Boise: Salmon River of No Return, Stanley and Sawtooths, Julia Davis Park, Idaho Politics, Eastern Idaho, and Yellowstone
Boise: Salmon River (692km longest undammed single-state US river no dams entire main stem, Middle Fork 145km most acclaimed US multi-day rafting 100+ Class III-IV rapids hot springs petroglyphs floatplane only or Boundary Creek dirt road, 6-day permit lottery Recreation.gov February, Lewis and Clark called impassable turned back to Lolo Trail), Stanley (170km NE 1,905m population 60 smallest county seat US, coldest continental US regular station -40C January below-freezing every month, SNRA 756,000 acres 217,000 wilderness 40 peaks 3,000m+ 300 alpine lakes 700km trails, Redfish Lake 8km long 1,983m named red sockeye salmon, Redfish sockeye world most inland 1,450km Pacific to 1,983m ESA listed 1991 4 adults 1992 recovered 200-400 by 2020), Julia Davis Park (90 acres Boise Art Museum Idaho State Historical Museum Idaho Black History Museum only Idaho Black history museum Buffalo Soldiers 1870s Fort Boise, Discovery Center, Zoo Boise 1916 350,000 visitors/year snow leopard Amur tiger, Ann Morrison 153 acres Esther Simplot fountain Alive After Five, 3km Greenbelt most walked segment), Idaho politics (Republican every presidential since 1968 except LBJ 1964, federal owns 63% Idaho land, Bonner Boundary counties highest antigovernment militia Pacific NW, Aryan Nations Hayden Lake 1973-2000 civil lawsuit, Ruby Ridge 1992 triggered militia movement nationally, City of Trees 24% canopy USD 10M environmental services, Mayor McLean 2019 first woman mayor re-elected 2023 majority Democratic city in Republican state), eastern Idaho (Pocatello 56,000 340km Oregon Short Line Railroad 1881-1884 railroad company town 1882, Idaho Falls 67,000 430km, INL established 1949 5,600 employees USD 2.9B 52 reactor experiments, first nuclear-powered city December 20 1951 BORAX IV, Mesa Falls Upper 33m Henry Fork last intact major Snake falls), Yellowstone (550km West Yellowstone entrance US-20, Grand Teton 520km, Greater Yellowstone 72,800 sqkm largest intact temperate ecosystem Northern Hemisphere outside Russia 67 mammals all pre-contact megafauna, Snake River originates Yellowstone 2,438m same river as Boise Greenbelt Hells Canyon Shoshone Falls, Jackson WY median home USD 3M+ highest small town US 7,500-11,000 elk National Elk Refuge).
Boise: Treasure Valley Food Scene, Nez Perce War, Lewis and Clark, BSU Blue Turf, Idaho Potatoes, and Basque Heritage
Boise: food (Basque foundation Bar Gernika Leku Ona Basque Market, Ballard Family Dairy Buhl Idaho Idiazabal-style Churra sheep only outside Basque Country, Fork farm-to-table Treasure Valley seasonal, Bittercreek Alehouse 1997 30 Idaho Pacific NW beers, Alavita most acclaimed Italian Idaho, Saturday Farmers Market 8th and Idaho 150+ vendors), Nez Perce War 1877 (750 Nimiipuu led Chief Joseph born 1840 died 1904, 2,000km flight across Idaho Wyoming Montana 3.5 months 13 battles, Clearwater Battle August 9-10 1877 near Kamiah largest battle, bear Paw Mountains October 5 1877 60km from Canada Tell General Howard I know his heart I will fight no more forever, Nez Perce NHP 38 sites Spalding HQ 330km north, most significant Lewis Clark Native allies horses food guidance to Pacific), Lewis and Clark (Meriwether Lewis born 1774 died 1809 William Clark born 1770 died 1838, Idaho westbound 1805 eastbound 1806, Lemhi Pass August 12 1805 River of No Return impassable, Lolo Trail 11 days near killed expedition September 1805, Sacajawea born 1788 Idaho purchased by Charbonneau indispensable interpreter infant son Jean-Baptiste born February 11 1805 signaled peaceful no war party has woman and child), BSU (26,000 students R1 2020 first Idaho R1, Albertsons Stadium 36,387 seats blue turf 1986 first colored artificial turf Smurf Turf, 2007 Fiesta Bowl January 1 BSU beat Oklahoma 43-42 Statue of Liberty Ian Johnson 48.2 Nielsen highest ever bowl), potatoes (Luther Burbank 1849-1926 Russet Burbank 1871, Snake River Plain volcanic loam altitude 900-1,500m diurnal range Snake River Aquifer 100M acre-feet, 5.5B lbs/year 30% US production, Lamb Weston Eagle ID and J.R. Simplot Boise two largest processors world, Idaho Potato Museum Blackfoot world largest potato chip 25x58cm 1991 Pringles), Basque history (oldest people Western Europe language isolate no relation any other language family, 3M Basque identity, 1890s sheepherders high desert sagebrush like Pyrenean mendialdeak, sheepherder wagon mobile home wood stove fold-down bed 2,000 sheep months alone, Jaialdi every 5 years 30,000+ stone lifting wood chopping txalaparta trikitixa).
