Visit to the Idaho Botanical Gardens

On one of the rare cooler days (80s), Don and went to the Idaho Botanical Gardens up against the foothills of Boise, built on the grounds of the old state penitentiary. I have to remember as I write this that we had, for twice the price, an emmense and lovely botanical garden in Denver, and not to let that influence my impression of this one in Boise. We showed up a little later in the flowering season, so some plants, such as the roses, were not in their full glory. For a small city, it's a lovely little garden to experience a little peace and tranquility in nature. The website, idahobotanicalgarden.org, has listings of events such as winter lighting and concerts (which I hear are pretty fabulous). The garden store appeared quite small. It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays so we didn't get to go inside. For restroom "facilities," there are two outdoor portapottys. My bladder won't cooperate unless I can flush something so I didn't drink tons of water! :D

Unless you're on an I pad, I don't think you can read this map. 

The store. 

This must be the concert area. 

Lots of these little guys running around. 

Picnic area across from the store. 

The "facilities."

Part of old penitentiary. 

How Lavender Got Me Driving Again

Last night, on the news, I found that there is a yearly lavender festival at the Lavender Merchant, a farm in Kuna Idaho. The next day, Sunday, was the last day. Lavender is like a siren calling me out to sea and I have great planting plans for it at our soon to be house. I had to go! Since arriving in Boise, I had only driven by myself to the thrift store a few blocks down the street from our apartment. Not usually hesitant to drive, this move had me dazed and more confused than usual. In Colorado, the mountains were in the West, here they're in the East; therefore, confusing my inner compass. But a lavender festival! I had to go and I had to do it myself, Don is not fond of mornings or heat.

 A merchant mentioned that by Sunday, most things and merchants are gone. Getting there in the morning is important, unless one enjoys temps of above 100. There is food, drink, and apparently a musician who wasn't yet there. Enjoy and purchase lavender oil, lotion, soap, sachets, etc. There were also lots of country decor items. One can grab a basket and picket a bouquet of lavender from the fields for 5.00. It was wonderful to be out in the countryside.

I couldn't resist a chair to paint a fun color and box to use as a planter. Very reasonable. So fun! 

This corn was more than knee high on the fourth of July. 

Exploring Boise Area-The Good, Bad, and The Not So Appealing.

In the spirit of Lewis and Clark, Ponce de Leon (fountain of youth, why or why couldn't he have found that!), and Daniel Boone, we got our poor, confused, disoriented selves out of the apartment and into the world of Boise!

First, the Lucky Peak Dam Rooster Tail. It's job is to control the water flow from Lucky Peak Lake into the Boise river. It is an impressive site.

Due to the amount of runoff expected from this year's unusual amount of snow, more water has been released into the Boise river, to make room for that runoff into the reservoir. This has caused flooding of the Boise river, as a result, tubing activities downstream are delayed. Oh no!

I will get pics later of the Lucky Peak State Park beach, which looks really nice, when I go up there on a "toasty" day (as they say here), for a swim.

On to our first Boise hike. Camelback Park.

 This is MUCH steeper than it looks. I'd wished we'd brought a defibrillator.

Downtown Boise from the top of the trail. There are distant mountains to the right, which are not visible here.

The Next Six Exits

We have arrived at the promised land! Don in Budget truck, Boise.


     Once upon a time, or as much as Don and I have moved since married in 2005, once, twice, thrice, fourth, and now fifth upon a time, we headed to Boise, Idaho to become "tubers!" Why? Because upon retiring a tad early, we discovered condo living was not for us. Usually it's the other way around, live in a house, retire, house is too much work, move to a condo. However, sometimes life needs to be done out of order, according to, in my case, the directives of ADD-ism.
     Puttering is essential to retirement, and it's hard to putter in a condo. I must putter in a garden and a yard, Don must putter in a garage. However, finding a house in the Denver area under 200,000. is no longer possible. After a year or two of research, mostly our faces buried in our Ipads, and a few exploratory trips, we discovered the Boise metro area; it is affordable, has a similar climate to the Denver area, but is appealingly smaller, population 620,000 vs Denver metro area, 2.8 million. It was very hard that first day on the road, we were tired from packing and closing on the condo. We were sad to drive away from friends, family, and a place we'd lived for 36 years, but excited at the looking forward to a new adventure!

Kit finally settled in. Hey! We didnt' name her. It's the one she came with. Unoriginal but fitting.