The O's Odyssey to China: Bonus Blog - Into the Belly of Crazy Horse!!!

Where are you Going Claire??

This Bonus Blog is dedicated to our new friends at CMRCA(Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures). Ooan, Bo and Aut were amazing guides and made us feel safe and encouraged everyone all day. These guys were very professional. We also want to thank Thomas Enz for being a great companion during the day. Enjoy the rest of your trip Thomas, we will definitely keep in touch. Finally, we want to thank Cash and Keng from "Flight of The Gibbon" for an awesome zip lining experience. We have a new appreciation for Gibbons and The Rain Forest because of you.
This bonus blog is going to be told with many pictures and a small video. I didn't do the pictures in a slideshow because you need to see some of the amazing sights at large size. I know you will enjoy this one!!!
SCHOOL: NO SCHOOL STORIES, WE'RE ON VACATION, LOL LOL LOL!!!!!!!
ADVENTURES: You probably already have a good idea what this bonus blog is about, but I need to fill in some of the empty space. To begin, we left The Secret Garden on Monday morning and were picked up by CMRCA in town. When we were picked up we met our guides for the day and Thomas Enz. Thomas is vacationing in Thailand from Switzerland.
All of us then rode in the back of a pick up truck (yes, I said in the back of a pick up truck). For those of you that are old enough to remember, this used to be one of those simple pleasures that was allowed in the United States.

Crazy Horse Buttress,
Photo taken by sgclimb.com

Anyway, I digress so lets keep going with the story. We rode for about an hour into the hills of Chiang Mai. We stopped for a short break to use the restroom and pick up the rest of our provisions for the day. The trip then continued in the truck for about another ten minutes until we arrived at a camp just below a place called Crazy Horse Buttress.
Ooan, Bo and Aut then gave instructions to our group and then we made our way up the hill to do some climbing. The rock we climbed was quite different than what we are used to at home. It was made of old limestone. It had great texture and is a lot easier to climb than the granite that we are used to at home in Yosemite. The first climb was about 40 ft. and we all made it to the top. Even our friend Thomas did well and he had not climbed very much. Here are some pictures of the morning climb. This was a warm up for what was to come later. We climbed for about two hours. The height was a little bit of a stretch for Taylor, but she made it two the top as well. She did have a little motivation to make it, because we told her that she couldn't have any lunch unless she made it to the top. I know, we are very demanding parents.

Ready to Climb!

After the morning climb we walked back down to the camp and had a nice lunch. The crew gave us warm fried rice with eggs and chicken. We also had fresh pineapple to finish off our meal. It was great comfort food.
We were then informed that the first activity of the afternoon was to do some rappelling. Cecelia and I have both done some rappelling before, so we just assumed that we would be rappelling down the face of a cliff. We were to be shockingly surprised.

All of us then refilled our water bottles and started up for the afternoon climb. We hiked up the buttress a bit and actually did go into The Belly of Crazy Horse.

The Belly of Crazy Horse

After going through the belly we hiked over the shoulder and went down a gap in the rock. We were then presented with the biggest surprise of the day. A huge cavern opened up before us and the guys told us that we were rappelling into it. The looks on the faces of Taylor and Claire were priceless. A mixture of terrified, excited and a "What the hell did you get us into this time dad" look.(Of course my children would never think of using bad words, but that was the look they gave me.) When they both gave me their looks the only thing I could say to make them feel comfortable was "Awesome, I can't wait".

Our Crew getting ready to drop 210 ft. into a cave

They then asked me if I had ever done anything like this and I told them, "Yeah sure, something similar." They seemed to feel a little better until the guide told us how far it was to the bottom. Ooan said "it is only 70 meters to the bottom, no problem." I agreed and encouraged the girls, all the while thinking to myself "Oh crap, 70 meters. That's roughly 210 feet." I didn't tell the girls the calculation I was doing in my head, I just hoped they weren't doing the same thing. Cecelia, the stud of the group went first. She did a great job of doing the distance quickly and hooting and hollering along the way to let the girls know that it was safe and fun.

