Idaho Falls

Out There by Gregg Losinski 70 IDAHO FALLS MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 Mention the words "Holiday Travel" and what comes to mind imme- diately? Many people would think of the classic movie comedy Planes, Trains, and Automobiles starring Steve Martin and John Candy. With the holidays pressing down upon us the potential exists for every one of us to have the opportunity to act out our own personal version of the movie. Idaho Falls is a neat place to live, but sometimes getting in and of town can be a challenge, and not just due to the weather. There are probably still people out there who came to see the eclipse but the traffic was so bad heading back to Utah that they figured it would be easier to just start new lives here in beautiful Idaho Falls. Of course, the weather is generally the biggest nemesis when it comes to loved ones trying to get back home for the holidays, either coming or going. Thanks to the Idaho 511 app from the Idaho Transportation Department you can access cameras online and see just how bad things are out on Antelope Flats or heading south to Salt Lake on I-15. Knowing how bad the roads are generally doesn't stop people though. It just means they download a few extra podcasts to listen to as they creep along on the black ice and pray they find a snow plow to follow into the snowy abyss. The funniest part about the app is that before it starts, it makes you lie about whether you are driving (not that I have ever done that). If the weather doesn't present enough challenges to holiday travel, sheer econom- ics can be a factor for those whose nerves are too shot already to drive on their own. A certain bus company has more and more route options available, but with routes comes ticket costs that seem to constantly be rising as well. In Europe, you can travel from Prague to Budapest by deluxe motor coach for half of what it costs to go the less- er distance from Idaho Falls to Boise. There it costs only a third as much if you take the train, but that's not even an option here. The closest long distance rail service here is down in Salt Lake. For those who are far from their loved ones and only get a few days off for the holidays, flying is the only practical, if not economical option available. Unfortunately, the cost of flying in or out of Fanning Field is never cheap, but during the peak holiday periods, those precious few seats on the flights are especially pricey. Even this sum- mer when it wasn't peak holiday travel, I was asked as I checked in if I would be willing to give up my seat to Salt Lake for $900 dollars! Think what a seat right before Thanksgiving would be worth! A dry turkey dinner with the relations or a thousand Holiday Travel bucks! How tough of a decision is that? On the bright side, there is one discount airline that does offer far less expensive tickets from Idaho Falls, but mostly only to Las Vegas and at such times that hooking up with other commercial carriers is a chal- lenge. It is almost like they intentionally mean for you to be stranded there with no other option but to gamble! But as I've already stated, traveling over the holidays is a gamble. The question is how lucky do you feel and what are you willing to risk? With options like FaceTime and Skype, maybe staying home isn't such a bad option. That way when you get sick of talking to the relations you can just click out and blame it on crowded bandwidth, instead of pretending to need to get home before the roads get bad. IF

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