June 26, 2015 – Day 24
West Yellowstone, WY – Idaho Falls, ID
140 miles/2 hours
Spring Hill Suites Rexburg, Rms 401 & 403
Another rough night of sleep. The beds are uncomfortable at
the Grey Wolf Inn. I got up, packed, and gathered the children for breakfast at
McDonalds. Our hotel’s buffet only has muffins and apples.
Also, Rich had a few
meeting and we had to clear out. After breakfast, we walked around the little
town and checked out some junk shops that were labeled as gift shops. When I
got the call from Rich, I practically ran back to the hotel – time to hit the
road.
The drive to Idaho Falls was easy and pretty. We passed
through many one-stoplight towns. Our hotel is actually in Rexburg, ID, which
is very close to the BYU Idaho campus. We had lunch at Applebee’s and our
waitress was a student at the school. She was from Marietta, GA – and got
married in Cumming, GA. How funny is that? She was extremely nice. In fact,
every person we’ve encountered in Idaho is friendly. Lots of smiles and nice manners.
I like it.
We took the kids to Bear World, which is a drive-through wild
life habitat. Thank goodness we were in a car, because we did finally see bears
– many of them. Warnings everywhere: “Keep Your Windows Rolled Up” & “Do Not
Stop Your Car, Keep Moving.” Do you think Rich obeyed the warnings? No. He all
but cut his fingers and dripped blood out the side of the car. He was dying to
get a bear to climb on the roof of the car. I asked him why in the world he’d
want that. He’s constantly reminding us to be kind to the Suburban. He replied
that he really wanted to see my reaction if that happened. Such a funny guy.
Then we went to see the falls, as in Idaho Falls – very pretty.
We made a supply stop at Walmart – always interesting, no matter where you are.
Then we had a dinner at a restaurant on the Snake River. The highlight of the
evening was when we were riding back to the hotel. Barrett, out of the blue,
started singing “On the Road Again.”
That song is a family theme – we listen to it in the car on our trips, every
time we head to a new destination. Audrey said he knew the words to every song
on our mix. So we put the CD in and told everyone they couldn’t sing. We turned
the volume down low and listened to Bear serenade us. It was very cool. He has
a bit of a country twang, and sings right along with Willie. For “Life is a Highway,” he adds his
signature hand gestures, and changes his inflections with the beat of the
songs. “For I’ve Been Everywhere,” he
laughs along with Johnny Cash when June asks him if “he’s ever been to
Starkville, Mississippi.”
The Barrett Show continued at the pool, where he terrorized
a group of Chinese women in the pool. One woman was trying to swim laps (why,
in a small hotel pool, I do not know) and Bear kept jumping into her path. And
if he wan’t jumping, he was doing his move where he stayed under the surface
forever and emerges when he finally needs to breathe – no matter who’s in his
way. We tried to apologize, but she wouldn’t look at us and all the women kept
laughing and talking in what I assume was Chinese. I got the distinct
impression they were talking about us. Oh well, not the first time, won’t be
the last.
Back in the room, Cammy sweet-talked Rich into setting up
Netflix on his laptop, so he could watch Chima.
It was a to-do, for reasons I would bore you with. Cammy asked Rich, “Why is
technology so confusing?” Then he pointed to the digital clock on the bedside
table, which was a Boze, with an iPod charger. Then he pointed to the hotel
telephone, and said, “Wait a minute, I don’t even know what that thing is!”
For the record, it was a table-top phone with a coiled cord.
