Published: 13 Aug 2026

Chapter 42 – Fun and Freedom

We returned to the motel after having breakfast, I got out of the backseat of Lonny’s car he addressed me. “Please drive carefully,” he said as he handed me the key, “and I’m not worried about the vehicle, but you’re going to be carrying something very important to me. I don’t want anything to happen to any of you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll drive very carefully and we’ll see all of you at Yesterdays when we return.”

As I was driving out of the parking lot, I decided to see if the younger pair agreed with what I had in mind. “Look, there are six thrill rides at the park and I thought we could focus on those and do each one multiple times.”

“Yeah, that sounds perfect, cuz Daniel and I want to take turns going on the rides with you and Devin too, not just with each other.”

I merely looked across at Devin to see what he thought about Clint’s idea. “Yeah, that’s fine with me,” he agreed.

“And if we can manage to go on the thrill rides three times, then we’ll have a chance to ride with everyone.”

“That’s what we should do then,” Daniel concurred.

“We’ll try, but it will depend on how busy they are.”

The six thrill rides are the Alpine Coaster, the Defiance Roller Coaster, the Giant Canyon Swing, the Crystal Tower, the Cliffhanger Coaster, and the Glenwood Canyon Flyer. We agreed to go with our current partner on all six thrill rides first, before we changed to ride with someone else.

I knew we still had quite a bit of time to kill before the park opened, so I drove to Dunkin’ Donuts so we could kill a little time there. Devin and I ordered a coffee, and Clint and Daniel got hot chocolate, and then we sat down to sip our drinks. A few minutes later, when I noticed we were all just about done with our drinks, I asked the boys a question.

“It’s still too early to go to the park, so do you want to have another hot chocolate?”

“Ok, but can we get a donut to go with it?” Clint asked.

“But you just had breakfast,” I countered.

“I know, but I want something sweet, and it will go great with the hot chocolate.”

“Do you want a donut too, Daniel?”

“Actually, I saw a couple of different donuts I’d like to try, but I’m not sure which one I want more.”

“Then let’s all get two donuts,” Clint suggested, “because I saw two donuts I’d like to have as well.”

“In that case, why don’t I buy a dozen donuts, and we’ll each have three, but we don’t have to eat all of them now. We can have one with our drinks and take the rest of them with us to the park to eat later, so just tell me which three you want.”

After they’d each told me their choices, Devin and I prepared to go to the counter and order, when Clint said something else. “Um, can I have an Oreo Hot Chocolate this time, instead of the Classic Hot Chocolate?”

“Yes, I can order that for you instead.”

“Then can I get a Mint Hot Chocolate,” Daniel followed.

“Sure.”

When Devin and I got to the counter, we decided to try a Caramel Swirl, instead of another regular coffee. After we ordered and we’d been given the drinks and the dozen donuts, Devin and I picked everything up and carried it over to the table. Once we gave Clint and Daniel their drinks, we let them choose one of the donuts out of the box. A short time later, they were ready to have another one, which I didn’t have a problem with, but Devin and I were fine with just the one for now.

After we finished sipping our second drinks, I felt we’d been taking up the table long enough, but as I was closing the box with the remaining donuts, Devin made a suggestion.

“I think we should all use the toilet first, before we leave.”

“Yes, that would probably be wise, seeing we’ve all had two drinks, plus what we had with breakfast.”

Since I didn’t want to take the donuts in there with me, I told Clint and Daniel to go first. I explained that when they returned they could keep an eye on the donuts for me, while Devin and I used the facility. Once we’d all had a chance to empty our bladders, I grabbed the box with the donuts and we headed out to the car.

When we arrived at the park, I saw Daniel looking out the side windows and then he turned to look out the rear window. After he’d done a visual search of the area, he asked a question. “Where’s the rides? I don’t see any amusement park!”

“It’s on top of the mountain,” Clint quickly explained.

“You mean we have to walk up the mountain to get there?”

“No, we get to ride in a gondola to get there, and we’ll ride it back down later, when we’re ready to leave.”

“Oh, you mean like the one of those that they use at the ski resorts.”

“Exactly!” Devin concurred. “And you’re not the only one to ask that question. I think we all wanted to know the same thing when we came here the first time, because we were worried when we didn’t see any rides either.”

“Are we just going to leave the donuts in the car?” Clint asked.

“Yes, it won’t be a problem, since it’s not hot out, so they’ll be fine.”

Seeing it was just about time for the park to open, we went to buy our tickets to enter the park. There wasn’t much of a crowd today, like there had been when we were here last summer. This actually surprised me, since the colleges and many school districts were out for the summer. I guess most people were going to wait until it got a little warmer before they did things like this.

