I thought by now I'd seen all types of animal cruelty : surfing sheep, SUPing cats, parasailing donkies, sakeboarding dogs...But this should be at the top pf PETA's most "tortured animals" list:
Otis is a ten year old pug who grew up at the Lodi Parachute Centre in Acampo, Los Angeles who recently made his 64th tandem skydive strapped to owner Will DaSilva.
Will insists it isn't cruel, claiming Otis is a really happy dog and is well aware what is happening before every jump.
Otis is definitely living the dream, having a ball like a dog with its head out of the car window. Can't wait to see his first solo jump 😃
Watch Otis' story below:
Love adventure travel, fitness, and the great outdoors ?
Have your own Bucket List ?
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Being ExtraHyperActive, we're always on a lookout for new adventures and experiences ! And in Washington state, there is never shortage of awesome and exciting things to do ! All year round ! Indoors and outdoors !
And recently, we added another epic adventure to our Bucket List - indoor skydiving !
After doing my first tandem skydiving jump, and trying out tandem BASE jumping, I didn't think that indoor skydiving would be that exciting for me. But I thought, for my 9 year old, it would be a great memorable experience !
Do you know how many official and unofficial "national days'', festivals and holidays we have ? 365 !
National Dress Up Your Pet Day , Public Sleeping Day, Be Nasty Day, Blame Somebody Else Day...( here is the full list ). Don't believe it's true ? Just Google one of those days.
But the craziest, most exciting, adrenaline -filled day/celebration would be Bridge Day in West Virginia.
Bridge Day is an annual one-day festival in Fayetteville, West Virginia held on the 3rd Saturday of October that commemorates the 1977 completion of the New River Gorge Bridge.
But it's not just that. Bridge Day is one of the world's largest extreme sports festivals that celebrates the outdoors with a show you've got to experience to believe.
On this day, all four lanes of the bridge are closed to automobiles and opened to hundreds of spectators and adventure seekers. One day festival is packed with adventures of all kinds: BASE jumping, skydiving, whitewater rafting, rapelling, ziplining/highlining. Check out the vedeo
The Seattle Space Needle is our pride and beauty, historic landmark and a major tourist attraction. While many locals and visitors visit the Space Needle by taking an elevator to the observation deck, a few chosen ones had the privilege to fly over it...
Every summer, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels take over the sky for their performance during the Seafair hydro-race weekend...
But one summer day in 2010, the iconic Seattle space needle took a back seat to an insane wingsuit flight above the city. Locals all across the city were looking to the skies in wonder as the Red Bull Air Force performed never-before-seen wingsuit jumps for a project dubbed Red Bull Seattle Swoopers.
What are your thoughts when you're standing on the edge of a cliff looking down ? Have you ever felt the urge, this weird impulse, inside sensation to just jump ?
I have literally dreamed of this moment many times, and now it was about to happen...
It's true what they say : " Be careful what you wish for".
I month before my visit to Moab , I'd written a short post about Moab BASE Adventures that offered an unbelievable opportunity to try tandem BASE jumping off a cliff. I was so excited about it that I even added it to my Bucket List on Pintrest.
But when the opportunity presented itself.... I almost backed out !
It wasn't the fear of the drop itself, rather the fear of unknown...
BASE jumping is a relatively new sport, and tandem BASE jumping is even less known ( at least to an Average Joe like me ). Hence, there are a lot of questions go through one's mind : Is it safe ? Is it dangerous ? How high is the cliff ? How long is the free fall ? Do you need any specific training ? What happens if the parachute doesn't open ?
Though, no skydiving or climbing experience is necessary ( you just need to weigh fewer than 185 pounds and be fit enough to hike and scramble to the top), that's not the most important requirement.
When it comes to tandem BASE jumping, it's all about mental commitment...
That's probably why the company's first customers were climbers, skydivers, mountain bikers, people who are familiar with the feeling of "adrenaline rush", and are aware of the risks involved.
Tandem BASE jumping is not for everybody, it is not a roller coaster ride at your favorite theme park.
Now that I've done tandem skydiving, paragliding, and BASE jumping, I can say that there is something that sets BASE jumping apart from any other "extreme sport".
Most of the action in BASE jumping, at least at the novice level, occurs before the actual jump. In BASE jumping, the edge you're standing on is attractive in so many ways; it’s a boundary between the known and the unknown, the tame and the wild, the sane and the mad.
The range of feelings you're experiencing is enormous. Before a jump, you're filled with anticipation, fear, excitement, worry, anxiety, some more fear, and right before you're about to take a leap - tranquility…
A man paragliding above New York Harbour flew too close to the Statue of Liberty and found himself caught in its grasp.
The man, 41-year-old French stuntman Thierry Devaux, had been circling the 46m (151-foot) high statue in his paraglider.
But his motor-driven parachute became snagged on the torch and he was left dangling for about 45 minutes before managing to haul himself up by the parachute's ropes with the help of rescue workers.
I wrote about Bridge Day a few times already, but this is the first time I heard about Lonnie Bissonnette, a Canadian BASE jumper, who was injured in 2004 while making his 1,100th BASE jump.
