Small spaces, as in being confined in them, which was tested twice recently. First at The Royal Gorge Bridge and Park where I got on a gondola with my husband and son to travel over the magnificent gorge. Now you would think it would have been the heights that had freaked me out, or the motion of the gondola swaying back and forth, but it wasn’t. The only thing that had bothered me was the sign posted inside the gondola that read, “This gondola may make sudden stops. Please stay calm and stay in the gondola”.

Really!?  Who in their right mind would try to leave this hot, packed, swaying contraption as it’s hovering more than 1,000 feet above the Arkansas River?

Me. I would. Seriously. If we stopped moving and got stuck up there, then yes, you would see me trying to climb out the window because I would rather plummet to my death than be stuck in a small space.

Okay, you guys can stop laughing now.

But since one of my goals in this new lifestyle is to experience life to its fullest, that often means conquering our phobias in the process. So I got on the gondola in spite of that evil sign, and fortunately for me, and all the other crazy people in there with me, we made it safely across—without any sudden stops. Which means no dangling from a window for me! Although, we did walk the bridge coming back, because like I said, heights are not my phobia.

And the next time we come to see my parents here in Canon City, I will even ride the zip line across. You can’t get more open than being strapped in a harness flying through the air.

So what was the other event that tested my greatest phobia?

Riding a train under the Royal Gorge. No, a train is not a small space, but some of the corridors within it are. You know that feeling you get when your heart starts to race, your body temp rises, and your face gets flush? That’s what happened to me every time I went through one. Let’s just say I got real good at knowing where every escape window was located. And yes, I would dangle out one of those too if I had to!

But in the end, the experience, and spending time with my family, was worth every agonizing minute. (Okay, it wasn’t that agonizing. I’m not that much of a wimp.) 😉

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think about our adventures so far.

Lisa

P.S. The fact that my greatest phobia is being trapped in a small space and I live in a 5th Wheel did not escape my notice. And I know I said this would be in two posts, but the pictures became sad when I tried to separate them.