We each wore a light jacket to breakfast this morning and decided to also wear them at the park. We felt the cooler temps plus the wind whipping past us on the thrill rides would make it feel colder than it actually was, so the jackets would protect us from some of that.

We started out by going on each of the thrill rides with our current partners, and Devin and I made sure the boys were seated in front of or beside us on each one. We did this so we could see Daniel’s reactions on the various rides, and he seemed to be totally enjoying himself. He and Clint were joking around and laughing a lot, and we were happy to see both of them having such a good time.

After we’d been on each of the thrill rides, we asked the boys who they wanted to be with next, before we made our way around the park again.

“I want to go on the rides with you this time,” Clint told me.

“And I’ll ride with Devin,” Daniel followed. I’d been worried that they were going to argue over who was going to ride with whom, so I was amazed that Daniel allowed his boyfriend to make the decision for both of them.

“Ok, then which of those rides do you want to go on first?” I asked.

Once they’d agreed on which ride they wanted to start on, we got in line. When that ride ended, we made our way around the loop again and rode on all of the other thrill rides.

“This is wicked fun,” Clint told me while we were waiting for the last ride to start. “And it’s even more fun because we don’t have to go on the kiddie rides, like last time.”

“Yes, but it was because our parents could only handle the thrill rides for so long before they start becoming nauseous,” I reasoned. “I think it happens to people when they get older.”

When we finished that loop and had gone on each of the rides for a second time, we decided it was time to stop and have lunch. After we went to the men’s room and washed up a bit, I led them to Lookout Grille and we sat down at a table and looked at the menu.

After we ordered, I asked Daniel a question. “Clint’s been here before, so I know how he’d answer this question, but what do you think of this place and the rides you’ve been on?”

“I love it. The roller coasters are exciting, and the rides that go out over the canyon were kind of scary. I mean, at first, all I could think about was what I’d do if the ride broke, cuz it was an awfully long way to the bottom of the canyon if the ride started coming apart. I was really worried about that at first, since I’ve heard about accidents like that happening at other parks.”

“Yes, but those occurrences are very rare, although they can also be disastrous.”

“Yeah, and then I realized the same rides were giving me a great view, so I kinda forgot about the danger part.”

“Yes, it’s better not to think about the worst things that could happen and just enjoy yourself. I also noticed that you didn’t mention each of the rides – just the ones that extended over the canyon.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about the Crystal Tower and the Alpine Coaster, but I thought both of those rides were a blast.”

“I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying yourself.”

After we finished eating, we headed toward the entrance for the caverns, and when we arrived there, I purchased four tickets for the Fairy Cave tour. We probably could have let Clint and Daniel go without us, but I had to rescue Clint a couple of times during our previous visit and didn’t want to take the chance that something like that might happen again. If that happened, I didn’t know how I’d explain to our parents that Devin and I weren’t with them at the time. I was also a little worried that Clint might try to wander away from the tour group and try to explore some of those areas on his own. He could do it to impress Daniel with how much he remembered about the tour.

After talking it over with Devin, we agreed to merely follow behind them just to make sure they were safe and didn’t get into trouble. Although we hoped they wouldn’t be tempted to do something like that, we knew nothing like that would happen if we went with them.

As we walked along, we’d listen to the guide explain what we were seeing, and this guy shared a few tidbits that the guide we had last year hadn’t mentioned. I’m not sure how Clint was reacting to do this, but I learned enough new information that I found it interesting. When the tour ended, I asked Daniel a question.

“Did you think this tour was worth taking the time to come down here?”

“Yes, it was neat and I learned a lot. I didn’t know there was a constant temperature in places like this when you’re this far underground. I also liked hearing the guy telling us the historical information and what this place might have looked like when it first opened. And Clint told me about how you saved him from falling when he was doing the other tour last year.”

“I’m glad he isn’t as oblivious to what he’s doing this time around. Now, we can go up to the park and make one more loop around the thrill rides.”

“And this time I get to ride with you!” Daniel said with a grin.

We traveled around the park one more time so the boys would have a chance to ride with each of us before we left. When we completed this loop around the park, we headed out to the car to leave. When we got to the car, Clint asked a question.

“Can we eat our other donut now?”

“Sure, but I don’t want you eating it in the car, because I don’t want to leave crumps on the seats or floorboards. I’ll get the box of donuts and bring it out here, and then I’ll let you pick out your last donut.”

After unlocking the car, I retrieved the box and set it on the trunk. We then each grabbed a donut and began eating, and when we finished, I asked Devin a question.

“Are you good with just one, or do you want to eat your other donut too?”