It took him a year to get back into the sport. As of today, he's the only paralyzed athlete who has jumped from all four objects in BASE-(Building, Antenna, Span, Earth).
Below is a video of Lonnie Bissonnette rolling his chair off the bridge at Bridge Day in WV in 2010.
I came across an interview with him on basejumper.com where he talks about his life before and after the incident, his life philosophy and his passion for BASE jumping:
" I have always believed that I was going to die BASE jumping; from when I stood on the edge for the very first time in doing my first BASE jump."
I learned about Bridge Day a few years ago, and shared my excitement about its celebration in this post.
Yesterday I was shocked to find out that this year's celebration had a horrible accident:
Christopher Ryan Brewer, 27, of Pensacola, Fla., was among hundreds of BASE jumpers who parachuted from the New River Gorge Bridge during Saturday's annual festival. Emergency officials said Brewer's parachute didn't fully open and he plunged into the New River.
"Lucky" for him, he "walked away" with a pelvic fracture, lung injuries and a spine injury. Right now, Brewer remains in stable condition at a Charleston hospital.
The Register-Herald reports emergency responders estimate Brewer struck the water at a speed between 60 and 80 mph, and that his wingsuit, designed to allow a jumper to glide forward instead of falling straight down, may have helped slow his descent.
I mostly write about sports and adventures that I personally get to try. I've already dropped like a rock ( tandem skydiving ), soared like an eagle ( paragliding ) and floated like a butterfly (or sailed like a ship ? parasailing ). Now, I want to fly (?) like a bird...
OK, not to confuse you anymore, I am talking about wingsuit flying here. And unlike speed riding ( which won't be available to general public in US for sometime), there is a pretty good chance for anybody to try wingsuit flying...as soon as you get minimum ... 200 sky diving jumps. After that you can fly like a bird ( or like Superman, if you're a nerd with adrenaline addiction ).
A number of skydiving companies in US offer wingsuit classes. They can take you through all the steps. From rigging up a suit, to all pre-flight and in-flight procedures, in accordance with the international standards for wingsuit training. Also they'll fly along on your first jump and will shoot a cool video of you wingsuit flying !
Even if you've never jumped out of a plane before, if you commit to the goal of flying ( or as I try to emphasize in this blog - ANY GOAL IN YOUR LIFE ), you can make it happen !
When I was doing my search for how and where to learn to fly a wingsuit, I came across this site Fly Like Brick , and their best advice to anyone wanting to fly a wingsuit would be... jump and have fun! I think it's a great advice !
One reason I don't write often about one of the world's most dangerous recreational sports of base jumping is because ...well, chances are, I'll never get to try it. And it sucks to write about something I haven't personally experienced. The only thing left to do is to watch other people live their lives to the fullest.
In this post I posted a cool video about cave base jumping in the Cave of Swallows in San Luis PotosÃ, Mexico.
Recently I came across another great video of cave base jumping, this time in Muscat, Oman ( officially the Sultanate of Oman, a country in southwest Asia ).
Since I have a "caving" category on this blog ( and not too many caves in Washington to write about ), I thought I'd write a short post about Oman caves.
Oman offers some of the most hair-raising cave exploration in the world. Some of the interesting caves in Oman are the Jebel Akhdar massif, Kahf Hoti (the longest known cave in Oman that stretches up to five kilometers !), several caves in Jebel Bani Jabir, the most impressive being the three deep shafts which enter the chambers of Majlis Al Jinn - one of the largest underground chambers ever discovered ( large enough to hold the biggest of Egypt's pyramids).
The video below feature Felix Baumgartner, one of Red Bull's crazy dare devils jumping into Majlis al Jinn ( translates as The Chamber of Spirits ) cave. Until recently there had not been a way to reach the cave by car, so cavers had to hike in carrying their equipment or rent donkeys from a village a few hours walk from the cave entrance.
For several years tourism companies had been providing caving trips into Majlis al Jinn, but in 2008 the Oman government announced that people would no longer be allowed to enter the cave.
So, here is your chance to catch a glimpse of one of the world's most famous caves:
P.S : According to the news, in 2010 Oman's Ministry of Tourism is planning to develop one of the world's largest cave chambers into an eco-tourism attraction.
In my post " Too old for adventure ? " I wrote about Doris Matyasovich, a competitive MTB ( mountain biking ) racer, who started racing at age 45, and continued way into her late 60 ( she was 67 at the time of the article)...
According to The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa online survey ( summer 2010), 7% of the RAGBRAI cyclists were 65 or older. The average age of the Adventure Cycling Association's members is the mid-40s, with a spread of ages from the 20s to the 70s and occasionally the 80s. Although the Outdoor Industry Foundation reports that 27% of the bike riders in the US are 45 or older...
OK, we get it, old folks love biking. But what about something more extreme ?
Meet Poul Rasmussen from Denmark. His passion - kiteboarding. And his only ...85 ! He learned to kiteboard early in his 80's and absolutely loved it. He is so passionate about this sport that he can be found kiteboarding in below-freezing weather, and actively encourages other seniors to try it. He states in his interview that "50 - 60 years of age is nothing! Go live your life and I bet that you'll live longer and have more fun."
