Go Slow In Idaho: April, 2007

After staying at the Quality Suites in SLO, I received a survey asking my opinion of the hotel, which I have essentially already shared with you. They asked me to compare it to my last hotel experience, which made me think about the Red Lion Inn of Pocatello, Idaho, where we stopped for one night en route to Big Sky, Montana.

I brushed past this experience in my travel journal, primarily because I wanted to forget Idaho existed.

Having driven over a half million miles covering more than half of the United States as well as several countries in Europe over the past twenty years, the time I have spent on the roads of Idaho represent less than 1 tenth of a percent of my driving time. Idaho is a state I have passed through a handful of times, usually for a stretch of about 150 miles.

While returning from Big Sky in April, I was stopped for speeding in Idaho Falls, although I had no idea why the cop pulled me over. I still wonder if he had mixed me up with some other gray Escape with California tags. Having California tags, you see, apparently makes Idaho officers of the law see dollar signs. I saw a half dozen cars pulled over, and none had Idaho plates.

Now this could be an indication that Idaho drivers obey the laws ignored by the out-of-state Huns-on-the-Run, but by shear probability of numbers, it seems that if 95% of the cars have in-state plates, it stands to reason that at least one out of twenty drives as poorly as tourists, making it at least as likely for an Idaho car to be pulled over.

Apparently not. This was my second ticket in Idaho in the 21st Century, and I don't have any tickets on my record anywhere else in the last twenty years. As a result, when I came home, I had decided never to return to Idaho again.

In thinking back to the Red Lion Inn of Pocatallo, however, I must say they offer a high quality hotel experience at a modest price. The brick hotel is tastefully decorated from the lobby through the expansive, comfortable rooms. Their British themed pub is a beautiful place to enjoy a pint of brew or other drink at Happy Hour prices after a long day of driving. They also had a complimentary breakfast, but we were on the road before they started serving in the morning.

And yes, admittedly, Idaho is a pretty state, although the stretch I usually take to Montana is less remarkable than more mountainous areas. Still, I'm always happy to drive through rolling farmlands in rural areas, a good reminder that, contrary to popular belief, there are still lots of open spaces throughout the world. I deserved my first ticket in Idaho, although I received it because the Bozeman Airport had shut down for a week and the airline stuck us in a rental car with a plane ticket from Salt Lake City. I guess that wasn't Idaho's fault.

This second ticket, though......I really don't think I was speeding, and there's no option for traffic school for out-of-state drivers to clear our records. I could have returned to fight it. I can remember it clearly.....or do I? I was going 68 before I turned off my cruise control upon enterring the city limits. I was looking for fast food for breakfast. I was about to change freeways when I saw those ominous flashing lights in my rearview mirror.

I thought he must be after someone else. When it turned out to be me, I wondered if I was being ticketed for going too slow. He said I was speeding, passing cars during morning rush hour. As someone who lives in L.A., the traffic looked as dense as it is at 3:00 AM in Southern California, but I digress. The only cars I remembered passing were behind a crane going about 30 miles per hour.

Did I miss a speed trap sign to slow down to 55 before I reached the city? Did I slow down a hundred yards too late? Well, I could have driven back up to Idaho to fight the $62 ticket, which would have cost about $350, because I would have needed a hotel and meals as well as gas. Even if I didn't get another speeding ticket upon returning to Idaho, which based on my history is only a 50-50 chance, then if I miraculously beat the charge, which probably would be dependent on the cop not showing up to the hearing, I would still be in the hole.

I'll never go back to Idaho....until the next time. If I need a hotel, I probably will stay at the Red Lion again.