Explore OK {Riversport Adventure 2019}

Three years ago we ventured a couple hours west to Oklahoma City for a day of adventure and white water rafting at Riversport Adventure. Combining being active with being outside and add in water – pretty much the perfect way to spend time for our crew. Three years ago the boys were all tall enough to go rafting, but the girls didn’t make the height cut. Riversport invited us to come back out this summer (this post is sponsored by Riversport) and we were all hoping the girls would be tall enough, but our youngest is just a tiny thing. She probably still has a few more years to go. It is hard being the youngest…and being extra small.

Since we knew she would have to sit out for a while, we began the day in the youth zone – just for her.

Once the guys’ appointment time arrived for rafting, we headed over for the safety briefing. She stayed close by and learned all the necessary information…even though she knew she couldn’t get on the raft.

Her big sister has dreamed of rafting and going on a zip line too. The girls have grown up watching their parents and brothers get to do all the ‘fun stuff’ while they had to wait to grow taller and heavier.

This was the year for our oldest daughter – she could finally hit the water! While the two of us left on the ‘shore’ wished we could join too, it was pretty awesome for both of us to watch the others on the rapids.

White water rafting – done.

Next up – zipline.

Our oldest daughter made sure we checked off her bucket list items first thing. The zipline begins at the top of the tall structure pictured below and goes across the Oklahoma River. Once on the other side, there is a second zipline that brings you back across the river to the smaller platform pictured.She waited so long for this moment. Chris and her sister were below in a kayak. I was actually in line at the very top getting ready for my turn to zipline when I saw him load my camera bag into a small kayak and start paddling across the water – not something I would have done!Aside from the rafting and zipline, there are numerous other ‘adventures’ to enjoy. The boys hit up all the rock walls and anything that involved bouncing or jumping.

The girls – naturally – did the same. When these two started climbing I glanced away and by the time I turned back they were at the top. They flew up the rope and wall! The last time we were here (3 years ago) they were not big enough to try any of this kind of stuff. It was so fun to watch them.

As we were wrapping up our oldest daughter wanted to go on the SandRidge Sky Trail (80ft tall, 6 levels of challenges). The boys were still climbing the rock wall and her sister was too little. Once she got up there, she flashed a fake pout my way in an effort to get me to join her.

Of course – I did.Once I got up to her she changed the plans on me. Instead of doing the the different challenges, she wanted to do the Rumble Drop – an 80 ft free fall! It was not on my list of things I WANTED to do, but I’m also not really scared of stuff like that, so I began the climb up with her.

Once at the top she got giddy and then nervous. She was strapped in and told to just take a step off. She would begin the 80 ft free fall and then the safety cord would slow her down. Standing on an edge 80 feet in air and being told to just step off is pretty intimidating – way more than the zip line!

You can see in the pictures below she got to the edge and looked back at me – so scared. I tried to encourage her to go for it, but I could tell it wasn’t something to push. I asked her if I went first if she would go. She said, “No.” She said she was done and there was nothing that would makes her want to do it.

I didn’t really want to do it. I’ve had 4 babies – free falls are not the best idea! I debated turning around and walking back down with her, but I knew deep down she needed to see me do it. She needed to see me be brave. She needed to see it would be okay.

So I stepped off.

And once I got to the ground, guess who walked up to the edge and stepped right off? (these pictures make it look so slow! The first second or two is a free fall straight down…then you get slowed down)

I was so proud of her. She told me she walked to the edge and told herself that is was just a leap of faith and that she can do leaps of faith. I told her it is easy to do stuff that is easy for us. It is easy to go about life only doing the things that we are comfortable with, but ‘going scared’ – that is when some of the very best things in life happen.

Fear keeps us from so much in life. Helping my kids to learn to do it (whatever ‘it’ is) despite being scared is a big deal to me. Chris would not be doing the work in the foster care realm that he does if we had let fear hold us back. I would never have started a photography business if I had let fear have a say. We would not have adopted if we hadn’t chosen to do it scared. I’ve learned over and over and over again that when I go scared it is almost always the best decision. This girl learned that a bit more standing up on that platform. I have a feeling there will be many times in the future that a leap of faith will be required of her and she will remember standing high in the air and going scared.

I’m so grateful I was there to witness it.

I shared a few tips for Riversports Adventures last time we visited and wanted to include those again.

My Tips:

• Wear secure shoes (no flip-flops allowed). We had flip-flops and had to make a quick run to the store to get better shoes. Most people wore Chacos or similar shoes. I would not wear running shoes if you want to do any of the water activities too.
• If you got on a hot day with kids under 48? bring socks. My girls really loved the Cloud Bounce and trampoline, but you can’t wear shoes and it was pretty hot. They would have jumped longer if they had socks.
• If you want to do the zipline, I would do it first thing when you arrive (as in when the park opens). The line can get long and the wait can be really long.
• Reserve you whitewater rafting time before you arrive. You can reserve a spot online so you are sure to get one. I would do a later rafting time and do the zipline first if you are arriving when the park opens.
• Wear active clothes and longer shorts or yoga capris. I had on khaki shorts…not so great with a harness. Short gym shorts also get pulled up by the harness.
• There is not a ton of shade on the actual activities. Pack sunscreen.
• Food. There is a concession stand and restaurant on site. You can get free cups of ice water at the concession stand near the Ropes course.
• Be sure to read the rest of the Important To Know tips on the website.
• The website has tons more info, I’d take time to read it all.

There are several options for tickets based on what you want to participate in and there are also season passes and day passes. I recommend doing it with kids that see the 48″ requirement because there is so much more for them to participate in. That being said the Youth Zone pass is only $10 a day, so it is still an awesome deal.

You can find more about Riversports Adventures in the following places:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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