Trip to Salem, OR.

Yesterday we traveled from Alpine, WY to Boise, ID. It was sort of an odd day - it got off to a bad start when Ellen discovered that she had once again forgotten to take the key out of the ignition the previous evening, and had left the lights on to boot. So the battery was dead. Paul and Jenny were both at work in Jackson, so no chance for a jump-start from them. I figured we could find someone to help us, so I fixed my breakfast and got all packed up, and didn't worry about it. When we went out to the car, Ellen put the hood up, and almost immediately, a neighbor walked by and asked if we needed help. "Yep!" And before we knew it, we had her husband, "Bud," and Juan, who had helped us before, standing by the car. Bud got his truck and gave us a jump start, and we were in business. Juan suggested we put a little note on the dash with a check list of what should be done before getting out of the car. Good idea! We thanked them again, profusely, and packed the car and were on our way. But by then, it was close to 11a.m. Ellen had wanted to go via Jackaon and see Paul's new work site, a commercial kitchen he is building for a caterer, whose name is Alicia. Should we still do that? "Sure!" There is a story behind this job which I won't go into. Let's just say that it has been difficult for Paul and leave it at that. But it is proceeding. So we drove to Jackson, stopping for gas in Hoback Jct., and found the site with the help of the GPS, though Ellen knew the neighborhood. And lo and behold! Alicia drove up and asked who we were! When we explained, she was very welcoming and said how grateful she was for Paul. That was nice to hear - and we'll leave it at that! I took some pictures. It is going to be a pretty tight fit so far as we could see. The area is sort of an industrial area, so I guess you can squeeze things in. In a residential area, I think there would need to be more space around the building. We saw Paul, but he didn't see us. We left with a hope that all will go smoothly from now on. From there we drove to Wilson, WY where there is a familar spot: Hungry Jack's General Store. We always have to stop there! They sell just about everything.

Paul's work site.

Hungry Jack's store in Wilson, WY From there, we drove over the Teton Pass to Victor, ID, to The Emporium, where they make huckleberry milk shakes. They are yummy! We each had one. From there, we took ID 33 to Rexford, then down to U.S. 20, on to Arco, and Picabo, and on to Boise. We stopped in Picabo at the Silver Creek Store, very familiar to us. We also found a welcome stop at a little park in Howe, ID, where there was shade, a place to stretch our legs, and rest rooms (primitve, to be sure, but enough). Otherwise, I read aloud from Big Rock Candy Moutain, and we watched the lovely scenery. And now we are in the loft at Susan and Christian's place, we turned on the air conditioning, and it should be a good night.