When we got back to camp Adam decided it was a great time to jump in the lake for a little bathing action (which he kindly does the last day in the Winds every year we go). We are all really grateful for this tradition as I’m sure you can imagine. 4 days without a bath takes its toll – especially when you are hiking hard and long hours for all those days straight. Whooooeeeeee can those manly man smells come out! He definitely becomes one with nature during our time at the Winds. 🙂
The rest of the day Adam Brans and Harry (as well as Parris Jackson and Lisel) spent out on the canoes fishing while Dawson and Adalynn and I took naps. Adam was able to catch a good sized trout for dinner that night and then I made some vegetable tinfoil dinners with potatoes and zuccini to go with it. The boys were having so much fun out fishing that even by 7:30 I could barely get them in for dinner and then once dinner was over Parris and Adam took off again to do some dusk fishing. You could tell that they both were just trying to soak up every last minute available to enjoy the Winds.
That evening we had a bit of a scare though – just as we all were turning in for bed. I had put our 4 kids down to bed around 9:00 and then the rest of us had stayed up talking around the campfire until about 10:30. Parris, Lisel, and Jackson had just excused themselves for bed and gone to their tent when all of the sudden, out of the blue Adam and I heard this loud CRASH come down from what sounded like right above us. We both jumped up from our chairs and tried to run for safety since we couldn’t see where the noise was coming from. It ended up that a dead tree had fallen only 12 FEET from where we were both sitting. Not only that but this tree fell right across the path where all of us had been walking to and from the canoes (which had all our food in them) the previous 4 days. The path where our little children had been a bazillion times, and where food was prepared and cooked.
As we sat looking at the fallen tree with our headlamps we couldn’t help but feel like a HUGE tender mercy had happened. That tree could have fallen at any time during our time there – but it fell 1) at night, and 2) when no one was up and about and moving around and 3) at a time when it wouldn’t wake us up from a dead sleep in the middle of the night. We truly just felt so blessed and knew that our prayers of protection had been heard. But I will tell you what…we will be a lot more picky about where we camp in years to come and make sure to look at the trees around us. It was SCARY! Parris also told us that two of his next door neighbors (a Grandma and a her grand daughter) had both been killed by a tree falling. So its not like it doesn’t happen. We truly just felt like we’d witnessed a tender mercy.
On Thursday we all got up around 7:00-7:30, had breakfast and then started breaking camp. Parris and his family needed to be back fairly early so their goal was to be all packed up and on their way at 8:00. We unfortunately weren’t able to get packed up quite as fast as them – but did manage to leave around 9:00 with me hiking on the trail with the boys and Adam in the canoe with Adalynn. We ended up both arriving at the end of the lower green river lake about 10 am. Parris was still there loading up when we arrived and so we were able to say our goodbyes there.
The rest of the day was spent driving home from the Winds only stopping once to gas up and get lunch. Our normal traditional food stop place (the Burnt Chicken as the Egberts like to call it) was sadly closed – but Adam had some coupons for Huckleberry shakes at Arctic Circle so I think that helped lessen his disappointment. Huckleberry shakes are after all another Egbert tradition. We arrived home that evening around 4:30 or 5:00.
Adam was my super hero when we got home too because I was absolutely DEAD tired and immediately just wanted a bath and a nap. He told me that since I had taken care of everything at the Winds (packing, shopping, making meals, taking care of kids, boiling water, diapers, driving, and all the clean up) that he would be in charge of the UNPACKING. Oh was that ever heaven sent and he did an amazing job putting everything away and starting load after load of laundry for me while I bathed and slept.
Then if that weren’t enough -after my nap I came to find out (by reading an email) that my Papa wasn’t doing well and that I should probably go to the hospital to see him. So wonderful Ad once again just told me to go and do what I needed to do while he stayed home to take care of the kids and return the canoe and life jackets we had borrowed from Dean. He truly was so amazing and I just count myself so blessed to have his love, sensitivity, and service in my life. He is my better half and loves me by example every day.
All in all though our Wind Rivers trip was truly AWESOME and a trip all of us will remember for years to come. I always come home feeling like I’ve never been so tired – but at the same time just feel so much reverence and awe for the beautiful creations God has given us. It truly does feel like a holy place up there! And we love all the traditions and memories that are made each year. We can’t wait until next year!