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When I first moved here over 30 years ago—sheesh, where does the time go?—there were almost 100,000 people in the Treasure Valley. Now the population of the metropolitan area has reached a quarter million.
Outlying villages have merged into miles and miles of cookie-cutter developments with loftily misplaced names like Tuscany Meadows, Princeton Place, Artisan Point, Boulder Heights, Blue Meadows . . .. At the west end of the county traffic is nightmarish. Big box stores scream for attention at every major intersection.
But I live in an older, more sedately-paced part of town. All that stands between me and the downtown core is the Boise State University campus and a lot of student housing. Yes, it can get noisy around here, especially on home football days and in the spring, when classroom crazy succumbs to kegger relief. However, I can walk or ride my bike to most downtown activities. Despite the occasional murder along the river or adolescent cougar on the loose, I feel safe walking home at night.
Besides helping to stave off sit-buttitis, my walks never cease to amaze me. I see things that on wheels would be missed. First of all, a river runs through it. Then there are the parks that necklace the river, providing open space and miles of greenbelt for skating, cycling, and walking.
Julia Davis, herself, Boise’s first matron of the arts and hospitality. She and husband, Tom, were early and very successful pioneers during the 1860s. Tom deeded the land for this park to the city in honor of his wife.
A growing population has enabled Boise’s arts & cultural community to flourish
- One whole downtown block is dedicated to our historically rich Basque community.
- Just another bit of interesting art in the Trader Joe’s parking lot.
These are just a few of the things I love about Boise. All images came from my often-cursed iPhone.
btg5885 said:
I love the tour. Especially the traffic boxes. Cool.
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rangewriter said:
Glad you enjoyed it Keith. Maybe some day you’ll see these sights yourself. 😉
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auntyuta said:
You mention the Union Pacific Train Station, Linda. Are there still any trains going?
Your iPhone makes beautiful pictures. I enjoyed looking at all your pictures.
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rangewriter said:
Oh how I wish the UP train station still hosted passenger trains. The national train system, Amtrack, stopped coming through Boise in the 80s. I love traveling by train, but the options in western America are slim. There’s a northern route across the country that runs out of Seattle and a southern one out of LA, I believe. There’s a n/s run between LA & Seattle and that’s it. We have a really beautiful, but empty relic of former times. It is now used as a speccial event center. Thanks for dropping by and leaving such a nice compliment.
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auntyuta said:
Sadly here in Australia some former train stations are not being used as train stations anymore either. Where the train service has been abolished there are some railway busses once or twice a day to take you to the next available train station.
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rangewriter said:
Well, busses aren’t great, but that’s better connectivity than we have. To catch the nearest Amtrack train, I believe I’d have to drive 10 hours or fly to one of the major cities on the line…then get from the airport to the train station somehow, probably by taxi. 😦
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auntyuta said:
Does not sound very commuter friendly, Linda. I guess Americans rely very much on their cars, even more so than people in Australia. In Australia nearly every adult is in possession of a car just to get to work. The long distance trains are usually full of pensioners who do not want to drive any more and who can get concession tickets. Domestic air travel is of course used quite a lot too in Australia. For us just to get to the airport in Sydney can be quite expensive. We rather go by train to Melbourne. Alternatively we can go by car, which is a bit quicker than going by train. The flight to get to Melbourne is very quick, but to get to and from the airports takes too long and is expensive!
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rangewriter said:
Yes, transportation is a critical issue in the states, especially in the west, where distances to just the basic services can be quite far and there are no public transportation issues. For elderly, loss of the car key is often as much of a death knell as a broken hip. Sad but true.
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Landscaping Caldwell said:
Gotta have the Zoo – always the best place for families. 🙂 Thank you for your time to post this – I think we’ll go to downtown Boise this weekend.
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rangewriter said:
Hope you enjoyed the Zoo in between the sprinkles! Thanks for popping in and leaving your thoughts.
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