Taylor hooked in and ready to rappell

Taylor then went next. She determined quickly that she didn't like gravity very much. She made it to the bottom and talked the entire way down. It was then Claire's turn. Claire put on a brave face and then made the descent into the cavern. We have figured out the differences between the two girls when it comes to being scared and nervous. Taylor is a chatter box, while Claire is contemplative and quiet. I couldn't have been more proud of them. They both did an outstanding job facing their fear and conquering it. It was finally my turn to go. The drop into the cavern was exilerating and amazing. Most of the way you could bounce off of the rock with your feet and then descend without too much difficulty. The only part that was a bit sketchy to me was the last 50 or so feet. The cave then dropped away and you then free fell to the bottom. Nothing like your stomach flying up into your throat as you dangle in thin air with nowhere to go but down. When we were all on the bottom we got the next surprise of the day. The cavern was full of beautiful rock formations and the sun was streaming in through a small opening to give the cave a surreal atmosphere.

Claire Ready to drop into what???

Our new friend Thomas made his way to the bottom and then we hiked out. I have added some amazing pictures to show you what the cave looked like. While hiking out I was struck by the brilliant colors of the rock. The browns and creams blended together to give us the image of melting chocolate flowing out of the ground. It was simply, ethereal.

After leaving the cavern we did one last climb. The final climb of the day was 80 ft. and quite a bit more difficult that the morning climb. Tay and Claire did their best but were just a little short to get past one of the more difficult sections. I know this because I went up after them and I had a hard time getting past it myself. About 60 ft. I almost gave up, but there was a promise of beer for getting to the top. I also wanted to do well for my girls. I will admit that I was one slip away from having them let me down, but I did take a break and faced down my fear of heights one more time to make it to the top. I had an amazing sense of accomplishment, because I had never done a pitch that steep or that high before. I do have to mention that Cecelia also made it to the top. She made it look much easier than I did.

Taylor looks like a juicy worm
on a fishing line!!

We then said good by to our friends at CMRCA and Thomas and were picked up by the truck from Flight of the Gibbon.

The hour long ride up into the jungle gave us time to rest and talk about how amazing the day was for our family. I thank the Lord for getting the opportunity to share experiences like this with my wife and daughters.

We were then dropped off at one of the villagers homes to stay in for the night. The village people in Thailand are gracious and very hospitable. We were made to feel welcome right away and were treated to one the most incredible meals that we have had so far. We had a tasty Lemon Grass and Chicken soup with rice. It also included this mixture of minced meat, garlic, celontro and tomatoes. Finally topped off with homemade banana chips and watermelon. We then ended the evening by having three other village women coming to the home and giving all of us massages. It was a first for both Taylor and Claire. Taylor enjoyed her massage the most, she fell asleep on the mat while being massaged. I had to carry her to bed afterwards. So much for my massage, I almost threw out my back getting her into her bed.

The next morning we arose to the smell of breakfast being served. It was another meal that will leave memories with us for a long time. Warm soup with toast and fruit. Add a warm cup of coffee and tea to the mix and you have a perfect meal. The lady of the house was so thoughtful, that she heard Claire coughing the night before and made a cup of ginger tea special for her. It was great getting to know that woman of the house a little. She was beaming with pride as she shared with us a picture of her son. He is a monk in one of the local Buddhist Temples. I imagined it was the same feeling that some families get when their sons go into the priesthood.

We were then wisked away for our zip lining adventure. Here is a short video to give you an idea of the amount of fun we had. Taylor enjoyed it so much that she was ready to take a job as a zip line guide. She absolutely loves Thailand.

The following are some other pictures for you to enjoy!!! Wait until you get Sundays blog. It will be a blockbuster for some of you. I will give you a little hint, it has to do with furry critters. Always like to keep you guessing. See you then!!!!