#10 leap off a cliff

what goes up must come down

#10 was taking a leap of faith off a cliff into a large bottomless (at least that's what i kept telling myself) body of water. a friend recently told me about a little spot along lake whitney in whitney, tx where you can cliff jump. i've been wanting to go ever since. unfortunately, not everyone is too keen on jumping off of cliffs.

lucky for me, my eager wait didn't go on for too long. 4th of july weekend rolled around and my fearless boyfriend -finally- came back to the good ole US of A after spending 9 very long months in afghanistan. i could not be more proud of him nor more elated to have him back safe and sound. with very little convincing, after enjoying a nice sunday afternoon, we headed to lake whitney.

the drive from dallas to whitney took about an hour. we listened to some great music the whole way and time flew right by ;). we first stopped at lake whitney state park. we quickly realized this is not where the cliffs are. they do have some great opportunities for camping, hiking and picnicking but that was not on the day's agenda. we asked for directions and were guided to soldier's bluff right around the corner. 

my trail guide

the not-so-dinky cliff

after seeing a large body of water, we knew we were in the right place. once you first walk up to the water there are a number of cliffs. i'll be honest-- they're a little dinky and i was a little disheartened. in all fairness, we have been getting lots of rain lately. a local told us the water has raised significantly and the cliff used to be a much bigger jump. instead of settling for this cliff, we walked along a path to see what was up ahead. and there it was. this was the cliff i had heard about. as excitement rolled in, so did fear. there was nothing dinky about this cliff.

there were already a number of people at the top of the cliff jumping, cheering friends on or just watching others jump. there was a younger guy still in his converse trying everything to psych himself out to make the jump. he told me he had been trying to jump for about 4 hours. everyone at the top of the cliff was cheering him on-- that's what i love about texas. strangers or not, a friendly personality makes every situation that much better. everyone excitedly gave him an encouraging countdown. as we all thought his moment to jump was finally here, he stopped. and so did my heart. he stopped right at the edge of the cliff. 

i was near heart failure

he did this again a few more times until he finally mustered the courage to go off the cliff. i didn't say jump, because he didn't jump. he looked like he was contemplating between jumping and stopping and instead just walked right off. again, my heart stopped as did everyone else's at the top of the cliff. i gained a pulse again as i saw him resurface with a mile long smile and a face beaming with pride. i then knew, if he could it.. i could too.

away he went

david's turn was next. without any hesitation he just went. he ran and jumped off the cliff. if you blinked you would have missed it. a part of me was in awe at his fearlessness while the other part of me was panicking because that meant i was up next.

after jumping you have to swim to a corner, climb up some rocks, then walk back to the cliff. it isn't too far away but it bought me some time to hide my nerves, well make an attempt to hide them, and talk myself into jumping.

once he who has no fear came back up to the top it all became real. it was my turn. i was jumping off of a cliff. i was terrified. when i get scared i get the giggles. so there i was at the top of a cliff, surrounded by people i had just met, giggling. 

i attempted to stall in every way i could think of. once i ran out of ideas, they gave me the countdown just as they did the scared guy before me. i knew i couldn't chicken out. i just couldn't. as the numbers neared 1, i said my prayers, sucked up my  fear, ran to the edge and did it. i just jumped. 

it wasn't until about mid-air with no ground beneath my feet that i realized i had actually jumped. then i remembered "pencil, they said do the pencil!" so i penciled away and hit the water. after swimming to the surface, i paddled around for a moment just letting it all sink it. it was a thrilling experience.

stalling with pictures

busted for stalling

we both jumped off one more time then swam around in the water just admiring the calming scenery and enjoying the day. it was a gorgeous sunny day, the lake water was surprisingly beautiful and spending quality time with one my favorite people made my cliff jumping experience unforgettable.

unfortunately there was a lot of trash around the cliff. beer bottles, soda cans, water bottles, broken glass, the works. which is sad. we live in texas, y'all. haven't you heard? don't mess with texas. other than the garbage found around the lake, lake whitney is wonderful. the day was perfect and a fear i never knew i even had was conquered.

welcome home, david!

i guess the moral of the story is yes, if you jumped off a cliff, i would too. if there was a deep body of water underneath and you swam safely to shore without a scratch on your pretty little head. see you again soon lake whitney and a big thank you for all you do to this incredible guy! 


to read more about lake whitney state park, click here:

lake whitney state park

i thank God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.

e. e. cummings