This morning found us in Idaho Falls, Idaho. We had rolled into town late the night before, and so hadn’t seen much of the area, so we woke up early this morning to explore before we hit the road again.

Do you recognize Dan’s “clown bike“? The Brompton folds up and has been riding along in our trunk.

We have already seen so many stunning sights… but heavens, am I exhausted by the travel. Today was a 7-hour drive, which is not bad in the grand scheme of things, but a few of those in a row really drains us both. Between each of these posts you have to imagine hundreds of miles of bright, unchanging stretches of landscape. I’m incredibly glad we get to see those beautiful miles, but each hotel is also an immense relief.

The Firebrand, especially so. It’s a knock-out.

There aren’t many towns on this trip that we have visited before, but Whitefish, Montana is one of them. We are both thrilled to spent a quick night here. After a wonderful dinner at Abruzzo, we hit a favorite shop of mine from last time around, Meriwether.

And honestly, that was our night! The rest of the evening has been comprised of rented movies, reorganized luggage, planning for tomorrow (we’ll need our passports at the ready, for example), and as early a bedtime as possible. Tomorrow we will reach Banff, where we have the luxury of two whole nights at the same hotel. It’s the little things.

Audiobooks completed so far:

• Gather the Daughters, Jennie Melamed
• Calypso, David Sedaris

Part 1: Jackson Hole 
Part 2: Craters of the Moon 
Part 3: Idaho Falls
Part 4: Kootenay National Park
Part 5: Banff National Park 
Part 6: Calgary
Part 7: Edmonton Fringe Festival
Part 8: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
Part 9: The Home Stretch