We said our farewells to family in Burbank, Washington, which sits just outside of Pasco, Washington. We are heading to Boise, Idaho. I have decided that Boise is the Biggest Little Town that sits in the middle of nowhere. It is a long drive to get to Boise from Pasco and you have to pass through some of the most desolate land I've ever seen. And I've been to Northeastern Nevada and parts of Utah. Those states are desolate as well, but Eastern Oregon - wow, not much out there. At one point we pulled over when we finally saw a exit sign on I-84 for a small town. When we pulled over we found that all the gas stations were closed and boarded up as was the motel. All the windows were boarded up or broken out. It was almost funny when we saw the sign out front of the motel - indicating - Vacancies.
The weather pulling out of Pasco was not nice. It was very windy with it coming at us on our right side. Occasionally strong gusts would blow me in the adjacent lane. Fortunately, traffic was light. About an hour out of Pasco, on I-82 it began raining. At times hard but mostly a steady light rain. The rain continued pretty much the entire way. It took us about 5 hours to make the drive from Pasco to the small town outside of Caldwell, which is about 14 miles to the West of Boise.
We pulled into the Ambassador RV Resort - there is that word again "Resort". However, this time the word seems warranted. We were both surprised that the park did not sit right beside the freeway. When we pulled in, it was very clean and neat. There were wide sites with trees and lawns for each rig. The amenities were nice and tidy as well. If you are going to be in Boise, we recommend it. After we got set up, we unhooked the car and headed in to Boise. We would be visiting with an old high-school friend of Elisa. These 2 haven't seen each other in 25 years, but I'm betting they will pick up as if no time has passed at all.
We drive into Boise and it is now about 4:15. Our dinner appointment is at 6:00, so we decide to head out to the Old Penitentiary, which is now a historical landmark and it is also where the Idaho State Botanic Garden is located. Unfortunately, by the time we get there, they are in the process of closing for the day. So we missed the Botanic Garden, but we did get to check out the front of the Old Penitentiary. This prison served as a territorial jail starting back in the mid-1800s. By 1870, the prisoners would be used to quarry granite blocks out of the mountain, so that they could build a large prison. The prison would open in 1873 and remain in use through 1973. It is a menacing looking place. Although they were closing soon, I got a chance to walk through the nearby Women's ward. It was built outside of the main uprising walls and it would house about 16 women prisoners in small 2 person rooms. It did not look like a fun place to be. However, I'm sure it has made a great movie setting.
After that, we headed down to the Julia Davies park, which is also where the Boise State Football stadium is located the home of the Broncos. The stadium is famous for its Bronco's Blue colored turf. We didn't have time to poke our heads into the stadium, but we did take nice walk around the park. The grass is certainly lush, and we were lucky that the rains had stopped in time for us to get a nice walk in.
At 6:00 we met Elisa's friend. She and her Husband and their 2 kids moved to Boise 18 years ago from San Francisco Bay area and they now consider it home. We met at a casual eatery called Cafe Zupa where they specialize in fresh made soup, locally produced salads and panini sandwiches. In an effort to stick with our diets, Elisa and I split a salad and we each had soup. Elisa and her friend spent the next couple of hours catching up. Before we knew it we had to say goodbye. She and her Husband were about to catch a plane early tomorrow morning to head off to Helsinki and then to Moscow and St Petersburg for a 2 week vacation tour. As I suspected, the 2 ladies made up quickly for lost time and picked right back up where they previously were.
We will try to turn in early tonight so that we can head down to Reno, Nv. We will be meeting our friends Steve and Roz from San Diego. They have purchased a home in the Reno area and we are fortunate enough to be there at the same time they are closing on the house. We will get to spend the day with them on Thursday, before we head on home.
More later.