Graduation in Pocatello and the drive home.

On friday, we continued on to Pocatello, Idaho. The day was bright and sunny and the drive across the rest of Oregon and then across the high desert of Idaho went well. I had never been in Idaho before. The area was differant than I thought it would be. Sure, there were areas of sagebrush, but also lots of cultivated farmland as well. I was impressed with how flat it was. It was also cooler than I expected. Western washington was actually warmer over the weekend.

The graduation ceremony was at Idaho State University. My niece graduated with a Doctor of Audiology degree. She spent the last year in Great Britan working on her extern ship. This was a long pull for her to complete her degree. Now she needs a job!

The university also had two year programs and passed out diplomas for associate degrees at the same time as the Bachelor degrees. This was a suprise to me. I am used to Associate degrees being handled only by Junior Colleges. It was explained that probably because of the isolation, Idaho State handled all programs, not just Bachelor and Grad programs.

After graduation, we went another 45 miles east to Idaho Falls for dinner. This is another place that I had been curious about. Some of my co workers went to the site there for work. I had always volunteered but was never selected. Their description made me think it was a desolate area, but I was suprised that it was not. Maybe in the middle of the winter or summer I would think differantly. There is actually a lot of new home construction going on there.

Started early on Sunday for the drive home. Again, the sky was clear and the temp cool. Stopped at Twin Falls to look into the Snake River canyon there. Stopped again at Baker City for gas and lunch and again at Ellensburg for an early dinner. The traffic got heavy on Snoqualmie Pass and there was some rain. Made it home by 8pm and still had over 1/4 of a tank of gas left after the fill up at Baker City. That car of my dad's gets really good mileage! I drove all the way except for about two hours between Boise and Baker City.

This drive started me thinking about taking a motorcycle ride around eastern washington when Chinook Pass opens up. I think I will plan for a three or four day trip.

My family: Father, mother, sister, brother in law, nieces and me.

Snake River canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho. About a mile upstream from here was where Evel Knievel tried to jump the canyon in his rocket bike in 1974.

Looking downstream. Snake River canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho.