“Maybe she would feel better about it if I got a trike.”
That was Paul in Victor, ID just before I pulled away from the curb in front of the The Station coffee house where I had breakfast.
“Probably not,” I thought to myself.
“She had a relative who was killed on a motorcycle so doesn’t think its safe.” Paul said.
Again, I didn’t say out loud, but thought that she probably has a relative that was killed in a car crash as well, as most of us do, but, somehow, that is more acceptable.

Paul was about my age and had never had a motorcycle before. We chatted about the merits of trikes, CanAms, and two wheelers.
“Man, I wish I was going with you,” he said.
Again, silently, I thought, “Yeah, like a dozen other people I met in the past few days.”
“I wish you were, too, Paul,” I said out loud. “Try talking up the trike: she might come around.”  “Best of luck.” Paul went into The Station for breakfast and some contemplation, I suppose.

While having my breakfast at The Station minutes before, Patty, my waitress, volunteered that her clientele are nearly all locals.
“You mean folks from Jackson don’t come over?” I asked.
“No, Jackson folks like it on their side of the mountain, and we like it on our side: two different worlds,” she said.

Victor, ID, is on the backside of the Tetons across the Pass from Jackson, WY–only 20 minutes. Jackson was total chaos as I rolled in after leaving Teton National Park. I suspected that would be the case even before I arrived, and, sure enough, I could see total gridlock ahead in downtown as I approached. Just as I thought I was stuck, I spied the truck route and made it around. Jackson is another Myrtle Beach or Dollywood, just more scenic with less humidity. The Teton Pass put me across the border into Idaho, the sleepy little town of Victor, the Cowboy Roadhouse Lodge, and the Wildlife BrewPub for dinner with the locals.

On the way out in the morning after my encounter with Paul, I looked back east at the sunrise and the Grand Teton sticking above the western foothills: I see why folks like it here, and why they are happy to keep the tourists in Jackson on the other side of the mountain. Patty was right, what a great spot to keep for the locals–and me.