2S2G* - I Love Boise! - Day 11, Mon., June 23

*2S2G = Two Susans to Go

Today's agenda: meet a good friend for breakfast in The Dalles, Oregon, then drive to Boise and do the 12K Capital - Microbrewery walk. It was time to leave the Columbia River Gorge in the rear-view mirror.

In The Dalles, we met Daily at Cousins Restaurant, a place with good ole, down-home cooking. Soon after we were seated, samples of their cinnamon rolls were brought to our table. We dug in and enjoyed their great rolls.

Cousins Restaurant

Cousins

Our friend, Daily

Susan, Daily and I conversed about politics, politicians, airplanes, flying, world events, deer ("yard rats" per Daily), and his life at the lake. Breakfast was wonderful. None of us left hungry. Thank you, Daily, for taking care of our breakfasts. I love connecting with friends.

Upon arriving in Boise, Idaho, we checked into our motel room, then headed to the downtown Boise YMCA to start our 12K Capital walk. The weather was warm.

Treasure Valley Family YMCA, our walk starting point

The Volksmarch route took us past old churches, the Capitol building, microbreweries, into parks, the Center on the Grove, and through beautiful neighborhoods. In many large cities we find deer, pigs, bear or other animals painted and placed around the city as art installations. In Boise, artists paint the electrical boxes at intersections. The box pictured below is titled, "The Garden She Keeps," by Ellen DeAngelis.

"The Garden She Keeps"

The state Capitol...three views:

State Capitol in Boise, Idaho

Susan M. in front of Idaho's Capitol.

Capitol at dusk.

The Center on the Grove is an area in downtown where a street has been turned into a pedestrian mall with restaurants and shops. Lots of people sat outdoors along the mall enjoying the pleasant early evening temperature.

The Center on the Grove fountain.

We then walked along the Boise River (a 102-mile tributary of the Snake River) on the Greenbelt Trail in Julia Davis Park. It was early evening and people were rafting the river through town. A couple of guys also jumped in and went swimming, carried downstream by the current where they exited and walked back to the start point. In addition, we saw many bicycle riders, walkers, joggers, people playing volleyball and tennis. We even heard someone playing the bagpipes, but we didn't see who. The zoo is in Julia Davis Park and we saw two giraffes come out of their enclosure.

Boise River in downtown.

Lagoon in Julia Davis Park

Susan M. walking the Greenbelt

As we walked, we smelled wonderful fragrances in the air and I thought the trees that smelled so good might be Glorybower (Clerodendrum trichotomum). The air was also perfumed with honeysuckle and jasmine. This walk was the most fragrant of any city I've ever been in. Catalpa trees were in full bloom as were purple coneflowers, hollyhocks, and succulents.

Catalpa tree in full bloom.

Purple coneflowers.

Hollyhocks

Sedums or succulents blooming

University of Idaho in downtown Boise

Below is O'Farrell cabin, the oldest home and place of worship in Boise (1863).

O'Farrell cabin

Federal Building

One of the parks we walked past.

I love walking through neighborhoods. Many delightful homes!

The Lion Home, yours for 1.5 million.

 

About three-fourths of the way through our walk, we came upon a fast food drive in. Susan bought us both ice cream treats. Yummy! Thank you, Susan M.  We noticed in Idaho 'tater tots are called "gems." You learn something new every day.

After the ice cream, we headed back to our start point. Along the way we walked on 13th Street (historic Hyde Park). Some of the eateries reminded us of San Antonio.

Restaurant in Boise's Hyde Park neighborhood.

The Methodiist Cathedral also known as "The Cathedral of the Rockies."

The Cathedral of the Rockies.

St. John's Cathedral:

St. John's Cathedral

We finished our 7.4 mile Boise Capitol walk in three hours. Along the way we passed three working microbreweries but didn't stop for any brewskis.

A great walk. We hopped in the car for the short drive back to our motel. We had a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow, Salt Lake City.

Travel Bug out.