My family doesn’t exactly shy away from adventure. We’ve hiked snowfields at the top of the Rockies and trudged through 109-degree October heat in Death Valley. We’ve “bushwacked” along boulder-strewn mountain streams, crossed international borders, and have road-tripped over 30k miles with all eight of us in one car. There’s not much we haven’t done…but there was one thing.
Snow-tubing.
I knew ahead of time that the track was 900 feet long, hilly, and that we could expect to reach speeds of 30 mph, but WOW it is ever jaw-dropping in person. The kids (some of whom are pictured) started freaking out in a good way. My mom offered to go wait in the car. Business as usual, LOL.
When they opened the tubing park, we were first in line. And my almost-youngest, it turns out, was first down the hill because in his attempt to get into starting position, he got too close to the edge and went over. I’ve never seen such a look of utter shock and joy existing simultaneously one person’s face (and probably horror on mine). Seconds later, everyone else in their respective lanes took off after him, and I didn’t get a chance to ask how it was because we were next.
Oh, boy, were we next.
You can connect up to three tubes if conditions permit, so I hooked my tube to my poor, petrified mother’s (we drag her onto so many adventures, lol) and my oldest son’s and we FLEW down that hill. Down the hill, airborne as we crested hills, past the mats, through the unloading zone, and in obscenely cartoon-like fashion, against the wall. My son – who was in the front of our trio – tried to dig his heels in the snow to slow us down, which resulted in gigantic chunks of ice flying directly into my face. (He later pointed out this was probably better than hitting the barrier harder, but the jury is still out on that.) He plowed into the wall, then the tubes sort of accordioned and we did a coyote-and-roadrunner quality splat that had all the staff at the bottom of the hill running for us in a panic. We were laughing too hard, sprawled like debris on the snow, to assure them we were unbroken, but we were fine.
After that, they (wisely, but unfortunately) banned three tubes at once. And THAT is why I learned that by going solo, you spin. Backwards, airborne, I almost died a second time. My mom spun so fast going downhill that she lost her shoe, flinging it several lanes over. And after laughing when my husband slipped, I wiped out behind him and couldn’t get back up because that just made me laugh harder, especially after my 11 yo saw me laying there and yelled KARMA and kept going. (She is her one-hundred percent her mother’s daughter.)
Needless to say, we all had a great time. And I definitely need to keep karma on my good side, because next year we’re going back.
And next year, I’m definitely going to be on skis.
If you prefer fire to ice, you’re going to want to grab a copy of my firefighter romance, HER SEXY CHALLENGE, where my heroine’s terribly embarrassing experience turns into the kind of swoon-worthy romance that would melt a whole mountain full of snow. (With my luck, while I’m on it…but y’all go ahead. We’ll risk it! 😀 )
Pick up Her Sexy Challenge by Sarah Ballance for just 99¢!
Caitlin Tyler doesn’t do bridges—she just doesn’t know it until she lands her dream job and freezes halfway across her new town’s towering death span. Cue the cocky, infuriating fireman who goads her off the bridge. He’s hot, but he’s also exactly the kind of guy she wants to avoid…which she manages to do for a whole four hours.
Lt. Shane Hendricks is only two weeks away from leaving Dry Rock. He sure as hell doesn’t need to get involved with a woman he has to rescue twice in one day. The fact that she’s clearly annoyed by him doesn’t deter him from throwing down a challenge—one that proves hard to resist for all the wrong reasons.
They’re moving in different directions. Leaving should be easy, but falling for Caitlin might be the one fire he can’t put out…
Sarah and her husband of what he calls “many long, long years” live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom, she often jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has to make them up. (As it turns out, her characters aren’t much better than the kids). To learn more about her work in contemporary, historical, and supernatural romance and romantic suspense, please stalk accordingly. To sign-up for Sarah’s newsletter, sign-up here: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/t/0B801D3AA4F986BF
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