All the Rest

We went into Wallace looking for a souvenir shop to commemorate our great 72.7 mile ride. The gift shop had closed two years previously. We wandered the town in search of a suitable keepsake, but alas, there was none to be found.

We did find the the self proclaimed center of the Universe, though. So not all was lost. There was a photo op too good to pass up!

They really do believe they are the center of the Universe; now they have photographic proof. 

Ethan dashed into the street to have his photo taken on the manhole cover that is the "true" center of the Universe. He managed to not get run over, even though he was standing in a busy intersection.

We also found these wooden stairs throughout the town, which have been around for about 130 years. If you find and climb all flights, it is equivalent to climbing up a 45 story building. After our first flight a very kind homeowner stopped and chatted with us and invited us to have a seat on his little patio set close to the staircase. He even offered to let us see his newly hatched salamanders! Grace and Libby took him up on it and caught up with us as we explored as many more staircases as time and energy allowed.

So many stairs.  Wallace is a weird, quirky little town.

Tuesday morning we loaded up and headed home. 

On the way to Pinehurst the younger kids rode with their grandparents while the teens rode with us. It was such a peaceful ride for all parties, we decided to do the same thing on the way home. 

The teenagers each took a couple naps as we took the highway down through northern Idaho.

The views were amazing. We went from mountain peaks, to farmland, to winding along the Salmon River. I loved seeing all these bright yellow fields. 

After a little research we discovered these were canola fields. I was deeply, deeply in love.

As we wound through the mountains, we were frequently out of cell phone reception. It wasn't until we were almost halfway home we learned the other party members were having vehicle problems. The next area of cell coverage we learned it would take several days to fix Con's truck because a part needed to be ordered from Reno, NV. After much back and forth, and many dropped calls, we finally decided Grace and Sam would stay with Grandma and Grandpa, in their trailer, until the truck was ready. It simply didn't make sense for them to drive the eight hours home, nor for us to turn around. 

We got home at 9:30pm (with no brake lights; stupid blown fuse), unloaded the necessities and went to bed. The next morning I staggered into the girls room to find a confused Libby. She was pointing at Grace's bed and asking if she was imagining things. Once my eyes focused I found Grace in her bed. I hollered back to Michael to ask why Grace was home. He replied, after a momentary pause, "Probably the same reason Sam is in his bed." 

Apparently, the kids had got very homesick and emotional after dinner and their grandparents felt guilt and decided to bring them home. They got into Boise at 4am at which point Grace came in through the back door (through my bedroom), opened the front door, let Sam in, said goodbye to her grandparents, and then climbed into bed. I didn't hear a single thing and the dog slept through it all. I know the kids would have survived if they had stayed a few days longer with their grandparents, but everyone was happy to have them home!

At one point on this trip Libby said, "This is a good vacation, but also the worst vacation ever." I couldn't have said it better myself.