DocAndersen
The kids love rock climbing. It is something that I honestly haven’t been interested in for many years personally. More from a fear of falling than the reality of the effort to climb the wall, I enjoy trying new things. I don’t know that I am a good fit for that activity. I did. However, I love taking the kids to rock climbing. Originally a gallon store in Indianapolis Indiana (actually Greenwood) then Dicks bought Galyons. Then Dicks because of lawsuits took down the rock walls all around the country. There are stores that still have Rock Walls, REI, and the place called outdoor adventure in Maryland. Called outdoor adventure, but the entire thing is indoors.
It is the old warehouse of a furniture company. The walls of the building are very high, so rock walls of various types and heights could be built. They also had a padded floor to make it safer. The kids in the first pictures we’re getting their initial lesson. There is, of course, a risk when it comes to climbing a rock wall. Things happen, and it is possible to get hurt. But it is also something that I wanted to make sure I was there the first couple of times. To make sure that things were safe. I have many years ago, had the opportunity to repel down the walls of an old quarry. I wanted to make sure that the place the kids wanted to go to was a little safer then repelling down a 40-year-old quarry wall.
I also wanted to see what they had done with the building. It is an intriguing urban renewal project. It took a lot of imagination to reuse old buildings for new things. It was also fun to walk around the building, and the furniture store was still open in ½ the building they just no longer needed the huge warehouse. When I repelled down the quarry wall we had the old style harnesses. The kids got the newer style, and there wasn’t a chance they could slip out of the harness. They were also learning with someone belying the rope. It makes for a safer experience. The kids did very well; even the twin that doesn’t like heights much did well. It was a lot of fun, and we’ve been back some times!
