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FLATHEADBEACON.COM JULY 16, 2014 | 71 WEEKEND OUTLOOK
WEEKLY ON-MOUNTAIN NEWS WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2014
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Fun Never Grows Old
Fun. It’s such a simple word. Yet so essential! The pursuit of fun, much akin to our country’s right to pursue happiness, is a wor-
“A very fun thing that you can go down and you can control your speed on it,” Gabri- elle said.
“It’s fast almost like free falling,” said Jack.
“But can also be slow if you want it to,” added Gabrielle.
I could not have said that better myself. So I asked them for a little more help:
What makes the Alpine Slide so fun?
“It is a great thing for anybody because it’s easy to do, fun and fast,” replied Jack.
Of course the one exception is that kids under 48 inches in height cannot go by them- selves because they are not tall enough to control the brake. This summer is the first summer Gabrielle is tall enough to go on her own. As one can imagine, she was very ex- cited!
“It is a good experience to have when you’ve never driven before,” Gabrielle said. “It’s an awesome feeling as if you are driving in a half pipe.”
In the interest of targeting our young read- ers I asked them: Why should someone go on
it?
“Because it’s a new experience,” Gabrielle
exclaimed.
“Because it’s out of the ordinary it’s not ev-
ery day you get to race along in a go-cart type thing,” Jack said.
Since Jack is a seasoned slider I asked him if he had any advice for anyone riding the Al- pine Slide:
“If you get a good start the whole rest of the slide will go by faster by a significant amount,” Jack said. (A very true statement!)
Prior to growing to the ripe height of 48
Riley thy endeavor. It’s fun to plan
Polumbus
fun, to travel to the fun and afterward share the memory of how fun the
fun was.
It’s not to be taken for granted, though
it easily can be, especially as we age. There comes a time when we need to let go of the serious things in our lives and make room for the fun. Some of us are lucky enough to fit it in to every day. I’m one of the truly lucky ones who makes a living by writing about fun which means I get to have fun at work.
For example, the other day I made plans to meet up with some friends for a late lunch at the Base Lodge Café. Getting there from my office up in the Hibernation House is half the fun. First I enjoy a lovely walk to the Lift Plaza and complete my journey with the Al- pine Slide.
Incidentally I’ve been asked several times this summer, “Exactly what is an alpine slide?” I’m amazed by this, but then again I take it for granted with it in my “backyard” serving as my mode of transport to lunch. We are the only Alpine Slide in the Great State of Montana.
So I asked two of my friends, Jack (age 10) and Gabrielle (age 8) to help me describe the experience:
“It’s like a large tube cut in half with many turns and dips that you ride through on a sled with wheels,” Jack explained.
Gabrielle, with or without Pam the Pink Adventure Monkey and doll Kelly, is tall enough to slide on the Alpine Slide or have her fun on Spider Monkey Mountain while Jack excels on the Alpine Slide. (Photos courtesy of Connie Agnew and Mountain Life Photography.)
inches, Gabrielle spent the last two summers climbing Spider Monkey Mountain. We ac- quired this 25-foot tall tower with adjoining inflatable slide so that our smaller kids could do something on their own while their par- ents could enjoy lunch or a cool beverage on our Base Lodge Patio.
Although she’s obviously quite excited about being able to slide on her own, Gabri- elle returned to Spider Monkey Mountain with her monkey friend Pam. Naturally, I had to ask: What do you like about Spider Mon- key Mountain?
“I like that you can climb on spongy things that are not too wobbly and then after you go
on eight levels and then you get to slide down a big bouncy slide,” Gabrielle explained. “I also like that no one tells you what to do so you can do whatever you want. You also get to go as many times as you want!”
Of course as she is an expert she had this advice to pass along, “Bounce down the slide because it’s more fun!”
Fun. There’s that word again. If you haven’t brought the kids up for a few hours of fun yet this summer, what are you waiting for? Now is a great time as we’ve just finished the remodel of the Base Lodge Café! Enjoy lunch and a few hours letting the kids have their fun.
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Photo © Noah Clayton
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