Boise, Idaho?

Well, now, here's a side trip I wasn't planning on! Boise, Idaho. I really didn't have a direct route to Salt Lake City (my next plan) from South West Oregon so I thought I'd stop halfway and Boise was sort of halfway. There was no interstate in any direction so even this halfway point took 9 hours.

The drive to Boise was nothing short of exhilarating with a little scary mixed in. I knew I'd be taking smaller roads, which I usually prefer, but in this case there wasn't a choice. I was going over a mountain range where I had heard there were a few wild fires from the heatwave and lightening storm so when I got to my first highway (if you want to call it that) there was a sign that said, Closed due to Fire. I thought, "Uh,oh" and then realized that whatever was suposed to happen I'd be taken care of.When I got to it I learned I was only going to be on that stretch for 17 miles and that section was open. Can you say,GRATEFUL!
It was a long journey through the plains and over the mountains of Oregon. As I drove across that long stretch of..um,nothing...I noticed that I had no cell phone reception and no stations coming in on the radio. For 6 hours I had no cell phone or radio. You can imagine the excitement when I realized the only thing I'd be entertained by were the conversations happening in my head. YIKES! I just kept reminding myself that all was well and kept focusing on the beauty of the terrain and soon I started to smell sweet sage (memories of Taos came flooding in)and realized how lucky I was to even be there!

I didn't realize South Eastern Oregon was mostly high desert. I guess I never really thought about it. There was a beautiful river running through the mountains and the smell was so sweet and more so because of the little spurts of rain along the way.

I stayed right near Boise State University which has a beautiful river next to it. I took a walk each day down by the river and really loved watching all the people tubing/kayaking and fishing. There were a few areas that had white water so it really carried them down the river. There were swings tied to trees where people swung out and dropped into the middle of the river. Fun!
There was a nice park on the other side of the river where I parked my car and at the end of each walk just laid down staring up at the trees and smelling the fresh air. It gave me a chance to feel like a little kid. I always loved laying in the grass and watching the little critters climb up and down the blades.
I spent time in Boise reflecting on where I've been so far and the people I've met along the way. My couple of days in Boise were a time of rest and reflection. It was the perfect place for that...
Next stop, Saltlake City, Utah....