-- Grin and Bear It (Day 6)

My mom and dad decided to head back toward home today.  There were no more Bozeman houses to look at and they figured they'd just spend the day sitting around and eating... as fatties tend to do...

"But wait --" says Mom.  "We can't leave yet.  We didn't do any shopping..." 

This is the part where dad rolls his eyes and mutters something about women.  But I digress...

Let me tell you something about my mom.  When it comes to traveling, there's no way she goes home empty-handed.  Even if she doesn't buy anything for herself, she has to buy something for somebody. 

So we had a quick breakfast at a coffee shop, returned the rental car to the airport, and then Dad (being the great man that he is) dropped Mom off at a pottery shop next to the RV park.

What could be the harm in a little pottery shop?  We'll get to that in a moment. 

"Ooh la la..." says my mom.

So Dad and I made a quick dash to the RV park to check out of our space...

Meanwhile...

Mom knew she was pressed for time before Dad came back from the RV park, so she made the most of it.  This is where my mom rocks.  She'd kick butt if she ever won one of those 5-minute shopping sprees. 

So Dad picks her up out front and she climbs into the Supervan.  Of course there's no way in heck Dad's gonna keep silent when my mom is holding shopping bags. 


The conversation went something like this:


"Okay, so what did you buy?"

"Hmm?  Oh, just some coffee cups."

"Coffee cups?  We don't need any coffee cups."

"They're nice ones. Really nice. They're handmade."

"How much?"

This is where Mom tries to run interference by changing the subject.  "Did you remember to call Robert and tell him we're leaving a day early?"

Dad's no dummy.  He's seen this movie before.  "No. I'll text him later.  How much were the cups?"

"Thirty."

"Thirty dollars?"

"Um-hmm."

"How many did you get?"

"Five."

"Why do you need five coffee cups?"

"Souvenirs -- you know, gifts."

"So you got five cups for thirty dollars?"

Mom squirms in her seat and channels past episodes of I Love Lucy for help -- but comes up empty.  "Not exactly."

"Not exactly what?"

"No, I didn't."

"I'm confused, Sue. You just said you got five cups."

"Um-hmm."

"For thirty dollars." 

"Um-hmm."

Okay, now the light bulb appears over my dad's head. "Wait-- you mean they were thirty dollars EACH?"

"Um-hmm."  Now Mom busies herself by folding the clothes she washed earlier this morning, pointing out that thanks to her, Dad has another week's worth of clean clothes. 

"Thirty dollars for only one coffee cup???  You've got to be kidding me.  You've lost touch with reality, Sue..."


** We interrupt this argument for this important message **



Trust me, you don't want to hear the gory details...

 

** We now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming... **

 ...Sometime later...

We headed southwest and stopped for lunch in Idaho Falls:  

 

...wait, weren't we just here a few days ago?

 

So remember I mentioned how my mom and dad went to Ted’s for lunch 2 days in a row?  Well guess what?  We went to Olive Garden AGAIN. 

I kept a watchful eye, waiting for them to return to the Supervan.  About 45 minutes later, my mom and dad appeared.  They were so bloated, they were waddling toward the van while holding their swollen midsections with their hands. 

 

Suddenly, I feared the worst:  they ate my breadsticks??!! 

But no, Mom holds out 2 -- count ‘em, 2 -- breadsticks for me.  Whew!  Now all three of us are bloated. 

I feel a nap in my future...

 

Mom took the wheel and Dad took a powernap in the back seat.  I saw a sign in the distance -- it had a huge bear on it.  “Whoa, Mom.  Slow down!  Look...It’s Bear World!!!”

Mom exited the highway and Dad and I traded seats. 

 

Hey Boo-boo!

 

 

 

Pure awesomeness.  My sniffer was already at work.  What the heck is a bear anyway? 

 

We saw a sign, telling us to keep our windows closed.  Hmm, I wonder why...

 

  

What the heck???  That's a bear?  No it's not -- that's Rudolph without a suntan.

 

 

Ohhh, these must be the bears:

 

No, that can't be right...

 

Finally, we got to bear country:

 

 

 

Holy crap!  Dad says it's a grizzly!

 

 

You gotta check out this video:
 

 

 

We stopped at an RV park in Heyburn, Idaho, right next to the Snake River.  I got a private lawn all to myself!

After we set up camp, Dad took me for a late-afternoon stroll along the river.  When we got back, we heard music playing at the adjoining park. 

There was a ho-down! 

We met up with Mom at the park and we all clapped our hands and stomped our paws in time with the music.

Mom and Dad were having such a good time, I thought they were going to join in dancing -- egads...  Let's just say that my dad's dancing ain't pretty.  Sorry, Dad.  Just trying to be real. 

After the ho-down, my mom and dad went across the street for some ice cream.

Mom shared with me.  Mmm... butter pecan.  That's what I call Heaven-in-a-cup.