JULY 11, 2014.
Boise, Idaho at dusk. July 2014.
HI VALLEY RV PARK on Horseshoe Bend Road is home to us for at least another week. We “rode into town” a few days ago to have some work done on our diesel engine at the Rocky Mountain Cummins facility located here. Our engine was running a little sluggish and it turns out that we needed to replace our turbocharger. With less than 20,000 miles, it doesn’t seem as if we’d have needed this much attention, but at least the work was covered by our warranty. Also, we were able to replace our unit with one of the new improved titanium ones and our coach is now running perkier than ever! It just “leaps” off the line and even the performance of the exhaust brakes is much improved. We’re learning that lots more maintenance and repair than we ever expected seems to be the norm. As a fellow-traveler a few days back said to us: “We’ve seen all of America in our motor-home…one repair facility at a time!” I hope that doesn’t really turn out to be the case for us.
BOISE IS THE CAPITAL OF IDAHO with a population of about 215,000. It’s a nice city…time magazine recently rated it as one of the best in America for “getting it right.” It’s located in the southwestern part of the state, about 40 miles east of the Oregon border. Elevation is a little less than 3,000 feet. Most of Boise lies on a broad, flat plain, descending to the west. Mountains rise to the northeast…they’re often described as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. That’s our next destination…some of the country’s best fishing anywhere is located in the streams, lakes and rivers of northern Idaho. I’m planning to significantly reduce the trout population in those streams next week! There’s a huge Cabela’s store nearby and I think the time’s come for me to get some of that new fishing gear I’ve been wanting for so long!
Boise National Forest.
WE LIKE BOISE. An extensive urban trail system called the Boise River Greenbelt runs along the river right through the downtown part of the city. The Boise River itself…a tributary of the Snake River, is a common destination for swimming, fishing and rafting. Whitewater rafting opportunities abound and although that would have appealed to me just a few years back, I may be a bit too fragile now. I’m still debating. Wildlife viewing opportunities are also plentiful…just a short distance from town in the Boise National Forest. I’m told sightings of eagles, mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, mountain goats, mountain lions and black bear are frequent. We shall see.
