Boise, Idaho

We're heading back home from Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park and the next stop is Boise, Idaho.  We've always wanted to visit Boise and now we're passing by and take the opportunity.  Downtown Boise is fairly new, with lots of great art scattered around town.  As we approach the city center, C.W. Moore Park features salvaged arcitectural artifacts from demolished historic Boise buildings, incluing the 1903 W.E. Pierce Building turret, the 1909 Bush Building entrance arch, cast-iron columns, and a historic canal waterwheel.

C. W. Moore Park

Preserving much of the old

Reaching the center of town we spot the state capitol building, which overlooks the downtown area.

Idaho state capital

We note the the utility cabinets are all painted and provide great color to the street.

Utility cabinets

Looking out from the capital

A  few blocks further, located between 8th and 9th streets is Freak Alley Gallery, the northwest's largest open-air, multi-artist, mural gallery.  The first drawing was created in 2002 by Colby Akers on the back doorway of Moon's Cafe.  Now, the murals and graffitti-inspired artwork extend across many buildings and alleys. 

Freak Alley

We wander a few streets through Boise, taking the in people just out enjoying themselves, arriving at the Basque Mural

Wandering through downtown

The mural is located on the Basque Block in Boise, celebrating centuries of Basque heritage in the city.  Boise is home to the largest concentration of Basque people outside of Europe.  The Basque first arrived during the mid-to-late 1800s, drawn by the gold and silver rushes in California, Nevada, and Idaho.  Many later transitioned to ranching and sheepherding and encouraged family and friends from the Pyrenees region between France and Spain to join them.

The Basque Mural

The Basque Block

And, today we dine Basque in Boise!

Amuse Bouche

Cod stuffed peppers, potatas bravas

Paella mixta

What a geat town!

Hiking Around Jenny Lake, Grand Teton

Jenny Lake is one of the most visited areas in Grand Teton National Park.  Tucked away at the base of the Teton Range, the lake is a centerpiece of the park.

We visited Jenny Late briefly in our initial counterclockwise drive around the park.  Now it's time to hike along the lake and several popular trails start at Jenny Lake:  looping the lake, visiting Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, or travelling into the backcountry via Cascade Canyon.  We decide to hike halfway around the lake (after looking the the ferry line) to visit Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.

Jenny Lake

Status of the trails (and ferry)

Ferry line

Choosing to hike

View across the lake

Passing Moose

Continuing along the shore

We reach the halfway point (and meet up with the people who took the ferry).  It gets a lot more crowded on the trail, but there are beautiflul falls, rapids, and views every direction.

Water everywhere

We hike above the falls to Inspiration Point for the views across the Tetons.

Views

We head down to take the ferry to return to the trailhead and find the the ferry line is about 45 minutes, so we wait.  Meanwhile, on the way down, there are great rapids and streams running everywhere with the spring melt

Heading down

Running water along the way

We've had another great exploration in the Grant Teton Nationl Park!