Secondhand adrenaline

I had already agreed to cliff-diving, deep-water soloing, and water skiing. So when Dex wanted to pick his way up to an interesting-looking cave in the walls of the Bighorn Canyon—more of a hike than a climb, really—I didn't see any reason to stop being The Most Awesome Mom Ever.

I was keeping a leisurely eye on him as I lounged in the sunshine on my sister's new boat, 100 yards away. Halfway up to the cave, though, I saw Dex lose his footing. He slid a few inches in the rocks, seemed to recover, but then pointed himself down the hill and RAN straight into the water. It was about a 45-degree angle down to the lake, and I have no idea how he stayed on his feet until slashdown. It was one of the strangest and most amazing things I have ever seen.

When he got back to the boat, I asked what on earth he'd been thinking to try something like that. It turns out he wasn't thinking about tumbling down the canyon wall and killing himself on sharp rocks. He was thinking of the large snake body he'd seen—and the loud rattle he'd heard—after disturbing the ground.

Oh. Okay then.