WE TOOK A TOUR OF THE SHAWNEE
BLUFFS CANOPY TOUR IN MAKANDA
WHICH IS JUST SOUTH OF
CARBONDALE.
>>>WHEN MY KIDS WERE LITTLE, I
HAD A ZIP LINE IN THE BACKYARD I
BUILT FOR THEM.
FEW YEARS BACK HERE THOUGHT YOU
KNOW WHAT, IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR
THE GRANDKIDS FOR ME TO BUILD A
ZIP LINE.
I STARTED RESEARCHING ONLINE AND
AN SEEN THE COMMERCIAL ZIP LINES
THAT JUST STARTED COME TO
UNITED STATES.
THEY HAVE BEEN IN EXISTENCE IN
COSTA RICA SINCE THE 70S.
WE ARE THIS BASICALLY THE MIDDLE
OF THE SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST
IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.
WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND
83 PRISTINE ACRES.
THIS IS ALL PRIVATE GROUND THAT
WE PURCHASED.
THE SHAWNEE FOREST BORDERS US.
SO IT IS REALLY UNIQUE TO HAVE A
ZIP LINE IN AN AREA WHERE THERE
IS NO PARKING LOTS, FOUR WHEELER
PARKS, HOUSES.
IT IS ALL JUST PRISTINE NATURE.
>>OUR ZIP LINE COURSE IS A TRUE
CANOPY TOUR.
IT IS ALL 100 PERCENT TREE
BASED.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE ROCK BLUFFS.
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO TELEPHONE
POLES THAT WE HAD TO GAIN
ELEVATION FOR HEIGHT.
THERE IS NO CEMENT POURED ANYWAY
WHERE.
IT IS ALL NATURE, AND THAT'S
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT IT.
WE HAVE SOME OF THE FINEST TREE
PLATFORMS IN THE INDUSTRY, VERY
ECO-FRIENDLY.
THEY ALLOW EACH TREE TO GROW
ABOUT SEVEN YEARS WITHOUT ANY
MAJOR CHANGE.
YOU ARE GOING TO GET TO SEE
NATURE IN RAW FORM BECAUSE
NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO THIS
PROPERTY.
IT IS SO ROUGH THAT IT HASN'T
EVEN BEEN LOGGED FOR HUNDREDS OF
YEARS PROBABLY.
WE HAVE GOT VERY OLD GROWTH
TREES.
77 MILLION YEARS AGO, THIS WAS
COVERED WITH WATER, THIS PART OF
ILLINOIS AND LEFT THE SANDSTONE
HERE, AND THAT'S WHAT GAVE US
THESE GREAT FORMATIONS.
IT IS JUST A UNIQUE WAY TO BRING
PEOPLE OUT INTO THE FOREST, OUT
INTO NATURE IN A DIFFERENT
MANNER TO PUT THEM ON A ZIP LINE
AND TRAVERSE IT FROM TREE TO
TREE, HIGH ABOVE THE FOREST
FLOOR.
WE HAVE EIGHT ZIP LINES.
WE HAVE THREE MODERATE HIKES,
AND THREE AERIAL BRIDGES ALSO.
WE WANTED TO PUT YOU IN CHARGE A
LITTLE BIT.
IT IS KIND OF LIKE RIDING A
SPORTS CAR. WE WANT TO PUT YOU
IN CHARGE.
IF YOU OWN ONE, DO YOU WANT TO
DRIVE IT OR JUST SIT IN THE BACK
SEAT ALL THE TIME? WE LET YOU
DRIVE SPORTS CAR A LITTLE BIT.
WE BRING YOU DOWN TO FLIGHT
SCHOOL, GO THROUGH THE SHORT
PROCEDURE, AND THEN WE WALK YOU
DOWN TO RIGHT HERE, AGAIN, NO
TOWERS TO CLIMB.
TWO GUIDES TAKE YOU THROUGH AND
DO EVERYTHING.
THEY HANDLE ALL THE TRANSFERS.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HANDLE
ANYTHING.
IF YOU ARE EVER THREE FEET OFF
THE GROUND, YOU ARE ALWAYS
HOOKED INTO A HALF INCH CABLE.
AND WHEN YOU ARE ON THE TREE
PLATFORMS, YOU ARE NEVER EVER
UNHOOKED.
YOU ARE ALWAYS HOOKED IN WITH
THE LANYARDS. SO YOU ARE HOOKED
INTO TWO PLACES WHEN ARE YOU
ZIPPING AND WHEN YOU ARE ON THE
TREE PLATFORMS.
WE HAVE SOME OF THE LONGEST ZIP
LINES IN THE UNITED STATES AND
ACTUALLY FROM COSTA RICA, A LOT
OF THOSE ARE 200, 100 FEET LONG.
WE START OUT SLOW AND SHORT.
180 FEET, 160, THEN WE GO TO
300 FEET.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE LINES THAT ARE
690 FEET, 750, 765, AND OUR
LONGEST IS 1,016 FEET LONG.
THIS IS SO UNIQUE TO HAVE FOUR
DIFFERENT SEASONS IN THIS AREA.
IT WILL HAVE FOUR DIFFERENT
TOTAL LOOKS, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT
TYPES OF THE YEAR. I JUST KNEW
THAT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS HAS GOT
SOME AWESOME TOPOGRAPHY, AND I
AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO
GET PEOPLE OF ALL AGES OUT TO
SEE IT.
GRANTED, WE HAVE 70 TO 270-POUND
LIMIT, BUT WE HAVE HAD GRANDMAS
82 AND 83 YEARS OLD CELEBRATING
THEIR BIRTHDAY HERE WITH US, AND
GOING THROUGH IT AND HAVING A
GREAT TIME.
NOW HOW MANY THINGS CAN GRANDMA
COME DO WITH THEIR SEVEN YEAR
OLD GREAT GRANDSON?
IT IS REALLY AWESOME TO ALLOW
PEOPLE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE
THAT.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHAWNEE
BLUFFS CANOPY TOUR, CALL
1-855-386-9477 OR GO TO
WWW.SHAWNEEZIP.COM.