“Nah, I don’t need another one.”

“In that case, Daniel and Clint you can have our other donut, if you want.”

“Yeah, thanks,” they both said, and then they began bickering over who would get which donut.

“Hey, if you’re going to argue about it, then Devin and I will take those donuts instead.” That was enough to end the disagreement, and this time Clint gave in and let Daniel choose the donut he wanted. As they were eagerly scarfing them down, I took the box and threw it in the trash.

When they finished eating the donuts, I looked at my phone and saw it was only a few minutes after 5:00. Since it was earlier than our parents were expecting us, I wasn’t sure what to do next, so I asked Devin a question.

“It’s about an hour earlier that we’d planned on returning, so should we still drive to Yesterdays or back to the motel?”

“Our parents were going to pack everything up and take it to the next location, so they definitely won’t be at the Quality Inn. Let’s just go to Yesterdays and we can wait in the parking lot until they arrive.”

“I guess we don’t have any other choice, unless we want to hang out at Dunkin’ Donuts again.”

“Nah, I don’t think we need anything more to eat or drink, so let’s just go there and wait. Maybe our parents got back earlier than they thought and are waiting for us at Yesterdays, since that’s where we’ agreed to meet them.”

“Ok, we’ll let’s go.”

As I was pulling into the parking lot, I immediately spotted my dad’s SUV and drove over to park next to it. As we were getting out of the car, our parents got out of the SUV.

“Did you boys have a good time?” Lonny asked. He seemed pleased to see that we were all back safe and sound.

“Yeah, we had a blast,” Daniel responded first.

“It wasn’t very crowded either,” Clint added, “so we didn’t have to wait in long lines like last year.”

“Did you go on any of the cavern tours?” Mom followed after she gave each of us a hug.

“Yeah, we went on the Fairy Cave Tour,” Daniel answered. “That was pretty neat too and I learned a bunch of stuff.”

“It sounds as if you had a good time then.”

“Yep, we did,” Clint and Daniel replied harmoniously as they grinned at each other.

“Look, I know it’s a little early to eat supper,” Dad stated, “so I’ll leave the choice up to you boys. Would you prefer to eat here now, or would you rather wait until we get to the new location?”

I turned to the others to see what they wanted to do, and once I had their answer, I turn toward our parents and spoke.

“Let’s wait until we get to the next location, since we’re not really hungry yet.”

“Growing boys not ready to eat?” Lonny asked, feigning shock as he stared at Clint and Daniel.

“Yeah, we went to Dunkin’ Donuts this morning for coffee and hot chocolate before we went to the amusement park, cuz it was too early to go there yet.”

“And I bought a dozen donuts that we took with us,” I added, “and we just finished off the last ones before we came here.”

“And you didn’t buy any donuts for us?” Ma teased.

“There would have been some left over, but these two polished them off,” I said, and Clint and Daniel blushed and looked guilty.

“But you said we could have them,” Clint protested.

“Yes, I was just joking, but I’d be willing to go to Dunkin’ Donuts and buy another dozen for the rest of you to share,” I offered.

“No, we’re fine and supper will be plenty for us,” Ma replied.

“Ok, then let’s get back into the vehicles and we’ll head to Silverthorne.”

“Did you take our things there already?”

“Yes, after you left us this morning, we packed everything up before we drove there. We’ll be staying at another Quality Inn and your new room is basically the same as the one you had here.”

“Ok, that’s good, and I hope you didn’t find any surprises when you packed up our room?” I said in jest.

“Nah, just the same mess that I find in Clint’s bedroom every time I go in there.” Lonny joked back.

“Hey, my room’s not a mess,” Clint protested. “Just ask Daniel, cuz he stayed in it with me before we came here.”

“Yeah, it’s not any worse than my bedroom,” Daniel stated. “If my mom thought it was a mess, then she would complain about it, but she never has, so Clint’s room can’t be as bad as you say.”

The adults released a little chuckle after hearing Daniel’s explanation, and then we go back into the vehicles to leave. I handed Lonny the key as we were going there, and then I hopped in back with Clint and Daniel again.

“How far away is this place?” Devin asked.”

“It’s 91 miles (146 km) from here and it will take about an hour and a half to drive there, so you might as well get comfortable.”

“Did you guys pack our wetsuits before you took our things to this new motel?” Clint asked.

“No, once we learned how far away it was, Michael’s dad took all of the wetsuits and turned them in. We’ll rent new ones when we go to the new place.”

“Do you know what trips we’ll be taking over the next couple of days?” I followed.

“I do, but I don’t want to steal your dad’s thunder, since I’m sure he wants to tell you while we’re eating.”

