The Last Day :(
So, the last day was here. We decided to eat breakfast, break camp, and go to a fishing place in the south of the park. I didn’t say Southpark. I’ve never even seen that show. Breaking camp is sad and grouchy. But, it was time. My fingernails were dinge. Our hair…did you need grease? Oh, and I know what you are thinking about me…get your roots done. The children’s hair! Wow! But look how cute they are. And I was ready to not need a flashlight to go to the toilet. I know you think I’m granola, but I like indoor plumbing. I’m American, by God. (What movie?!)
We broke camp. It took a long time. You should have seen the mini-van. It was a nice combination of snack crumbs, pillows that need a case change, dirty socks, and electronic device stuff. I couldn’t wait to get in it for the 30 hour drive home. Oh, yeah! So, we finally were loaded, and we decided to make a fishing stop on our way out. We like to suck the marrow out of these vacations. We stopped at the little gas station at Colter Bay Village, and I rolled down my window as my sister-in-law Jaymie was coming my way for a chat. As she was walking back to her car, I tried to roll the window back up. Nope. Nothing. I jiggled the window button. No action. I turned my head very slowly and looked at my husband. He got out and walked around. He opened and slammed the door several times. “Now, try it,” he said. It didn’t move. Right. “Well, it’s going to be a windy ride all the way back to Texas,” I said, a little drippy with sarcasm. I was pretty frustrated. My punches weren’t rolling too good.
I knew Matt really wanted to fish, and the last thing I wanted to do was to go to an auto repair shop to top off this vacation. So, we decided to go with everyone, fish a little, and then head to Jackson to get the window fixed. Since we were driving south out of Jackson, we stopped at the Gros Ventre Slide area. We got out of the car, and I gathered the lunch stuff. The kids, Beth, Jaymie and I headed to this pretty beach on Lower Slide Lake. I turned around and gave that window a dirty look. My husband Matt and his brothers Will and Cole went wading down the Gros Ventre River with all their equipment. I’m pretty sure they were giddy. By the way, you have to say that name with a French accent or its not proper pronunciation.
The beach was very pretty, and the kids ran about. We sat with our leftover snacks and food and ate lunch and enjoyed the beach. Our kids are adventurous. They are tough. They are pretty cute, but I wouldn’t mess with them if I were you. Sometimes they have sticks.
One of things I love about my children is that they don’t mind wandering off by themselves for a little explore. I also like that they don’t mind talking to strangers. I’m not talking about unsafe situations. Don’t fret. I’m talking about polite conversation with adults. Anna (our oldest) moseyed down the beach and had a 30 minute conversation with a local lady. The lady came up to me when we were leaving, and she told me how much she enjoyed visiting with Anna. She also said, “Hey you should ask Anna to tell you the history of the Gros Ventre slide area. There was a landslide here in the 1920’s, and she can tell you all about it!”
Jaymie and I walked up the river a little to try to find the guys because I wanted to take a photo of them fishing. We tried hard. I had thorn scratches from our try. We never found them, so this is all you get.
They came back pretty soon after we got back to the beach, and we started loading up our stuff and saying goodbye. Matt and I needed to leave for Jackson before shops started to close so we could get the dumb window fixed. We loaded the children, and I shut my door. Matt started the van, and my hand automatically pushed on the window lever to close it and IT ROLLED UP!!!! I started yelling, “It worked! It worked!!!!” Matt was already getting out the duct tape to cover the lever so no one else would roll down the window again. We were so happy. It was such a gift for that thing to work. We all decided to have dinner together in Jackson to celebrate and then head south.
We ate at the Snake River Brewery and Restaurant. It was great food with a nice atmosphere. After dinner we settled in for the long haul home. We drove all night and all day and all night. We arrived in Amarillo by morning. No joke. We ate at the IHOP there, and we were so gross by then. But, the pancakes were good, and we all needed a break from our cars! Finally we made it home. It was a long drive home, but it had been a glorious vacation. I loved every part of it including ankle wounds, broken windows, and 13-mile-hikes. I can’t wait to go back this summer (yes, the 2013 camping trip is being planned as I write! This year, we are going hard-core backcountry camping. Pack it in, pack it out. I’m gearing up the children for water and granola diets. They are getting pumped. Wait for it!)
Oh, and look who said goodbye as we left.
P.S. I thought you should know that after the pregnancy scare during our trip, Clay and Mattea had a healthy baby boy named Parker who was born in February. He’s adorable. All’s well that ends well!
