and 11 states total including those I zipped last year.

I have zipped 32 different places on this trip and a total of 39!

Very cool!

Friday July 19 Loco Ropes Mountain View, Arkansas

I drove to Mountain View, Arkansas and was able to zip their long, high zipline. This zipline had a different pulley system than any of the others I had zipped. It was very quiet and when I go to the end they brought me back to the tower on the same line; pretty cool!

Owners are Bob and Judy Cox. I had the pleasure of meeting Bob!

After I zipped, I jumped off the 40 ft high tower with a similar pulley system I had used before. It stops just before you hit the ground. LOL It is a rush!

Enjoyed myself!

They have an awesome looking ropes challenge course with 30 obstacles, but I was not feeling strong and energetic enough to try it out! Ropes challenge courses are a lot of work, but fun!

I left and drove to Conway.

Loco Ropes
1025A Park Ave
Mountain View, Arkansas 72560
Facebook


goloco@locoropes.com

888-669-6717

Friday July 19 Zippin Griffin

I arrived in Hardy, Arkansas on Thursday evening and found the Zippin Griffin office. 

I returned the next morning and the manager, Melanee, was able to get me on an 11:00 A.M. tour. It was a lot of fun. I was with four kids who had never zipped before. Ages 7, 8, 9 & 11.

There were 5 smaller lines through the camp and one long line that was 1800 feet long and 350 feet high...it was awesome; over 50 mph! 

My wonderful guides were Joseph and Travis!

Zippin Griffin
300 Stone Creek Road
Hardy, Arkansas 72542
Facebook

870.856.4743


Thursday July 18 Iron Horse Zipline

When driving to BRCT that morning, I had past a sign that said Zipline, so I went to investigate and found the Iron Horse Zipline at Horseshoe Canyon. I met the owner of Horseshoe Canyon, Barry Johnson, and he sent me out with two great guides, Morgan and Rudy.

Morgan and I climbed a very steep, high, rocky path to the top of a ledge where I was strapped into a harness. I zipped a 1/2 mile at speeds of up to 60 mph. What an awesome view and the speed was exhilarating!

Loved it!

Rudy was waiting at the end where he set a compression spring that stopped me when I got to the end.

This is a dude ranch and has any other activities.

Iron Horse Zipline
HC 70 BOX 261
Jasper, Arkansas 72641
Facebook


870-446-2577
800-480-9635
























Thursday July 18 Buffalo River Canopy Tour Ponca, Arkansas

I drove to Buffalo River Canopy Tour in Ponca, Arkansas on Wednesday afternoon even though I know they are only open Thursday through Sunday. I was in luck and there was someone at the office who booked me for a 9:00 A.M. tour the next morning.

After checking in at 8:30 A.M. I drove about 5 miles to the start of the tour. After a safety speech from Traci, she released us into the capable hands of Lisa and Beth who did an awesome job of keeping us safe and having fun!

It was a very enjoyable tour!

Buffalo River Canopy Tour
Buffalo Outdoor Center
Ponca, Arkansas
Facebook

800-221-5514