Day 6 -- WY, ID

Day 6 -- What a difference a day makes. New day. New attitude. New rationalization.

I slept only four hours so I was up early. I hit the road with calm acceptance that I could do this and that it would take me three hours plus to get back to West Yellowstone. I did and I was oh so mellow the whole way. And while taking a break at Old Faithful -- didn't stay for the show this time -- I saw a man with GVSU on his sweatshirt. And wonder of wonders, I spoke to him and his wife. I asked if they were from Grand Rapids and I told them I have a daughter who's a senior at Grand Valley (State University). We talked quite a bit about our travels and I found out they were traveling back the way I had come. It was pretty cold in Yellowstone and I had shorts on; in fact it was down to 34F at the highest point of the drive. I think it's pretty reasonable to visit Yellowstone twice in one's lifetime. In my case twice was on consequitive days.

So I reached West Yellowstone and headed south -- noticing that there was a Best Western motel right there in town. You know, the same kind of motel I drove and extra 110 miles for! There was an immediate improvement in the roads and I was back to high speed cruisin'. From there I reached and passed through Idaho Falls pretty quickly and came to rest in Pocatello, where I sit at this moment. I spent about 7 hours getting here -- six of it driving -- but I was determined to play golf. I had Tom Tom (protable GPS system) take me to the nearest golf corse but little Tommy got lost. So I stumbled upon the Pocatello visitor's center. Bear in mind that I had already passed my hotel at the north end of town and was clear in the southern end of town. The very friendly lady sent me back to the north end right by my hotel to the golf course that you can see but that has no entrance. After 15 minutes of driving around the damn thing, I drove into the Pocatello High School parking lot and interrupted two kids who were making out and asked them. With their help I found the secret passage way and played 18 holes. What a glorious day! Sunny and cool. Rolling hills, beatuiful green grass and mild profanity wafting from my lips. It was wonderful.

You may be wondering, did Jimmy Boy do something stupid today. Oh, yes. I never dissapoint. Forgetfulness. The scourge of every traveler. I didn't mention back on Day 2 that I left a library book and 12 DVD's in the room, did I? Naw, too embarassing. Since then I have tried to be very circumspect about checking and re-checking each morning when I take off. Today's leave-behind was my computer power cord. Pretty essential to my new career as a blogger. (I can't believe I just said that!) Of course, there's Rule No. 3 -- They have Stores. I called Radio Shack immediately and they came through -- for a mere $127. Bet I'll look closely tomorrow morning.

I've decided that Bryce Canyon in off the agenda for now. The directions say that there are 225 miles of two lane roads and I've had enough of them for the moment. So it's 8 hours of driving to St. George, UT tomorrow. And Zion National Park the next day. Then Vegas and LA!

I have a "Jim Traveling In Utah" story for tomorrow that many of you have heard.