Our First Rock Climbing Experience

Wow, has my idea of a vacation changed over the last year. Of course it's fun to relax, enjoy the delicious food, have a couple drinks and just enjoy the venue!  But I've now found myself looking for trails to run on, outdoor activities to enjoy, and various ways to enjoy the greater parts of wherever we're at, while staying active as well. Several months ago my dad decided he wanted to take a weeks vacation and have our kids come stay with them. They've enjoyed the week swimming, riding horses, going to the zoo, making homemade ice cream, and who knows what else!  Josh and I then started trying to figure out where we wanted to go to enjoy some time together. Neither one of us had ever been to Las Vegas, so we decided that's where we would go. We've had a great time just reconnecting as husband and wife, but the temperature has been over 110 degrees every day we've been here. This certainly put a damper in some of the activities I wanted to do. I really wanted to hike at the Red Rock Canyon and go kayaking, but it's just way too hot. 

We stayed at the Venetian hotel, which is just beautiful!  The spa has a 40 foot rock wall that you can climb, so we both decided it would be fun to do that since we couldn't do some of the other activities. I had originally planned on running 5 miles before we did the rock climbing, but my dear husband advised me not to. Have I mentioned what a wise man he is?  

We got our harness, shoes and helmet on (which I'm grateful for as I hit my head several times). I was beginning to get a little nervous, so Joshua went first. 

This all came very natural for him!

Josh made it through his first climb and then it was my turn!

We had a great instructor, who we discovered had a girl and boy the exact same ages as ours!

I finally made it to the top of my first climb!

It's quite a feeling to hit the bar at the top. I had no idea how tough and what a workout rock climbing is. Josh then did two more climbs (he's a monkey at heart).

He made it look really easy!

My next climb was really difficult for me. My hands were getting sweaty, my arms and legs were shaking and quite frankly I was just done. I had about 5 steps left to hit the top and told our instructor I couldn't do it and was ready to come down. She very quickly told me to take that word out of my vocabulary and that she wasn't going to let me down until after I hit the bar at the top. I finally regrouped and was able to finish the climb. I didn't realize I had an audience until I hit the bar and several people watching in the gym started clapping. I don't know why I let this challenge try to defeat me mentally, but wow what a great reminder that so many physical challenges aren't physical at all!

Josh did a couple more climbs and I did one more as well just to prove to myself that I was indeed strong enough both physically and mentally.  Then it was time for a healthy breakfast and some smoothies!

As crazy as it may sound, this was one of my favorite things we did together. I love working out with my man, and we'll definitely look into doing rock climbing again!  I strongly encourage you to look for activities to do outside of the 'typical' activities when on vacation. Definitely some unforgettable memories!

Blessings,

Krystal