Lonny then asked Daniel about what he liked the best about the amusement park, and after Daniel answered, he asked what he liked best about the cavern tour. Once Daniel told him everything about his experiences there, we talked about what we hoped the next two days were going to be like.

When we reached Silverthorne, we looked out the windows to see what the place was like. We didn’t have very long to look around though, because Lonny followed Dad into the parking lot of a restaurant.

After we went inside, we had to wait a few minutes while the staff moved a few tables together to accommodate us. As soon as we told the server what we wanted, I asked Dad a question.

“What are we going to be doing over the next two days?”

“I think you’re going to enjoy what we’ll be doing. Both days will be split into two parts, with one activity in the morning and a different activity in the afternoon. Tomorrow, we’ll start out by going to a ziplines course, and then we’ll go rafting.”

“That sounds like fun!” Daniel enthused. “I’ve never gone on a zipline before.”

“I think I’ll skip that part,” Mom followed as she turned to face Dad. “You know I’m afraid of heights.”

“Oh, come on, Mom,” I quickly countered. “You’ve been on ziplines before, during some of our other vacations, and you’ve always enjoyed doing it.”

“Maybe I did, but I was trembling the entire time.”

“Then don’t look down and just enjoy he incredible views on either side and in front of you.”

“I’ll think about it, but I may just watch as you all do it and not participate this time.”

“So, we’re going to go rafting too?” Devin pressed.

“Yes, after lunch, which will be provided for us at one of the sites, we’ll take the Browns Canyon rafting trip.”

“That sounds lovely, so I’ll do that,” Mom agreed.

Devin was about to ask a question, but Dad stopped him after noticing two servers moving in our direction carrying trays with our meals. As we began eating, Devin finally asked his question.

“What are we going to be doing the day after tomorrow?”

“In the morning we’ll be renting some UTVs, or Utility Terrain Vehicles. They’re four-wheel vehicles that are capable of transporting a driver and three passengers. And then after lunch, we’ll be going on another whitewater rafting trip.”

“Uh, do we get to drive one of those UTVs?” Daniel asked.

“No, I’m afraid not. It has to do with the insurance company demands that all drivers have a valid driver’s license.”

“Then we want to go with Michael and Devin,” Clint declared.

“That won’t be a problem,” Dad agreed. “It will take place at Wolford Mountain Recreation Area. That’s near Kremmling and I’m told they have several trails that we can follow.”

“Do we have to follow a guide?”

“No, the UTVs have GPS, and that will guide you on the trails and tell you their difficulty rating.”

“It would be more fun if we got to drive those things too,” Clint added, directing his comment to me.

“I know, but unfortunately that can’t happen, so just focus on enjoying this new experience.”

After we finished eating, we went to the new Quality Inn and Devin and I were given the key cards to our room. As soon as we entered, I began looking around. Lonny was correct and this room was nearly identical to the one we had at the other Quality Inn.

“Ok, let’s shower and get ready for bed,” I stated. “Do you two want to go first or second?”

“We’ll go first,” Clint quickly answered, and then they both began getting undressed.

When they went into the bathroom, Devin and I got our duffle bags and began rummaging through them to take out the things we’d need for tomorrow. When we finished, we turned on the TV to see if we could find something that looked interesting.

Once Clint and Daniel finished showering, Devin and I went in to perform our nightly routine next. After we finished, I set the alarm on my phone, and then we watched the movie on TV that they had started.

When the movie ended, we slid under the bedding and quickly fell asleep.

When the alarm went off the next morning, Devin and I got up right away, but Clint and Daniel remained sound asleep. I knew we had to wake them, and reluctantly they got out of bed and started getting dressed. And before we went to join up with the others, we packed our thermal underwear in the plastic grocery bags my mom had given us after we’d returned after supper the night before. Once we were all ready, we put on our jackets, grabbed the plastic bags, and walked out into the hallway to meet up with our parents.

After we got to the restaurant and ate breakfast, we headed to the outfitters to see what was going to happen next. We arrived there a little early in order to get our wetsuits, which we’d be taking with us, since we wouldn’t be returning to this location until after our rafting adventure. We’d place them in the plastic bag with the thermal underwear and leave them at the satellite location until after we’d gone on the ziplines.

“Where will we put these on?” Clint asked.

“Since we do this quite often,” the guide who given us the wetsuits began, “there are a men’s and women’s restrooms in the area where we’ll be having lunch. There is also a small changing area connected to each one and you’ll be able to change into them there.”

Once that had been explained, I noticed three other guys that were just entering the building. They were all dressed in nylon sweatsuits and appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties. However, before we had time to learn anything about them, one of the staff began to address us.

