Suspense, She Writes: Last Day in Wyoming

6.24.2017

Last Day in Wyoming

Colter Marina, Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park

It's my last day in Wyoming. No, not the going home day, but the last day I actually do something vacation-y.

It's a bittersweet day because although I enjoyed our trip immensely, I'm ready to go home. It feels like I’ve been gone forever, and it feels like I never want to sleep in a motel bed again. But the thing is, I’ll plan another trip for next summer on the way home, and I’ll plan it with enthusiasm. There will probably be mountains wherever I plan to go. That’s my thing.

The last vacation-y thing I did was taking a boat tour of Lake Jackson. It was a beautifully chilly morning cruise across the lake.

Our family gets one week of vacation a year, and the last day is always the day that the thought that it’s almost over for another year will linger in the back of my mind shadowing everything I do.

I’ve counted down to this day. On day one, I say to myself, “This is great. We are having so much fun, and we have six more days of vacation left.” It goes like that for several days, at least, until the mid-point of the vacation. Then, I begin the end of vacation litany. “This is great. We are having so much fun, but we only have two more days of vacation left.”

In seven days, I’ve seen six states: Louisiana, Texas, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. (Yes, there was some air travel involved, right between Texas and Utah. Have I mentioned how much I hate DFW Airport? No? Well, that’s another blog post.)

I’ve covered a lot of miles. I’ve taken a buttload of pictures, and I’ve gotten some terrific writing inspiration. Like, the hotel where we stayed the second through fourth nights has its very own ghost story, and the mist over the thermal pools in Yellowstone in the evening has given me some ghostly inspiration.