Our last full day in the valley was a beautiful one. We had plans to go whitewater rafting on the Snake River and do some final shooting in the park. We woke up to some thick fog and a cool temperature. Not the greatest weather for a raft trip, but by 10:00 the bright sun had burnt the fog off and nothing but deep blue sky remained. This has been a particularly wet spring in the Tetons, and the rivers are incredibly high, not to mention very cold. The temperature of the Snake was only 44 degrees! We were all required to wear wet suits, as you can see in the photo, to help stay warm. No matter what you were wearing, when that water splashed you it was a frigid wake up call. If it wasn't for the sun I think we all would of been blocks of ice by the end of the trip. The biggest rapid on the river was Lunch Counter, which is a class 4 rapid. The waves were far larger than I can ever remember, and we had a wild ride. By the time we got through it everyone on the boat was soaked and screaming with delight. We forgot about how cold we were for just a few seconds.

The students had most of the afternoon off to finish up any last minute shopping and pack their bags. Then at 6:00 we went to a final group dinner in town at a restaurant called Sidewinder's. After dinner, a group of us headed out on the National Elk Refuge just outside town to catch the sunset from a bluff above the valley called Curtis Canyon Overlook. The overlook is one of the best views of the area with the Teton range in clear view across the stream filled valley floor. We were treated with a beautiful sunset and lingered on the bluff until well after dark.

When we got back to the cabins, the students surprised John and I with a framed picture of our rafting trip and a nice thank you card signed by everyone. It felt great to know how much they appreciated all the hard work and energy we had put into the workshop. We ate some delicious campfire smores and laughed and joked until after midnight, cherishing our last few moments in the vallery, and ignoring the early wake up call on Sunday morning to head back home.