Zipline in Wallace, ID with Silver Streak Zip Lines

Oh what an adventure.  Bonnie, Sarah, Patti and I channeled our inner dare devil to ride 6 zip lines on Friday before Bloomsday.  The ride to Wallace, Idaho was full of laughing, joking, and chatting!  It was fun.  "Are you nervous?" That was a common question for sure.  We were all a bit nervous.  I was anxious to let loose a little more than the last time I did this.  Patti told us that she had to run and jump to take off and run on the landing when she did zip lining in Hawaii!  No way I would do that with my bum knee.  Same for Bonnie, knees don't work like they should.  First question asked at the Silver Streak office was, Do we have to run on the landings or take offs?  NOPE!  Great, let's blast off.                                            

OHHH, this is real.  Look at all the gear! It is starting to sink in that we will be flying through the forest soon.  

Our guides for the day, Drew and Ian.

No White Flags!  Supporters of Team Gleason are ready and still smiling.

What does this look like?  A toilet paper roll being replaced?  You got it right.  My husband, Mike, likes certain things done a certain way.  When he wants me to know he has to show me.  Example, how to put the forks in the dishwasher tines down.  I tell him I know what that means and he still wants to show me.  Before we left for Wallace, I called Mike into the bathroom to show him something.  He figured out quickly what I wanted to show him. How to put the toilet paper roll on the holder.  He was a good sport and let me take him through the steps while he replaced the roll.  THEN, I went to the restroom at the Silver Streak office.  I noticed that the toilet paper roll was off  the holder.  I called Ian and asked him to come into the restroom.  He was a little confused and maybe scared?  I told him I wanted to show him something.  He figured out what I was doing quickly.  HMMMM.  Has he experienced this before? He did a great job of getting that roll on just right.  Nicely done Ian.  I just couldn't resist.

All geared up and still smiling!

We had a nice bus ride up a tiny, little, steep road.  Pictures to come.

There was writing all over inside the bus.  It was a nice distraction because you could read the writing and not see the road we were on.

I took this picture through the bus window.  I did mention that it was time to clean the bus windows.  Cramping my photographic style.

The first line.  We walked up to the platform.

Then we got instructions on the do's and don'ts of zip lining.

One at a time we marched up the stairs and got hooked onto the platform so there would be no falling off the side.  Safety first.

Here comes Patti!

and Bonnie!

and Sarah.

We were all clipped in and one at a time we were unhooked and took the plunge down the zip line. Every time our gear was checked and Ian verbally went through all the steps of hooking us on the line.  We felt very safe.  This is Patti.

Bonnie

You had to grab a rope as you got close to the finish of the line and this is what Bonnie is doing.  I think she might be singing too.  Looks like it to me!

I think this is Sarah.  Hard to tell so far away.  Did I mention how long this zip lines were?

Sarah coming in for a landing.  There wasn't a lot of room on the landing so it was hard to get a face shot.  We were secured on the platform after landing so it was hard to move to get the best shot.  We were safe though.  Safety first.

There she is, Sarah! Sarah is Bonnie's daughter and boy was she fun to be with.  Just like Bonnie!

Ian is showing us what to do if we have a problem getting to the orange rope.

Ahhh, he isn't going to make it.

If you don't get to the rope you grab the zip line opposite of the direction you are moving.

Hand over hand until you reach the rope and you are safe.  Patti got to try this technique out once and it was no problem for her.

What a view!!!  God's creation made for us.  We have a great God for sure.  You know I have experienced his greatness so personally and I thank Him every day.  I am so blessed to be here seeing all of this!

On the right side of the picture you can see what the zip line looked like.  At least I think that is the same.  Am I right gentlemen?

Zip away Sarah!

I think this is the longest one.  1100 feet.  Called Dragon's Breath. Patti renamed it In Your Face because she had an encounter with the stopper and her face.  Ouch! Loved this one and did lots of yahooing.

Here is Patti coming in!

Grab it!  Nice job!