“Good morning. I’m Alex and I’ll be in charge of this tour, but before we head out, I want to explain something first. I realize your group consists of nine individuals, but that won’t be a sufficient number of people to man two six-person rafts safely.

We can’t use larger rafts, either, since they’d create other problems, such as getting hung up between the boulders in different areas, since they’re wider than the six person rafts. Our first thought was to send some of our staff with you to make up the additional personnel required, because we didn’t have another group booked for this tour.

“Fortunately, we were contacted by the three young men that just entered the building, who were inquiring if we had a whitewater rafting trip that they could sign up for. After we explained to them about this tour, they readily agreed to join you, so I hope this meets with your approval.”

“Yes, this solution will be fine,” Dad responded.

“Great, so now there will be six people in each raft, so now I have to ask you how you wish to split up your party? I’ve already explained to these three young men that they may not be able to all travel in the same raft, since it will depend on what your group decides, because you signed up for this tour first. Do you want to put five from your group in one raft and four in the other, or would you rather divide them up with six in one raft and three in the other raft?”

“May we have a minute to talk this over?” Dad asked.

“Yes, but don’t take too long, because we need to load into the transport vehicle to take you to today’s location.”

The nine of us got together and talked it over to determine how we were going to do this. “It’s clear we’ve got to split up one way or the other, but I’d like your input about how we should do it?”

“What do you think, Mike?” Pa asked.

“I’d be willing to bet that the three friends would prefer to stay together, which would mean we’d put six in one raft and three in the other. Now, I want to know what the rest of you think about doing this?”

“The four of us want to stay together!”, Clint immediately spoke up, and his face reflected his determination.

Realizing that, Dad looked at me to see what I thought, so I glanced over at Devin to get his input. Devin signaled that it was up to me and he’d be fine with whatever I chose, so I turned back to my dad and spoke.

“We’ll do whatever is best for the group.”

Our parents then gathered together to discuss this further, and when they finished talking it over, they explained their decision. “Ok, Doris, Cindy, and I will join with the three newcomers, and Aaron and Lonny will go with you boys.”

“You’re splitting up my parents?” Devin asked confused.

“Your mother volunteered to join my wife and I, because Lonny wanted to be in the raft with his son, and we all felt that Aaron should go with you boys as well. We won’t have to split up until after we go on the ziplines, so it will give us time to get to know the other three better before we do that.”

We agreed it would be fine, and after dad told Alex about our decision, he asked us to introduce ourselves to the three newbies. We all took a second to do that, and they did the same, which meant we now knew their names. They were Jack, Brian, and Wesley, although he told us to call him Wes.

“We appreciate that you’re allowing us to stay together,” Brian told us. “We’ve been friends since elementary school, but after we graduated, we went to different colleges. A few days ago, we happened to all wind up at Taco Bell for a late-night snack. While we were catching up with each other, we decided that we should do something while we were all back together again, and I suggested that we should go whitewater rafting. After talking it over, we eventually agreed it sounded like a good idea, so we called here to see if we could make a reservation. That’s when we were told about your group.”

“I was the one who actually called here,” Jack followed, “but I’m not sure if I spoke to Alex or someone else, but that’s beside the point. I was told that we could join this tour, but we might have to split up, and although we really didn’t want to do that, we still agreed to come here and do it anyway. We want to thank you for letting us stay together and that you’re splitting up your group to accommodate us.”

“That isn’t a problem, since we’d have to split up anyway, so we merely agreed to do it this way to help you guys out,” Lonny assured him. “Have the three of you been whitewater rafting before?”

“Yes, we went on whitewater rafting trips the summers before both our Junior and Senior years in high school, as well as the summer after we graduated.”

“Great, then this should work out fine.”

At this point, Alex must have felt that he’d given us long enough to get to know one another and called for our attention.

“Before we go out to the site, we must take care of some other business first, and I’ll begin by telling you a little about the site you’re going to. There are six ziplines and you’ll have a chance to go on each one, but we’ll have to split into two groups to be transported to the site, since the vehicles we use can only accommodate six people each. Do you want to do it the same as you’ll split up for the rafts, or do you want to do it a different way?”

“Since I’ll be in the raft with my wife, I’ll allow Aaron to ride with his wife on the way to this location and I’ll ride with the boys.”

“Thank you for clearing that up, but before we go out to the site, there are a few basics that we’ll need to go over first. You will not find any towers at this location, because every platform has been built directly into the mountain. Each zipline has also been secured directly into the mountain or attached to a large, sturdy tree.”

“Do any of the ziplines go across the canyon?” Mom asked, interrupting Alex.

“No, but some will cross other large gaps.”

