Day 13 - Last day

We all got a pretty decent night's sleep last night, and the rooster crowed only a couple times this morning and then seemed to stop. That, or we are used to it. We all slept past 7. And Eleanor didn't get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Bonus. Will was saying he has slept better in these terrible beds than at some of our more comfortable places. 

We left a bit later this morning and got to the park around 10 or so. We drove to Signal Lake Lodge, which is along Jackson Lake. The kids got a patch, a pin, and Eleanor got her first Swiss Army knife. Ethan reminded us that he was her age in Mt. Rainier when he got his. We talked to one of the workers, who told us the Signal Mountain hike was worthwhile and would yield great views. We ate lunch first because we knew it was gonna take us a while at 6 miles round trip. The first part had a bit of incline, but then it was a pretty easy trail. A lot of it was walking through a large meadow with tall grasses and wildflowers on either side. It was actually hard to tell that you were walking to a summit. We stayed together a bit more this time, and Eleanor lagged behind as usual. If only her leg speed matched the speed her mouth moves! But we all made it to the top. It looked out onto Grand Teton and her partners. We got a family picture and Ethan was finally able to do his Instagram live video. I also realized I had dropped my sunglasses during a bug spray application and forgotten to pick them back up. Thankfully, they were $10 ones from Walgreens. We looked on the way down but someone likely picked them up. We would have if we found them on a trail. 

Ethan and I went down first, and quickly, because, guess what? He had to use the facilities. So did Eleanor, but for the second time this trip, she happily chose to poop in the woods. She has 0 shame. Ethan and got I down to Signal Lodge, used the bathroom, and then sat at a shaded picnic table, waiting for Will and Eleanor, who followed maybe 20 minutes later. 

From Signal Lodge, rather than go further north to Jackson Lake Lodge, we decided to go back to Jenny Lake. I was interested in seeing the Cascade Canyon. I knew you could take a shuttle across Jenny Lake to the trailhead. I didn't want to do the whole hike but go a little way into the canyon. When we got to the dock, though, the kids weren't interested in a shuttle. They really wanted to canoe. We asked if we could go see the canyon from the water, and they said we could try but that it would be harder coming back than out with the way with wind goes. We all got one canoe because the kids were able to share the middle seat. It was a bit hectic at times with everyone telling everyone else which way and how to paddle. And we seemed to be going against the wind going out, too, and not making great progress. Eventually, we made it to the other side of the lake and tied up on a log. There was a bath there, which I assume is the path around Jenny Lake that goes to the canyon trail. I walked down it a bit, but because I was alone, I was afraid to go too far. I couldn't quite see into the canyon, but there were giant boulders everywhere.

Back at the boat, Will had stripped down to his bright red boxers and jumped in the water. Eleanor stripped down to her undies, too, and went in a ways, but it was very rocky and difficult to swim in without water shoes. I opted to just dip my feet in, because my clothes weren't going to be easy to dry if I got in. We had a funny moment when Eleanor was getting her shorts back on. We had her take off her underwear and go commando. Just as she bent over, bare ass to the lake, a woman on the kayak came riding by from behind a rock. She immediately looked away and said sorry, and we all had a good laugh. When we all got back in the boat, we had 30 minutes to get it back to the dock or we would be charged $100. We thought the wind was against us on the way out, but it appeared to be against us on the way back. We had to give it our Deadpool "maximum effort" and hightail it back. We made it right on time. 

Will wanted to do more swimming, with his suit on this time. It was already 7, and I really thought we should get back since we have to still get dinner and want to get on the road tomorrow. But since it was our last chance and the kids will be in the car a ton tomorrow, they got in their suits. I stayed dressed and watched from shore. Kinda wish I had gone in and just skipped the shower tonight. Oh well. 

Now we are heading back to base camp. We will probably just grab some soup from Albertson's for dinner. It will be almost 9 when we get back and no one is going to want to cook/do dishes at the camp sink down the way. I do wish we had one more day here. We didn't even go on the east drive at all, though looking at the mountains on our side, I think this is the prettier side. I love the rocky, snowy peaks. They are just beautiful. 

We got some news today about our kitchen remodel. Not surprisingly, our contractor discovered some very bad, unsafe, and illegal electrical work. He was having trouble with the electrical and ended up needing to take down more of the kitchen wall to see what was underneath. He found open boxes covered in plywood or something. Whatever it was, it was wrong, and a big fire hazard. It will all be replaced and up to code now, but it's another set back. Our appliances were going to be delivered Tuesday, now it will be Friday. We are at least glad that now everything will be done safely. 

Our plan now is to drive 80, stop somewhere for the night, and then cut north on some interstate (35 in Iowa I think) to 90 and head to the lake for one night. We plan to be home Wednesday. Not sure if we will be staying at our house that night, but we have a lot of offers of where we can stay, so we will see what's happening at the house. Our contractor Lance will be working this weekend and hoped to have everything re-dry walled by Tuesday. All a part of this renovation business. The excitement of the kitchen stuff helps make leaving this trip bearable. That, and the fact that we are all exhausted. As usual, we need a vacation from our vacation. Good thing we're teachers! Ha!