Hey, I had to give my camera up so I could be in the pictures.  Bonnie was in charge of the camera for a while. Nice job Bonnie, by the way.  Ian rigged up a bungee to hang my camera on. Very nice Ian.  We had to take it off and set it up for Bonnie.  We got the all clear from Drew on the other side of the zip line.  Ian said we had camera issues and when they were resolved we would be ready to zip! He was attaching the camera to Bonnie.  Are there any of my friends that can identify with this?  Having to wait for camera issues?  HMMM?

Getting unhooked from the zip line.

One of the take off places.  I can't remember what number this was.  Perhaps it was the "Problem Child."  This line is called that because the landing always seems to be a problem. I think the "Problem Child" was the line Patti got to use the technique Ian demonstrated.

We are having fun now, right?

Sarah coming in for a landing.

That is a long way down.

God's creation.  Beautiful.  We are all God's creations and made in the image of God.  We are all beautiful.

Creation displays God's "wondrous works." (Ps. 145:5)

Patti zip, zip, zipping.

The finish!

This was line number 5!  One left.

Smile Bonnie smile!

We asked if this line was our last zip line and pointed to a line that was about 10 feet long and went from the ground to a tree.  Nope that wasn't the last.  Thanks for the pose Sarah!  Our next zip line was a duel line and we got to race down the lines!

Before we got to race we had to change our best friends.  Our best friends are the huge metal things that hook us to the line.  The landing was different so the best friends were different.  Seriously, these things were not our best friends.  They couldn't talk or drink coffee!  What kind of a friend is that.

Here comes Bonnie and Sarah is already out of the picture.  Dang.  Missed the duel! I guess since Sarah was out of the picture Sarah must have been the big winner.

Look what was waiting for us at the end.  Not for me but for the other ladies.  Rumor has it that Rainer Beer is not good.  It was good to Bonnie, Sarah, and Patti on this day for sure.

Patti is icing her face where she got hit.

A toast to a successful day in Wallace, Idaho at the Silver Streak Zip Lines.  Beautiful!

Bonnie is looking at me like, what are you drinking Jackie?  Water?  Yes, water!

The group.  There was supposed to be two other people with us but they never showed up.  That made it extra fun for sure.  I didn't have to worry about taking pictures because these ladies are all used to me and my pictures.

NO WHITE FLAGS!

Drew and Ian didn't have any customers after we left so Drew was able to indulge!

On the way back to the office!  Love this picture of Ian!  Handsome young man and he has a really kind heart!

As we were getting in the bus I took my helmet off.  Drew said, "Where is your helmet?"  I said I took it off.  Whew!  He was relieved that I had it.  He said he wasn't worried about my head just his helmet.  He said that in the most loving way of course!

We were loaded in the but and the bus wouldn't start.  Not good but we weren't too worried because we were having fun.  The driver tried again and Ian jumped out to help.  No luck!

Hmmm what could be wrong?  All of a sudden the engine roared.  They were playing a joke on us.  No problems with the bus at all.  My kind of guys.  I love a good practical joke!

Here is a picture through the front window of the bus.  Little teeny, tiny road!  Big drop on the right.  Good time to read the writing inside the bus and not watch the road.

As we got back to Wallace we were given a tour of the city.  This is John's house and rumor has it he changes the colors on his house all the time.

We were told this spot on the street was the center of the universe.  I am not that gullible.  I would like to see some scientific documentation before I believe that spot is the center of the universe.  

This is Walt.  Walt was told we were all from the Cuckoo's Nest.  What?  Not true! We were introduced to the locals as we drove around and we yelled out their names and said, "HI"!  That is not cuckoo! That is friendly!

This was a first!  We got to write on the outside of the bus because the inside was totally full or writing!

A day to remember for sure spent with good friends, new friends, and family.

We asked Drew and Ian if they wanted to eat lunch with us.  It took a little prodding because they didn't know if we were serious.  We were!  Couple of nice men!  We discovered something about Ian.  He is very talented.  He taught himself to play the piano and he is a singer.  There is a video at the end of this post of him playing a song he composed.  Ian is the total package if you ask me.

Zags fans are everywhere!

Couldn't resist a picture of this!  It's funny!

The end!  A great day making new friends and spending time with friends and family! Don't forget to click on the video below to hear some fantastic piano playing.