50 Reasons We Love Idaho - Part 2

Welcome back! I'm glad I kept you interested enough to stay tuned for part 2 of the 50 Reasons We Love Idaho list. I'm sitting in my office chair with a knee wrap today, because, as usual, I had a very fun and active weekend and got some great ideas for the list. So, here we go ...

11. City hiking
So I know hiking has already been on the list, but for this mention, I want to talk about city hiking. City hiking meaning that we can go to downtown Boise and start a fairly advanced 2-mile hike, see breathtaking views at the summit, and then make our way down and to a nice, downtown lunch within minutes from the trail head. Of course, there are tons of hiking trails in some of the more remote areas outside of town, but the opportunity to hike right in the city has been a great, unexpected bonus that I plan to take serious advantage of (even if D protests).

12. Dog-friendly culture
Considering I like dogs more than most people, I have been pleased to see how dog friendly Idaho is. As the weather is warming up and folks are heading outside, there is pretty much at least one or more dog with every family, couple or individual we see. There were tons of sweet doggies enjoying the hike along with us last weekend (and doing a much better job at it, I might add), and there are dog treats, water dishes and goodies scattered around most stores and restaurants. It warms my heart to see all the four-legged love. This one is also Sydney approved!

13. Idaho wine
Having spent two weeks in Italy last summer, I have been pretty loyal to Italian wine of late, so when Dave and I made plans to hit up a local winery for our Val Day dinner last weekend, I wasn't sure what to expect. Our dinner included a tour of the winery, along with a four-course meal with wine pairings. Wow; I was in love about half-way through the tour! The quality of the wines, and the process by which this small winery harvests the grapes, ages in french oak barrels and prides itself on local sourcing was only topped by the straight from the barrel samplings. Oh my! I cannot wait to partake in more Idaho wine.

14. Mountain biking
As if skiing and hiking aren't enough to keep us challenged, we have noticed how prevalent mountain biking is in the area. Dave has been doing his research and bought his first mountain bike last weekend. We're both excited to get outfitted for a new hobby and try out some of the beginner hills to get our feet wet. If only I were about 20 years younger -- ouch.

15. Hot springs
You cannot have all this activity without the need for a little recuperation. So, when we heard about a new Hot Springs resort opening up in Idaho City, we jumped at the chance to rest our weary bones and check it out. There are several public and commercial hot springs on the outskirts of Boise, and this one definitely didn't disappoint.

16. State Parks
When we registered our Jeep, we learned of an additional park pass we could add for $10 a year that would get us into any Idaho State Park for free. We have learned that this is going to be quite a deal, because there are over 30 state parks. We actually have one, Eagle Island, about 7 miles from our house. Lucky Peak State Park is also nearby, located just outside of Boise.

17. Locally-owned restaurants
Well, we're almost at the end of part 2, so it's time to start mentioning the food. Since Boise is obviously small compared to the DFW area, we were wondering a bit whether we'd have a lot of good food choices. What we've learned is, not only are there great choices, but there are a ton of locally-owned restaurants. No more onslaught of chains! In Eagle, we have a very quaint downtown area with a few really good options. This one in particular has been a mainstay for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They serve up yummy food and have live music on the weekends.

18. Coffee hang outs
Anyone from the Northwest is probably well aware of how popular the coffee shop is for partaking just about any time of day. It warms you up on a cold day and is a great place to chill and listen to music or meet other people. We have three locally-owned shops just in Eagle, and they are plentiful around Boise. So far, Rembrandt's right here in Eagle is our favorite. The interior decor and vibe makes you want to get creative, and the Mexican Mocha Latte is to die for!

19. Lots of photo ops
When it's time for my phone upgrade, I definitely plan to do some research on the phone's camera, as the volume of picture taking has drastically increased since my move. Dave is really the photographer in the family, and I look forward to framing some of the landscape photos he's been taking. Here he is in action last weekend.

20. Boise National Forest
After our trip to the Hot Springs, Dave and I decided to take advantage of the fact that we were basically already at the edge of the Boise National Forest. There's actually a loop that takes you from Boise, Northeast into the forest, then West back out of the forest and south to Eagle. What a drive! The narrow, winding road was carved right into the forest and mountains. I don't think I blinked for almost two hours. The two main roads we took are aptly named: the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Route and The Payette River National Scenic Byway. Here's a little more data:

The Boise National Forest is a US national forest located north and east of the city of Boise, Idaho. It is about 2,654,000 acres (10,740 km²) in size, ranging in elevation from 2,600 to 9,800 feet (800 to 3000 m). 

So, there you have it, 10 more reasons we love Idaho. Stay tuned for part 3 of the list, which I'm titling "the No-s." It'll be a fun one.

50 Things We Love about Idaho

I recently saw a post on Facebook regarding an article about "The 50 Best Things about Texas." As evidenced by the title of my blog, I find that Idahoans are definitely a little more "humble" about this state, so it's a nice little secret as to how great it can be to live here. I decided to borrow a little of that Texas pride, and, as an Idaho newbie, present this five-part series on how great my new state is. We had a really fun weekend in the mountains, so I've got some fresh memories to get us started with part 1. So, here we go... part 1 of "50 Things We Love about Idaho...."

