2S2G* - Plans Subject to Change - Day 12, Tues., June 24

*2S2G = Two Susans to Go

For an older motel, the Rodeway Inn by the airport in Boise, Idaho was a good one. The beds were comfortable and our shower had exceptionally good water pressure.

Breakfast (included) at our motel was very good. The eggs were freshly scrambled and a cook would make fresh fried eggs if you wanted them. Also included were juice, waffles, mini muffins, fruit, biscuits and gravy, and sausage.

At breakfast we discussed how short the drive was to Salt Lake City (SLC). We figured we could knock out a 5K capital walk and continue on to Moab, UT for our next night instead of staying in SLC. This necessitated canceling our cave tour reservations at Timpanogos Cave National Monument outside SLC. The cancel fee was only $1.50, no problem.

The car was loaded and we hopped in for the drive to SLC, Utah.

I called the Airport Inn in SLC that morning to cancel our reservation for that night, only to be told their cancellation policy was 24 hours and they would not cancel our reservation. (Most MAJOR hotels will let you cancel by 4 or 6 p.m. on the day of arrival.) That sucked and made us determined not to spend any extra time or money in SLC.

We arrived in SLC around 2:30 p.m. and tried to park the car near the Volksmarch starting point in the heart of downtown. On-street parking had central meters you had to pay for with cash or credit card. While Susan M. was trying to pay with her c.c., a lady came up to me, as I was changing from flip flops into walking shoes at the side of the car, and said, "Maybe you can help me with something." I told her I didn't know anything because I wasn't from SLC. She then started in with a story about having been in an accident a couple of weeks ago. I stopped her and said, "I'm not going to give you any money." (I was already ticked off about losing out on a night's hotel stay.) She mumbled, "Have a good day" and continued on her way.

Meanwhile, the parking meter machine wasn't working and Susan had to call the help number for the parking meter company to find out why and what she could do about it.  All this took about 20 minutes.

When we walked over to the motel start point, there was no walk box. Susan called the point of contact for the walk only to find out the walk box had been moved to another motel with plenty of free parking. Grr. So far SLC was not our favorite city.

The motel with the walk box was within a short driving distance. We signed in for the walk and took off on a 5K walk in the heat of the afternoon (3:15 p.m., 93 degrees, ugh!).

The shady side of the street was our friend in downtown SLC. Most of the walk was on busy city streets...lots of traffic noise.

First point of interest, the Mormon church grounds to see the exterior of the tabernacle and temple.

Temple

Tabernacle

Looking toward convention center fountain

Beautiful landscaping on the tabernacle grounds

From the Mormon facility, we took off up the main street in SLC. The road climbed up a hill to the state capital. 

Love this gorgeous home on the way to the capital.

Utah's Capitol

Old City Hall, now a Visitor Center and historic shrine.

Click to read about Old City Hall.

Another view of the Capitol.

From the state capital we turned downhill and had a wonderful vista encompassing the Wasatch Mountain range.

Wasatch Mountains and east Salt Lake City

Below is a stunning home very close to the capital. It looked like there was a business run from the home for some type of renovation/design/construction. But you could tell it was someone's home because wet suits were hung to dry on the balcony upstairs.

Beautiful home/business

Interesting plant.

Another gorgeous home on "capital hill."

We continued downhill and had another view of the temple.

Temple spires and angel Moroni

We then turned east and headed up to Memory Grove Park to see SLC's replica of the Liberty Bell. 

We turned around at the Liberty Bell replica and headed back to our start point. Along the way, we passed the Eagle Gate Monument (more of an arch than a gate). The original Eagle Gate was erected in 1859 and commemorated the entrance to Brigham Young's property at the mouth of City Creek Canyon. At that time, the eagle was wood, carved by Ralph Ramsay, and the base of the "gate" was narrow.

The original Eagle Gate was remodeled and enlarged in the early 1890s by Brigham Young's architect son, Don Carlos. The wooden eagle was rebuilt and fortified.

By the 1960s, State Street had to be widened. The prior monument, including Ramsay's eagle, had to be removed and replaced with a much larger and wider third generation Eagle Gate. This new gate was designed by Brigham Young's grandson, George Cannon Young. A new 4,000 lb. bronze eagle with a 10' long body and 20' wingspan perched atop a beehive was created by Dr. Grant Fairbanks to replaace the old wooden eagle. The new arch is 76' tall.

Eagle Gate Monument

Eagle Gate Monument below Capitol.

As we were finishing our SLC walk, a stately building came into view. No signs identified the building we were looking at. I asked a woman standing across the street what the building was. She said it is the City and County Building. Wow!

City and County Building

City and County Building, SLC, Utah

After we finished our 5K (3.1 mile) walk in two hours (slow for us!) it was 5:15 p.m. and rush hour. We decided to get out of the city and head for Moab. We had to be at our motel by 11:00 p.m. We took turns driving and pulled into our motel, the Rustic Inn, at 10:00 p.m. We were in bed by 11:00 p.m. and up again at 6:00 a.m. Susan M. snored. I did not sleep well, so spent time on the computer.

Another day sped by. Travel Bug out.

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.