“Does that mean we’ll be high up in the air?” she followed.

“You will be up high when you’re on some of the ziplines, but not all of them. For example, the first zipline will take you above the trees as you go across that area.”

“Would I be able to go at the same time with my husband?”

“No, everyone has to go one at a time, although there is one area with side-by-side ziplines where two people can go at the same time and race, if they want. Other than that, it’s all done once at a time.”

“Mike, I don’t want t do this then.”

“We don’t have time to discuss this now,” Dad replied, “so let’s listen to what else he has to say and we’ll talk about it when he’s done.”

As soon as they finished talking, Alex continued. “You will have to do some walking to get to each of the sites, and sometimes you might be required to walk up a short bank to get to a higher location. At other times, you might have to walk down a few steps or walk across a short suspension footbridge to reach the next zipline. These footbridges are anchored by cables fastened on either side of the gap and will have different types of decks for you to walk on.”

I thought this all sounded intriguing, but before I had a chance to think about it further, a female stepped forward and continued the briefing.

“We also advise those of you with long hair to secure it in some fashion so it doesn’t accidentally get entangled in the trolley. You must also secure any of the belongings that you have with you, such as cameras, phones, wallets, jewelry, keys, or other valuable items. That’s because you’ll be traveling above some fairly rugged ground, so if you drop your camera or phone, even if you able to find it later, it will most likely be broken.”

She then gave us a second to think about that information before she continued. “If you drop anything, it will be very difficult to get to the spot where it landed, even if you are able to determine where that would be. Even if you are able to pinpoint the location where it ended up, it might have slid to a area farther down or fallen into the numerous gaps in the rocky terrain. If it didn’t fall onto a rocky surface, then you might have to dig around in the accumulation of decomposing plant or animal matter that covers the ground beneath the trees. Now, do you have any questions?”

None of us did, so another male guide continued. “When you’re going down one of the ziplines, remember to only hold onto the area below the trolley,” he explained as one of the other guides held up a trolley to show what she meant. “As you’re approaching the landing platform, you must lift your legs slightly to keep your feet or legs from slamming into the ground beneath the platform. If you forget, such contact could cause you serious injury. Do you have any questions now?”

“What if I still don’t want to do this?” Mom asked.

“You should still ride out to the site with us, because we won’t be returning here again until after the rafting trip. We’ll be having lunch at another location after we finish up on the ziplines and before we go rafting, but you can always wait at the first drop-off location. There’s a small satellite building there, if you decide you don’t want to use the ziplines.”

“Just ride out there with us, dear or you’ll miss out on the entire day,” Dad urged.

“Come on, Mom. You don’t want to be left back here all alone, do you?” I added.

“I could always drive the SUV back to the motel.”

“Please ride out there with us or one of the rafts won’t have enough people in it,” I reasoned.

“Ok, then I’ll ride out there with you, but I still don’t want to go on the ziplines.”

The guides then demonstrated how to get into a harness and how to adjust it, before we were led into the equipment room and given a harness to put on. After someone inspected us to make certain it was adjusted correctly, we were given a safety helmet to put on next, along with a pair of full-finger leather gloves to protect our hands.

As soon as each of us was ready, we followed them out to two open-air transport vehicles wi0th bench seats that were equipped with seatbelts for the ride out to the site.

After we unloaded, Mom made her Intentions perfectly clear.

“I’m going to wait here for the rest of you to return.”

“You’ve done things like this before, Cindy,” Dad reminded her.

“I know, but it sounds like these ziplines will be much higher and I’d have to do it alone. I just wouldn’t be able to handle that.”

Dad and I both knew it would be useless to continue trying to talk her into doing this, so we just shook our heads before turning back to listen to Alex. He was busy advising the others that we’d have to follow him along a trail that would take us to the location of the first zipline.

It was a fairly easy walk out to the site and some of it was beside a chain-link fence that was there to keep anyone from taking a nasty tumble down a lengthy and very steep slope. When we eventually arrived at the location, we quickly agreed on the order that we were going to go down the ziplines.

Dad, Pa, Ma, and Lonny allowed each of us younger guys to go first, after one of the guides went down the zipline ahead of us to demonstrate how it was done. When it was my turn, I found the experience to be exhilarating as I soared over the trees and other objects that were far below. I was surprised that I’d found it to be so stimulating, since I’d actually experienced flying even higher than this as a bird on previous occasions. It was still delightful though, and Clint and Daniel were almost wetting themselves as they danced around after being unhooked from the trolley.

“That was fucking awesome!” Clint told me, since his dad was still at the other end of the zipline and couldn’t hear the language he was using. “I hope the other ziplines are this much fun too.”