Boise: Greenbelt, Basque Block, Oregon Trail, Outdoor Recreation, Craters of the Moon, and the Tech Economy
Boise (elevation 874 m, population 240,000 city/760,000 metro, No. 1 quality of life US News 2021 and 2022) is the capital and largest city of Idaho, a rapidly growing city at the confluence of the Boise River and the Snake River Plain that has transformed in 15 years from a mid-sized government and agricultural hub into one of the leading outdoor-lifestyle technology cities in the American West. The city is defined by the 35-km Boise River Greenbelt (2 million annual visitors), the Idaho State Capitol (the only naturally geothermally heated capitol in the US), the most significant Basque community in the United States (15,000 Basque-Americans, the Basque Block on Grove Street), gateway access to the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (2.37 million acres, largest contiguous wilderness in the continental US), and Micron Technology (the only major US semiconductor company headquartered outside Silicon Valley, market cap USD 100B+). The Treasure Valley (the irrigated agricultural basin surrounding Boise) produces 30% of all US potatoes (5.5 billion pounds/year Snake River Plain Russet Burbank), and the Boise metro was the fastest-growing in the United States in 2020-2021 at 3.6% annual growth, driven by California migration and the outdoor lifestyle.
Boise: Snake River Raptors, Sun Valley, Arts Scene, Owyhee Mountains, River Floating, and Practical Info
Boise: Snake River Birds of Prey NCA (1993 485,000 acres 130km canyon 800 nesting raptor pairs most dense on earth, Townsend ground squirrels primary prey base, Morley Nelson born 1916 died 2001 first wild raptor documentary films lobbied 40 years for NCA, best March-July prairie falcon chicks Dedication Point overlook), Sun Valley (240km NE first US destination ski resort W. Averell Harriman Union Pacific, Felix Schaffgotsch found site 1935 Lodge opened December 21 1936, world first chairlift January 1937 banana loading conveyor design, Hemingway born 1899 Oak Park died July 2 1961 Ketchum gunshot Nobel Prize, wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls Sun Valley Lodge 1939, Ketchum Cemetery 10,000 visitors/year), arts (Morrison Center BSU 2,048 seats, Boise Philharmonic 1960 oldest Idaho performing arts, Treefort 2012 400+ bands 40+ venues 5 days Hackfort Alefort Filmfort established Boise as music city, Freak Alley murals North 8th Street since 2011, Boise Art Museum 1931 oldest Idaho art museum), Owyhee (2,354m War Eagle Mountain Owyhee County 19,717 sqkm 0.7 people/sqkm, Silver City ghost town 120km SW 1850m 75+ original buildings 1863-1940 Idaho Hotel open June-September, Owyhee Canyonlands 1.8M acres most remote canyon wilderness American West Class III-IV April-May, Bruneau Dunes 163m tallest single-structure dune North America), river float (whitewater park 2012 USD 1.5M first Idaho urban park, Barber Park to Ann Morrison 10km 300,000+ float trips/year Memorial Day to Labor Day, Lucky Peak Reservoir 4,600 acres 1955 Army Corps Sandy Point swim beach), practical (BOI airport 6M passengers USD 173M expansion, non-stop 20 US cities, I-84 Portland 550km Salt Lake 540km, Modern Hotel 1950s motel converted USD 130-180, 206 days sunshine best climate non-Sunbelt US city, July high 36C low humidity, 35cm snow/winter, Bogus Basin 45 min from downtown).
Boise: Foothills Mountain Biking, Hells Canyon, Snake River Valley Wine, Garden City Arts, Shoshone Falls, and Growth
Boise: Foothills (190km trails 1.5M uses/year Ridge to Rivers partnership, Hulls Gulch Reserve Crestline 21km Sidewinder technical, Camels Back Park off-leash dog foot of Foothills, top 5 US mountain biking cities Biking Outside Magazines, 9-month trail season March-November low elevation, Bogus Basin summer bike park lift-served June-October most vertical drop per dollar Pacific NW), Hells Canyon (250-300km NW Idaho-Oregon border deepest gorge North America 2,436m vs Grand Canyon 1,857m, He Devil Mountain 2,762m Snake River 326m, HCNRA 1975 650,000 acres, jet boat tours 5-day Class IV-V float most dramatic Idaho after Middle Fork Salmon, Seven Devils named deadly sins, 217,000-acre wilderness floatplane trail or river only access), wine (Snake River Valley AVA April 2007 3.2M acres 900-1,100m volcanic loam highest-elevation east Cascades, Ste. Chapelle 1976 oldest winery 300 acres 70,000 cases, Hells Canyon Winery best-in-class Syrah, Cinder urban winery Garden City arts district, 30+ craft breweries), Garden City arts (River Street 36th-44th former industrial, Surel Mitchell Live-Work only Idaho artist residency, Mitchell 1990s vision creative community foundation, creative industries 12,000 Boise metro, Treefort effect regular Pacific NW tour stop, Boise Contemporary Theater 2001 LORT 190 seats world premieres), Shoshone Falls (220km east Twin Falls 62m tall 274m wide taller than Niagara 52m horseshoe basalt, most dramatic April-June 2,000-3,000 m3/s, late summer 50-100 m3/s partially dry, Perrine Bridge 148m 7th highest US only bridge BASE jumping legal year-round no permit 500 jumpers/year), growth (770,000 metro 2023 projected 1M by 2030, 5 fastest-growing US metros 2016-2024, 40% from California 15% Washington, 206 days sunshine USD 450K median home vs USD 750K+ Portland Seattle, Idaho flat 5.8% income tax, home prices 80% 2019-2022 most rapid major metro, Arrowrock Dam 1915 107m tallest world when built, 30-40% less snowpack by 2050).