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Travel Dates: October 1-3, 2018

On Monday October 1st we left Kanab and headed toward Boise, Idaho with a planned stop in Ogden, Utah. Ogden is usually the last place we can get an In ‘n Out burger on a trip headed home from Arizona or the east. Normally we have burgers and fries then take in a movie. Unfortunately, the traveling was catching up with us. By the time we pulled into our motel Monday evening we were all just exhausted and too tired of sitting in the car to drive to dinner – even if In ‘n Out was at the end of it. So we ate at a little place across the parking lot from the hotel – it was surprisingly not bad; even a little bit good – and retired early.

That was all the better to wake up early and get on the road to Boise – the City of Trees. I went to college at the College of Idaho which is in Caldwell about 25 miles west of Boise. We have a lot of friends who either still live in the area or have recently moved back. I messed up! I didn’t effectively reach out to my old school chums, so we didn’t have the visits we could have. I confess to being a bit shy; I’ve let the years and distance come between us and I haven’t done my share of effort to maintain the friendships. It’s something to work on.

But we did stay with Tom and Nancy. We lived in Caldwell and were the first of our group to have a child. Nancy was a great friend to us; she’d stop by for visits and jumped at the chance to hold Jeff.

Maybe because of that we have stayed in closer contact with Nancy over the years and usually stop to see them. Oh, man were we poor back then. Carla was a stay-at-home mom and I taught middle school and high school in Marsing – a rural community southwest of Caldwell on the Snake River.

After we got to town and visited for a bit we wanted to stretch our legs so we all headed down to the beautiful Boise River Walk. As I said in my previous post: we chased summer down to Arizona but Fall was hot cold on our  heals on the way back home. Fall had come to Boise and was on display. The colors on the other side of the lake were spectacular.

Too bad all that orange fencing was up around a construction area. At least the color complemented the trees.

At one place along the river there is a man made surfing spot where the water is channeled into a spot where there is a continuous wave. The Autumn chill didn’t deter a couple of surfers in their wet/dry suits

People line up to take their turn. When a person falls the next person gets in. We’ve seen big lines there in the summer. One of my college buds has a son who is a professional surfer. He travels around the world to find the great spots and competitions and has had fun in this spot. Who’d a thunk you could surf in Idaho?

After our walk we went into downtown for a bite to eat.

We stayed up late talking and reminiscing. The next morning we wanted to show Linda the College of Idaho – where Carla and I met. When I attended – 1970 -to1974 – this small liberal arts college was very active with enrollment at capacity – just under 1,000 students. It suffered declining enrollments into the 80’s but it has really blossomed in the last couple of decades. Joe and Kathryn Albertson – yes the grocery chain Albertsons – donated millions of dollars. Every time we drop in I am pleasantly surprised at the growth and new constructions. And by the way, the Albertson foundation have been behind a lot of the work on the Boise River walk.

Sterry Hall was the original building of the college which was founded in 1891.

I knew they had recently built a new library but was gobsmacked as we drove up to campus and saw it. The Cruzen-Murray Library It is a big, modern, beautiful building.

I was especially interested in those vertical shades that surround the building.

The broad expressive curves of the exterior are carried through inside.

The colors, materials, and openness of the stacks is stunning.

Wow! This is a magnificent building. I bought a C of I shirt and jacket and we bought some stuff for the grandkids. Then we headed out of town to show Linda the middle/high school in Marsing where I taught when Jeff was born. Teaching there was a valuable experience; it taught me I might have talents other than teaching.

WHAT!? The school building is no longer there! It’s understandable – it was an old decrepit building when I taught there 40 years ago. We drove around the small rural town for a bit and found a complex with new – to me – elementary, middle, and high schools.

On our way back to Tom and Nancy’s house we did some shopping for dinner. Tom is quite the chef; he made a delicious pasta dish with shrimp and a simple yet delicious sauce.

After another long evening of talk we retired. After a leisurely breakfast we headed toward home and our last night on the road in Baker City, Oregon. More about that in the final post of our trip..