Bolder Adventure Park

My brother-in-law and his wife are visiting for a few days, so we decided to try out Bolder Adventure Park today. We were looking for something active and fun to do indoors to avoid the blazing 100+ degree weather outside, and it delivered. We bought the middle package, which let us do everything but rock climbing, zip lining, and the ropes course…none of which Troy would have wanted to do anyway. But there was enough to do with that package to keep us entertained for four hours.

The first thing Troy wanted to check out was the net course, which was a series of obstacles enclosed in cargo nets. You had to climb up net bridges, walk across thin swinging boards, and crawl through net tubes that arched up and over…all while being some 20 or 30 feet off the ground. It was a virtual playground fit for a monkey, and he absolutely loved flying through the obstacles. Of course, he couldn’t do it alone, so I was conscripted to do it with him. And while I did fit through the obstacles, I didn’t go through them nearly as quickly or as spryly as he did. But it was an amazing workout!

After the net course, we decided to check out the giant tube slide, which consisted of careening down a giant slide some 30 feet in an inner tube. Troy and I even managed to get my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to try it. The slide was actually a series of plastic bristles that allowed the tubes to glide across them and reduce friction. Essentially, the bristles allowed you to reach breakneck speeds while careening at an impossible angle toward the floor. And it was amazing! I’m actually surprised that Troy even wanted to do it, but more surprised that he wanted to do it again…and again…and again. Honestly, the worst part of the experience wasn’t the slide itself, but the stair tower that you had to climb to get up to the start of the slide. Which was made even worse when Troy’s little legs started to get tired, and he insisted that I carry him on my back up the tower. And then it was back to the net course.

After that, we enlisted everyone, even my wife, who was doing her best to avoid all activity by using the excuse that she was the official photographer, to play a form of laser tag. It was more like a cross between laser tag and paintball. You used compression guns to fire foam balls at targets or your opponent’s vest to score points. My wife, my son, and I were on one team, and my brother-in-law and his wife were on the other. Everyone had a blast, focusing more on shooting each other than the targets. And then it was back to the net course.

The last thing that we tried was the bumper cars, which were giant donut-shaped cars that you could ram into each other. If you hit your opponent’s car in just the right spot, you could make their car lose control and go spinning in circles. My son, sister-in-law, and I decided to give it a try. I have to say that they were both ruthless. I spent the entire time spinning out of control, because they were both taking me! And if they weren’t hitting me, then I was bumping into the rail on the side to get away from them and spinning myself out of control. We all had a lot of fun. And then it was back to the net course.

My entire body was sore at this point from chasing Troy around the net course. I was also hot and tired. Even the industrial fans they had along the walls, which had enough force to blow you backwards, weren’t keeping me cool enough. But still Troy found the energy to keep playing. We spent the remaining time, alternating between the net course, giant slide, and bumper cars. That is until my poor body couldn’t take it anymore. But Troy and I were the last ones standing. Everyone else had given up long before we finally threw in the towels. And on the bonus side, Troy was out like a light tonight. He actually wanted to go to bed! So, I guess we finally wore him out. Now, I’m going to go take a half a bottle of ibuprofen and go to bed myself.