“I’ve never done anything like that before,” Daniel stated when he joined us, “and it was incredible. I never thought I’d ever get the chance to go on a zipline, since my parents don’t like doing things like this. They don’t even like to go on rides at amusement parks and their idea of a boat ride is being on one of those gigantic cruise ships. That’s why I was so eager to talk them into letting me go on this trip with Clint and his dad, otherwise I’d never get to do anything like this. It was fucking wicked!”

When we reached the new location, I was surprised by how high up the mountainside we still were, as I waited for the others to join me. Once we were all together again, we had to walk down a lengthy wooden staircase to reach the next launch point, and this one featured an option that Mom would have hated.

“This time you have a choice. You can either jump off a ledge and take a quick trip down or ride another zipline to the next location,” Alex told us. The quick jump off a ledge that he was referring to was hooking up to a bungee cord and leaping down to an area below. To my surprise, each of us chose to make the leap, including Dad and Ma. It was amazing!

I went first this and Daniel talked Clint into letting him go next, and then Clint could go after Devin. I didn’t understand why he wanted to do it this way until he was unhooked from the bungee after his jump.

“That was fucking awesome!” he said when he was being unhooked from the bungee, but then he quickly changed gears. “Please follow me over there, because I want to tell you something before Clint gets here. I’ve been meaning to tell you that I recognized your name and realized you were the one I spoke with on the phone several weeks ago, but I never told Clint about that. It’s why I didn’t let on that I knew who you were when you first got to our room at the Quality Inn.”

“I also recognized who you were as soon as Clint introduced us, but I also chose not to let Clint know that for the same reason. I’m glad you did that, because I’m not sure how Clint would have reacted if he knew I was somehow involved with you meeting him.”

“I know, and I wanted to talk to you about this after that, but we were never alone. Even when we were on the rides at Glenwood Caverns, Clint was always close enough that he would probably overhear what we were saying. That’s why I never talked to you about this until now.”

“It’s ok and don’t worry about it, because I understand. You two seem to be good for each other and I’m glad it’s working out for both of you. I also hope you’re happy, because Clint seems thrilled about being with you.”

“Yes, I really like Clint a lot, although sometimes he can be a little overbearing, but we’re still getting along great. I’m really glad you called our school and asked to have someone from the Alliance call you, because if you hadn’t I probably wouldn’t have a boyfriend.”

“I’m glad that your happy, and you also took care of my problem. When Devin and I first met Clint and Lonny last year, Clint became fixated on me and tried his damnedest to talk me into doing sex stuff with him. That was not only a non-starter and a major problem because of his age, but Devin and I were engaged and didn’t think it would be appropriate.”

“Yeah, I know how Clint is about things like that. I’d already decided that I wasn’t going to rush him into doing any of that stuff with me, but he was the one who brought it up. After talking it over with him, he convinced me that he wanted to do those things, but we haven’t had anal sex yet. I know Clint’s in a hurry to try it, but I’m afraid one of us might hurt the other one.”

“Just make sure you’re both ready and that Clint realizes he has to be gentle and not rush through it, if you decide to do that. Make sure you have lube and condoms, and that you use your fingers to loosen yourself and your partner before you do it. I’ve got a feeling that he didn’t have to twist your arm very hard to get you to do the other stuff with him, though.”

“No, because I really wanted to do those things too. I was just a little shier than he was at first.”

I was expecting our conversation to be interrupted at some point, but we had longer than I expected, so Daniel and I were able to end our conversation before Clint joined us. When he finally arrived, he explained what had taken him so long.

“The guide who was with us said we should let your dad and Devin’s Mom go after you jumped. That’s why I had to wait before I could take my turn.”

Now that I knew this, I kept glancing toward the wooden stairs that Clint had pointed out so I could watch for Dad and Ma. They actually arrived shortly before the last of the bungee jumpers had landed.

Before we reached the third zipline, we encountered a novel intermediary step that would take us down to the launch point. It began with us walking out on a “T-shape” wooden platform. It was anchored into the mountain on the near end and extended over a short drop before it was fastened to a tree. What made it so unique was how we’d be attached to the trolley.

There were two thick cables attached to it that hung down and connected to what appeared to be a skateboard without any wheels. It was called the “Surf Zip!” and resembled a cross between a surfboard/skateboard and a swing. We had to stand on top of it and hold onto the cables as we rode it, and swung back and forth, as we traveled a short distance to the next landing area. Of course. we still had our safety harnesses attached to the trolley as well, but it was another intriguing take on riding a zipline.”

