Boise, ID

Satchel’s is located on 8th and Bannock behind the Idaho building and during the summer months, when its too nice to stay inside and veg-out in front of a TV they have movie nights. I used to love living downtown on 8th street and listening to the sounds of the movie projected just below my cracked window. Satchel’s takes advantage of the open space on the side of the Idaho building to project films on movie nights.

Many, many years ago, Sherwood West-an older subdivision, was constructed above the west rim of it. The former gravel pit, supplied raw materials such as sand and gravel, to the ever growing communities being built on the Boise Bench. One reason I am familiar with it, is that my dad had built many homes in the same subdivision.

About four years ago, the wife and I moved into the area, just a few blocks away. I hadn’t seen the old gravel pit in years. On one of my first walks in our new neighborhood, I quickly rediscovered an old friend.

It wasn’t until I started to write this review that I did a bit of research. Low and behold, I found the pit had a name-the “Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve.” In addition, I was astonished to see that the City of Boise had created a master plan in 2000, to develop the site into a park.

We headed straight for the best part of the natural hot spring, which lies just beyond the curve of the cliff. Getting to it can be a challenge and more so if you don’t have the right shoes. One must brave the chilly river waters or else take a long way over the cliff and attempt to mountain goat their way down some unstable rocks. The river can be deep in spots, but a thoughtful citizen has made a path of large stones through the more difficult parts. The pool its self is about ten feet by six feet worth of calf-deep water that’s just the right temperature. A small waterfall that originates at the top of the cliff feeds the pool.

It was early this year, when spring fever finally to got me. The chill morning air, still required a jacket, and warm clothes. I just had to get out of the house and see what our beautiful city had to offer, after awakening form a long, cold winter nap.

The wife wasn’t anxious to leave her warm cozy abode, so with camera in hand and a cup of Joe, I began my journey across town to one of my favorite places, Warm Spring Mesa. Starcrest View really isn’t the name of the place, it’s the name of a street. But if one goes up in the evening-the name seems appropriate.

The wife and I weren’t exactly sure what to do about Fourth of July Fireworks. Should we go to Melba, where we had watched the parade earlier in the day, or head on over to Ann Morrison Park that was closer to the house in Boise, or just stay home. As with the parade, we opted for Melba again. We just like that good ol’ small town feel of the area and the people in it.

Since we don’t have the kids or grandkids around anymore, their wasn’t much sense in spending the day at Melba doing kid things after the parade-so we came back to Boise. Knowing the show would start at 10:30PM, we decided to leave home around 7:30PM so we could set up our lawn chairs near our usual spot on the Melba School field.

Leading the parade of antique cars was this guy at the left. Not the sort of thing you find in a Rose Day or Macy Day Parade-but the kind of small town feel that is part of the hometown atmosphere of this state.

How the fella, ever fit into such a tiny vehicle is beyond me, but he was happy to give a wave for the camera! Too bad his Schwab’s Ice Cream truck didn’t have any…we sure could have used some on such a hot day!

Wednesday was a rough day. I woke up late, had to skip breakfast and my shower (making my hair look ridiculous). Three separate customers yelled at me at work for things that were completely out of my control. I got a blister on my big toe from my new shoes, and to top it off, I spilled shoe dye on my favorite white shirt.

Most people might want to crawl into bed after a day like that. I was ready to hit the town. Thank goodness for Humpin’ Hannahs, the premiere downtown destination in Boise on Wednesday nights.

You don’t necessarily have to be a writer to add your own posts to OneThousandThingsToDo.com! We are currently looking for people to write about the things that you do in your local area. Do you do a lot of hiking? Biking? Swiming? Do you tear up the town a lot? Are you a quilter, actor [...]