Idaho Falls to Great Falls.

We drove 360-odd miles to Great Falls, Montana on Friday night and were happy to see our friends Nathan and Alyssa. Oh, and to be out of Idaho Falls.

Idaho Falls, Idaho.

On Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan sang: "Ah, mama. Can this really be the end? To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again?"

Well, from Wednesday to Friday we were stuck in Idaho Falls with the Great Falls blues. Or, to be honest, the "anywhere but here" blues. We made the best of it, spending two nights in hotels and eating pizza. Huzzah!

It wasn't all bad. We saw Where the Wild Things Are on Wednesday night, and we relaxed most of Thursday, reading books, taking naps, and watching the World Series and The Office.

However, we were disappointed when the part for Geronimo didn't show up like it was supposed to on Friday afternoon. So we talked the good people at Wackerli Volkswagen into letting us take the gold Audi A4 loaner we had all the way to Great Falls, Montana. Then we got out of town as quickly as possible.

Oh, and the falls are fake, having been converted into a hydroelectric project nearly thirty years ago.

Oh no, Geronimo! Redux.

So Geronimo wouldn't start again this morning. Needless to say, we're not too pleased with the Denver Volkswagen dealership. We rode in a tow truck all the way to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where we're currently sitting in the Volkswagen dealership. Argh.

The guy here is really nice. He's even loaning us a gold Audi A4 for the night.

Plan for tonight:

• Find out what's wrong with Geronimo.
• Get a hotel.
• Eat dinner.
• Go see Where the Wild Things Are.
• Sleep.
• Drive Geronimo out of Idaho tomorrow morning with no problems.
  

Leah and Aaron in Kelly, Wyoming.

Our friends Dave and Jill had told us we should look up Leah and Aaron in Kelly, Wyoming. Then our friend Molly also advised us to do this. So we did. They've got a cozy little cabin that sits on the plain below the towering Grand Tetons. We woke up to a dazzlingly sunny day and bison grazing just across the street. Huzzah!

We're grateful to them for letting us stay with them for a night. It was great to see you again, Leah, and we're happy to have finally met you, Aaron. Thanks for your kind hospitality, as well as for the delicious coffee and pancakes.

Denver to Kelly, Wyoming

We drove from Denver all the way to Kelly on Tuesday. The weather was great for driving and the scenery was beautiful. We saw so many mountains and rock formations, as well as big herds of pronghorns. We got our first sight of the Grand Tetons in the late afternoon, and then we drove through them and down into Jackson. It was really snowy in the mountains, but Geronimo handled it just fine. We got down to the other side of the mountains as the sun was setting. We pulled into a turnout to take a look, and a friendly hunter let us look through his scope at a herd of about 600 elk on the other side of the Snake River. He told us he'd seen wolves harassing them earlier. He also mentioned the grizzly bear he'd spotted skulking around the river valley. We got back in the car, picked up some groceries in Jackson, and drove to Kelly. On the way, we saw a family of moose down by a creek. Then we pulled up to Leah and Aaron's cabin. We brought our stuff in and made omelettes and hash browns for dinner. The four of us ate together and then made an early night of it.

Check out the snow in the mountains: