I'm sitting here in the airport with a fractured hip, skinned knee, and multiple purple bruises. I even have a lovely Ace bandage supporting my sprained wrist—the one I am supposed to lead the crutches with.

This wasn't exactly the adventure I expected.

Tony had it all planned out. We were supposed to roam the entire state of Nebraska and only Nebraska. So much hiking was supposed to happen, but instead, accident-prone Amber decided to fall from a debated 30 feet onto rocks during a spur-of-the-moment Colorado lake trip.

So our Nebraska trip turned into a Midwest adventure that spanned five states and involved a lot of road-trip hours.

Do I regret it? Never.

Will this be the only blog about this trip? Also, that answer is no.

Welcome to part one, in which I describe what we actually managed to do in Nebraska and hopefully give you guys a reason to visit for yourselves.

Step 1: Fly into Omaha and meet up.

Step 2: Commandeer rental car.

Step 3: Head to Ash's new house.

Those all happened according to plan, more or less, including the anticipated Tony having problems with the rental car.

Does that happen to anyone else? It seems to always happen with us. Maybe it just takes practice. We'll get there—or he'll get his RV by then...who knows.

Ash and her giant tree were waiting for us when we finally managed to get to her house, along with all of her inside "critters" and several squirrel and bird friends. They're nestled in the suburbs outside Omaha in an amazingly quiet little neighborhood.

Ash and John proved to be amazing hosts, as expected. We even managed to have a wonderful "housewarming" party before we took off to explore more of the state parks and start our hiking.

We managed to hit the places around Omaha that we had on our planned list, as well as a few from the tourist guide I picked up at the airport visitors center.

For those who don't know—or seem to forget—if you stop by a visitors center, you can generally pick up a guidebook on local eats and tourist attractions. Sometimes those little books lead you to places you wouldn't have found otherwise.



We made wishes on Omar the Troll's foot underneath the pedestrian bridge, aka "Bob's Bridge."

Omar the Troll has a cute little story that you can find online at omarthetroll.com. You can sit with your kids on the bench, let them watch it, and then have them make a wish on his toe like it says within the story.

We didn't have kids with us, but we did sit on the bench and watch the excitement of all the little ones who walked near.

It's things like this—the small little details added into a city—that make it just that much more special.

Speaking of special, I think the best part of the entire trip, for me, was TreeRush Adventures.

It was one of the only places I picked out to go because I wanted to know what it was like to climb in the trees and zipline in the dark with ambient lights strung around while a live DJ played music.

Having a slight fear of heights, people seem to think I wouldn't actually love this.

People are wrong.


Most don't understand my love of adrenaline.

Games, puzzles, and exploration are things that make me feel like me, and all of those were found within this adventure.

I couldn't believe how easy it was to have my own zipline hooked onto me—well, when I wasn't getting stuck in inconvenient places, like on other ropes while trying to move through the courses.

They had various levels of courses, and seeing as we'd never been, we decided to start with the novice course and work our way up.

I believe we managed to hit five trails before our time was up.

This was definitely worth the money.

It felt like a much safer version of Ninja Warrior. Being hooked to a cable meant knowing I would be safe enough hanging there if I fell off one of the logs.

A few times, that was the only way I could continue.

At one point, I was trying to unhook myself from a rope I'd gotten stuck on while moving forward. I ended up standing sideways on a rope knot because I had gotten ahead of the rope while trying to fix it.

When we arrived, it was still daylight, and that was probably for the best. It allowed us to get familiar with how the courses and ziplines worked before darkness settled in.

The most trouble I had at first was simply learning how to transfer my hooks onto the cables.

Well...until the courses got more difficult.


The staff was amazing about checking to make sure our harnesses were always tightened and answering any questions we had.

One staff member even sat beneath me when I felt like I couldn't go on and encouraged me to find a way.

I had one foot on a white rope and was trying to balance myself with another so I could lean backward enough to unclasp my zipline from the side where I'd gotten stuck.

Every course felt like defeating another little piece of my fear.

By the end, I was even looking down at the wonderful foliage around me and realizing just how tall the trees we were standing in actually were.

When our time was up, I was sufficiently exhausted and ready to leave.

I did, however, manage to meet the very friendly DJ who had been stationed near the harnesses. He even gave me a memorable glow-in-the-dark ring meant for children, but I couldn't help wanting one.

That night is one I will never forget, and I know that when I end up back in the area, TreeRush will be a place I go back to.

We had our hike later, so we'll be going back to Nebraska in another article. Stick around so you don't miss out.

Conquering a fear is very liberating.

It seems as though everything I have ever tried has, at one point or another, given me a fear that has almost crippled me—until I actually get to the point of doing it.

Then, while it's happening, I feel as though I've just had the best push toward growth ever possible.

If you've never had that feeling, I am truly sorry for you.


I'm not actually fearless, as some people seem to think.

I'm full of fear.

But I'm also full of determination.

I will not let that fear control me. I will live my life seeing all the things I want to see. Hike all the mountains, ride the elevators, and climb the trees.

Because I am brave.

Don't be afraid of the fear. You'll miss out on the adventure.