Over

Well, it’s over, yesterday was my last day as Bus Driver Jim and I am retired. I have to admit though, that I came home last night with a heavy heart. Not that it’s over but that it all seems so futile now. Day after day, year after year of dragging myself out of the house every morning to start up a bus in frigid weather and drive people around this valley safely and on time, apparently had no value to this hell hole they call Paradise.

That’s alright, I’m a big boy and I accept that. It was my job to get the valley’s precious, pretentious, over-entitled kids to their gymnastics and rock climbing appointments. I got paid to be the bitch to seniors that rode free, and if they pissed on my seats or stunk up my bus, it was my duty to clean it up without complaining.

I’ve driven the bus here for twelve of our thirteen years in the valley. I look back on it now with bitterness instead of happiness and that’s very sad. My employer TRPTA has been good to me and I appreciate that but I no longer work for them. I have tempered each blog post through the filter of my job and I couldn’t always say what I really thought about things around here because of that relationship, which is now over.

I am now free to speak my mind, so stay tuned…

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Flects

I was sharing one of my favorite morning staging areas with my replacement this morning and grabbed a couple shots.

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Trailer Moose

Spotted this young moose munching branches in the Trailer Park this morning.

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January Monday

It was a nice little Monday in January around here today. There were some cool wispy clouds hanging around the Big Holes, the snow blocks are ready to be carved and I went to the climbing gym where I drop kids off all the time, and I was surprised…

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Hose Puller

I was parked along the side of the road on Main St in Victor this morning and I stepped off the bus to stretch. I noticed footprints heading off into the snow and realized it was the tracks of a lonely Hose Puller. These are the guys that drive those funny looking round tank trucks around town, full of propane, and their job description requires them to trudge off into the snow dragging a hose behind them just to fill a tank.

I shook my head and stepped back into my warm bus…

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Money Box

My cash box is full again with no immediate relief in sight. Our Idaho Falls money guy Jeff was up here just recently to empty the lower box out and said he’s bringing up a bigger box next time. Good idea, in the meantime I’ll just entertain the kids with it. Oooh, look at all that money!

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Happy Hollowdays

It’s beginning to look a lot like… cold backward signs, frozen ponds and hoar frost.

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Hanger

The inside of our new base looks like an airplane hanger to me. There’s still some kinks to work out with the lights, and the diesel exhaust from the Start buses when I arrive in the morning is bad, but at least it’s warm in there. My bus goes in the left corner.

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New Base

Well, we finally made it out of the backyard of the Driggs Public Works and into the Old Ford Garage, again. Instead of competing with snow plows, deep snow and block heaters, we’re inside, again. We’ve been here before but the building has been revamped and now three big Start buses, a few Targhee Shuttles and a couple of our TRPTA buses now fit inside. I parked my bus there last Friday and I’ll see how it fared tomorrow morning.

I won’t have to clean snow and ice off my rig, but my 2.3 mile commute just doubled.

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Ice Rise

Enjoyed the sun rising over the ice on the little pond at Trouts Ranch this morning.

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Halloween Morning

It was a fitting sunrise this Halloween morning.

…and that dot upper right was in a dozen other shots I took. Here it is up close:

…and Broulim’s slipped in some blood oranges that only one who buys an orange there every morning would immediately notice.

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Bates Ride

I’ve got a little old lady client that lives out by the Big Holes and she comes in for Senior Meals frequently which affords me a fine drive with great scenery. Today was amazing with air quality most people only dream about. I was a little early so I took some shots along the way. Click the one below to see more…

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Victor Yellow

Every weekday you can find me here around 1450 waiting to swing around the corner and start my afternoon kid run. It’s always very yellow here this time of year. That’s the Victor Music on Main stage and if you peer through the fence you can see the Elementary school. There’s also a great Wi-Fi connection from the nearby library…

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Trouts Ranch

I’ve been staging at the Trout’s Ranch subdivision clubhouse lately before my first pickup. It’s quiet, there’s a great parking area, a nice little pond, and my Hatches Corner turn is just down the road.

And a view of the Tetons with a sunrise behind them ain’t bad either…

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Wild Ride

My little buddy lets his hair grow long but the ride to school this morning must have been particularly wild. Judging from the smile I assume it was enjoyable…

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