There aren’t too many 80+ surfer dudes in the world. But since 1940, John Zabotocky has been riding Hawaiian waves in Waikiki, and at 89, he was still a regular beachboy surfer.
It's not unusual to see people skiing or snowboarding in their late 50's , but skateboarding ?
Donna Vano, 56, holds three Guinness World Records as the Oldest Inline Vert Skater in the World, the Most Gold Medals in the USASA in all 5 disciplines, and the Oldest Female Amateur Snowboarder Competing in Pro Tours in the Superpipe. When Donna is not competing, you can find her at home, skating on the 11-foot ramp in her backyard.
Is climbing Everest on your Bucket List ? Don't be discouraged by the danger of climbing this mountain ( and the price you'll have to pay to climb it). The oldest person to have climbed Mount Everest is a Nepalese Sherpa called Min Bahadur Sherchan. He was 76 years and 340 days old when he reached the summit.
Still trying to find courage to take that leap of faith and try skydiving ? Frank Moody was 101 when he did it !
Young adults dominate the thrill seekers, but older people are jumping in as well. Skydiving, hang gliding, rock climbing, mountaineering, bungee jumping, white-water rafting, scuba diving and other extreme sports have all shown huge increases in participation.
Just because your body is starting to make funny noises and your kids have their own kids, it does not mean you are getting old. You still have plenty to do before the nursing home comes to claim you. Just don’t let that term life insurance agent know !
Are there any "extreme adventures" you think you are too old for ? Other than age ( and fear) is there anything else that stops you from trying something adventurous ?
Remember your birthday parties when you were a kid ? Your parents would come up with a birthday party theme, invite all your friends; there would be a cake, games, gifts...
I still remember many of my birthdays. When I was younger, my birthday was the best day of the year, a full 24 hours of celebration. As we get older ( especially 30 +), for some reason, we don’t look forward to our physical birthdays as much. May be it's because the event is a reminder of years gone by; may be because we realize that childhood cannot be revisited, and the happy times, the mistakes, the departed friends and relatives is a mere memory.
Some people ( including me ) get "a bit " depressed around their birthday. If you ever felt that way, let me quote Hervey Allen
The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits.
That's true for me. My last three birthdays were very memorable:
my 30s - birthday I went rafting ( and found my true passion - outdoors !)
my 31st - I tried tandem skydiving for the first time
my 32nd - I got my PADI certificate and went to Florida for an awesome mini vocation
My (BIG !) 33 is coming next week, and I have a few ideas in my mind ( but not sure yet ).
Ho do you celebrate your birthdays ? Do you plan anything special, extraordinary, exciting, memorable ? What would be your ideal birthday ?
God has made women to be loved and has endowed her with many qualities that men seek.
4 qualities that men usually seek in women:
The Movements - men are attracted by the way a woman walks. The Hair - while this may seem to be an exaggeration the long, soft and silky hair of women plays a long part in attracting men. The Eyes & Lips- women can convey many things without speaking a word just by their smile and the look of their eyes. The Body- women, dressed in clothes that enhance her figure are more likely to attract men than those who do not( and without clothes- even more likely:).
Am I missing something ? Did you say being intelligent, logical, punctual,direct ? Perhaps...
But how about having a sense of adventure, being driven, may be even dangerous, daring ? I know I'd love to meet a woman like that. A woman like Steph Davis- a climber, BASE jumper, wingsuit pilot and ...she has those 4 core qualities ( she's hot !):
For centuries, adventurers and explorers tried to get there by sled, ship, aircraft, dogs and balloons. Even today, reaching the North Pole is a difficult and challenging journey. Only a select few make it each year.
Previously, I wrote about Jonathan Trappe, who flew nearly 50 miles over eastern North Carolina in his chair attached to 55 helium-filled balloons. A similar post on the Adventure blog caught my attention. This time, french doctor and explorer Jean-Louis Etienne set out on an arctic adventure, with the goal of flying solo, in a hot air balloon, over the North Pole.
In 1897 Solomon Andree reached the North Pole by a balloon. In 1997 the first hot air balloon fiesta was held in the North Pole to commemorate the 100-th anniversary of the event. Since then every April the most courageous ballooning teams come to the North Pole to fill their balloons with a hot air and to soar high in the sky over the very top of the planet.
If flying over the North Pole isn't exciting enough for you, try skydiving in the North Pole ! There are practically no restrictions for skydiving in the North Pole. If you are an experienced skydiver you can jump solo. Or you can opt for a tandem jump together with an experienced instructor.
Flying in a hot air balloon still remains my dream come true. But flying over the North Pole, skydiving ?
Here is a chance to add your name to the short list of adventurers who have made the ultimate journey to the top of the world. ( and I'll take it !....as soon as I have 20K+ ).
After a little research I made my choice -''Skydive Kapowsin''. Comparing to some of their competitors they offer more for your money. It was a great unforgettable experience and lots of great memories (also in the form of pictures and dvd). If you think skydiving is not for you, try paragliding for the first time or even less extreme version - parasailing.For more deatails , check out their web site.