From there we walked down a series of wooden steps until we reached the next feature, which was called the “Jungle Bridge”. It was comprised of two cables that were anchored into the near bank and then stretched across a shallow ravine to where it was anchored into the opposite bank. There was a cable that also hung above the bridge as well that was fastened between two trees.

“You mean we’ve got to walk across that thing?” Daniel gasped when he saw the bridge.

It seems he wasn’t eager to do it, and it was easy to see why he was hesitant. There were wooden boards fastened between the two cables, but there were sizeable gaps between them. In a way, it reminded me of the way that the rungs were attached to a ladder.

“Damn, those gaps are big enough for Daniel and me to fall through them if we aren’t careful!” Clint added.

“Then be vewy, vewy careful,” I responded, using my best Elmer Fudd imitation.

“Don’t worry,” Devin added, “because you can hang on to the cable when you’re crossing the bridge. They’ll also hook up your harness to the cable as well, to make sure you don’t fall.”

“Oh, ok. I guess that sounds safe then”

As soon as everyone had made it across the bridge, one of the guides told us about the third zipline, which we were finally coming to. “This is the longest of the six ziplines and it will take you along the side of the mountain until you reach the other end.”

“Man, this is way longer than the other ziplines,” Daniel acknowledged.

“It looks like fun, though,” Devin replied. “It also looks as if it goes between and over some of the trees that are growing beside the nearly vertical side of the mountain.”

As if turned out, it was a thrilling ride from one end to the other. We glided over the trees at first, but gradually the line dipped lower until we were gliding between the trees instead, until we reached the other end. As soon as everyone had traveled across the zipline, we were advised about the next obstacle that awaited us. It was another type of suspension bridge that our guide called the “Bridge of Doom”.

It was another unique and interesting bridge that was comprised of six cables. The top two cables were about 3.5 feet (1 m) apart, and those cables were connected to the two lower cables by a series of vertical cables. Between the two lower cables were fastened to vertical sections of logs that would serve as the walkway. The sections of logs were about nine inches high (23 cm) and seven inches in diameter (18 cm), so we were actually walking on one end of those logs as we crossed the lengthy gap. The bridge would sway as we crossed it, and all together the cables and the bottoms of the logs formed a “V”.

There were also large gaps between the vertical cables that were big enough for even the largest member of our group to fall between, but that had been accounted for as well. “As you can see,” the guide explained, “there is an additional cable that runs chest high just inside the vertical cables on the right side and it’s where you’ll connect the strap from your harness. That way, the cable and your harness will prevent you from falling between the gaps.”

“That sounds reasonable, but what about the other side?” Daniel asked me in a whisper. I didn’t think the guide had heard his question, so I was surprised when he answered it.”

“There is a sixth cable that runs along the outside of the vertical cables on the left side that you can also grab onto if you lose your balance. You are also able to grab onto the vertical cables as you make your way across the bridge, if it helps you maintain your balance or gives you confidence as you traverse the bridge. It’s 2,360 feet (719 m) long, and since your weight will make it sway, you probably should do it one at a time. You can try it with more people, if you all agree and try to coordinate your movements.”

Some of us attempted to cross it in pairs, but the rest went one at a time. I went behind Clint, and Devin went behind Daniel, and we watched them closely as they moved along. If they were stepping with their right leg/foot, we’d step with our left. This would cause our weight to balance out as much as possible, so the bridge didn’t sway as much from side-to-side. As soon as all of us reached the far end of the Bridge of Doom, we only had to make a short walk before we reached the next zipline.

“The fourth zipline is the steepest of all the ziplines,” the guide informed us, which caused us to glance down to check it out. We could immediately see that it went over some trees and glided past others at first, and when it got closer to the ground, it flew over a plethora of shrubs. The entire distance, however, ran along another very rocky area on our right

Following another short walk, we came to what was the fifth zipline, which was probably the most fun zipline of all. “As you can see,” the guide began, “there are two ziplines that run side by side, so what do you think that means?”

“We can race!” several of us responded.

“Exactly, so choose the person you want to race against and we’ll get started.”

And race we did, with reckless abandon, well except when Ma and Dad raced, because they took it a little easier. These ziplines were 600 feet (183 m) long and glided over, past, and between various trees as they went along, but it was all quite safe.

Once we were all together again, we had to make another short walk to get to the final zipline. “This is the last zipline and probably the most scenic. That because it travels over a small stream that meanders through this gap, and when you reach the end, you will see various buildings that have been constructed on the right side. I hope you find this a suitable and appropriate ending to your zipline adventure.”

As we reached the end of this zipline, we found that we were a short walk from the satellite outfitter’s building and the vehicles that had brought us here. Now, we were off to have lunch before heading out on another rafting adventure.

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