My dad is so afraid of heights its almost laughable - sometimes. Now I know that sounds horrific to say and not very nice, but I'm not sure how I ended up OK at heights where he is terrified. We never did anything as kids growing up at heights, because he wouldn't allow it. I learned at a young age to be able to make repairs to the swamp cooler on the roof because he wouldn't get up there to do it. One time I couldn't figure something out on the cooler so he climbed the ladder in an attempt to help me and as soon as his foot hit the roof he went spread eagle flat faced down trembling and wouldn't move. We had to drag him back wards towards the ladder and guide him off roof. (I think we then had to hire someone to make that repair later).
Why am I telling you this story, well, there is no way I'm going to ever get me dad to rappel into a slot canyon and join in on one of those adventures. I did grow up loving the outdoors because of him. We spent a lot of time on the mountain camping and fishing and even attempted hunting a couple of times (that a story for another time.)
My dad has really gotten a lot of enjoyment these past few years from riding his ATV. After all the kids moved out and he had money to burn now, he bought himself and ATV and he and mom have been riding trails all over Utah. Living in San Juan County there are lots of places to ride and we have talked about him coming down and riding some trails int he area. Finally we were able to make that happen. This video is a short compilation of the ride we took out to Tower Ruin. It's not a rough ride and can be actually accomplished with a decent clearance on a vehicle, but the concept of being able to jump on your ATV / UTV and leave from your home and go visit some of these locations is fantastic. Check out the video of my dad's first ride in San Juan County and go check out his You Tube channel: Utah ATV Adventures. He is starting out new sharing his riding experiences and the trails he has visited.
