Boise, Idaho: State Capitol

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Boise was one of the cities I was anxious to explore, but on the morning of Day 8 I wasn’t feeling much excitement.  The sky was once again cloudy, the ground wet, and I wasn’t thrilled about the prospects of more gloom.  I drove back into Boise (after spending the night in Nampa), made one wrong turn after another, and eventually ended up at the state capitol.

If you’re arriving in Boise from the west, take I-184, which will dump you in the middle of downtown.  From the east, take the Vista Avenue exit, head north.  Vista will turn into Capitol Blvd., which of course will lead you directly to the capitol building.

It’s a beautiful building from the outside, even on a soggy day.

I was just about the only person inside, amongst the marble columns.

In the rotunda, looking up…

… and looking down.  I may have seen a custodian, other than that, not a person to be found, anywhere.  Even on a Saturday I expected a little more activity.

For the most part, Boise’s capitol building was beautiful, but not especially remarkable…

…but there was one scene that amazed me.  Apparently in this corner of the capitol building, you can sit on the historic furniture all you want, but by golly, don’t you dare move it around.  Was this seriously a problem before they installed the sign?  People would come to the capitol, and move the sofa where the chairs were, and the chairs where the desk was?  There must be more to do in Boise, than that.

I didn’t have time to explore Boise’s “Greenbelt”, but I recommend you do.  The Greenbelt is a network of trails, mostly paved, that runs along nearly 10 miles of the Boise River.  It’s one of the reasons that Boise often ranks high on Money magazine’s Most Livable Cities list.
I admit I gave up on Boise without giving it much of a chance.  Mostly, it was because I had so far to travel, with so few places to stop for the night along the way.  I had to hit the road, so I did–heading west once again, on I-84.  Next stop, Hell’s Canyon.

Note: This trip was first published in 2006.  Much of the same area was covered in the Big Sky trip in 2014.

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