1. River views during spa treatments
It's my blog, so I get the first spot on the list! My peeps definitely know how much I love my spa treatments, so it's probably no surprise that I found my new "mother ship" of spas on our very first week here. I had driven by the spa several times and noticed how serene it looked with its river location. So, once we got the last of the main boxes unpacked on week 1, I washed away my moving blues with some treatments. The spa is so gorgeous, with lots of great treatments, but my favorite part are the views! While you get a mani or pedi, you are facing the Boise river... such a serene setting this winter. Score Idaho.... pedis with a view.

2. Too much fishing; too little time
I have to be fair, so Dave gets the next spot. And, of course, all of his peeps (and mine too) know just what an avid fisherman he is. So much so that this hobby is going to get two spots on our part 1 list. Unlike any other fishing he's ever done, Idaho takes the concept of the "fishing hole" to a new level. If you want to find a place to fish, plan on spending a lot of time deciding where from a very long list. As an example, this is a board (well only one-half of the board actually) of the local fishing conditions in the closest, major fishing spots that is posted in one of the sporting good stores near our house. Choices, choices.

3. Saturday morning skiing
Prior to moving to Idaho, Dave and I had been on two ski trips together. One back in 2000 and another in 2002. So, 10 years later, having three ski resorts within 90 minutes of our new home, we dusted off the old coat, cloves and ski pants. For Dave, he picked it right back up and got in about 12 runs in 2 hours this past Saturday morning. We'll save my experiences for another blog. Suffice it to say that learning to ski at 39 isn't easy, and my hiney is pretty sore from my Saturday experience. However, what's great is that we really felt like we probably wouldn't get to ski much more in life, due to having to make it its own vacation. The idea that we can head up to ski and head home in the same day and enjoy it as a regular old weekend activity is still so bizarre in such an awesome way. (Now if I can just work on my balance.)

4. Road trips to the mountains
I'm still getting over the fact that, as I sit at my desk, I can see a mountain out my front window. When we drive around town, especially after a few days of fog or an inversion, it's like seeing them for the first time again. I hope I never adjust to having mountains right here near my home, and we've taken full advantage of it. As I've mentioned on previous blogs, The Arringtons have a cabin at Cascade Lake (about 72 miles from our house in Eagle), so we have now enjoyed two road trips to their home for a weekend of mountain fun. Here's a self-portrait we attempted on a stop during our Friday night trip. You can see we're having just a little bit of fun.

5. Hiking with a view
I am so excited about the opportunities for hiking in our immediate area, in the mountains and in short-day trips. Even during the winter months, we've been able to do a little bit of "beginner" hiking. The exercise and the challenge are fantastic, but nothing really tops the views. I'm sure I'll be writing about my hiking excursions in future blogs... seems like the possibilities are endless.

6. Wildlife at your backdoor
Our wildlife in Allen, TX consisted of mainly neighborhood wild rabbits from the fact that fields had been cleared off for new housing developments (oh, and the occasional squirrel). To compare, when preparing for our Idaho written driver's test, there was a whole section on wildlife having the right of way! So, I think we're in for a treat. Just this weekend, Sydney met some new friends at the cabin in Cascade. They hung around long enough to even get a snack from Justin.

7. Four seasons
As we made our pros and cons list for moving, one of the major pros was being able to actually experience four seasons. I was particularly excited about seeing a real Winter. After two months of being here, I'm loving the Winter scene, and I love even more that I can actually put away a season's clothes and move on to the next one without the back and forth. Thank you Idaho for letting me wear my coat, gloves and scarves on most days, and not have to work in shorts and flip flops too.

8. College town culture
Living in a college town has definitely had its perks regarding event opportunities. From live music to plays and specialty shows, it seems like every week is full of unique opportunities to do something a little out of the ordinary. To celebrate Valentine's Day this year, Dave and I are participating in the Boise Classic Movies series. A new movie is chosen each month and shown at a classic theatre downtown that is nearly 100 years old. We hear this is a good one, so I'm anxious to check it out (hankies in tow) tomorrow.

9. All-season fishing
I warned you that fishing would have multiple slots on the list. :) Not only are there lots of places to fish, as I mentioned before, but there are opportunities for fishing year-round. This has certainly been fun for Dave, who has a second home at Cabela's, as he has excitedly purchased lots of new fishing accessories for new kinds of fishing. Who knew that you actually need 5 poles for ice fishing, special stands, oh and a slush scoop, but I digress. All the frozen lakes are providing tons of great ice fishing. After all the planning and set up, he is actually catching some fish too!

10. Winter accessories

As I've mentioned in earlier blogs, it sure has been fun to load up on winter boots, hats, scarves, coats and actually use/need them. I quickly learned that my Texas coats might have looked good, but they weren't very realistic for keeping me warm. A couple of shopping sprees later, we're well outfitted, and I've even enjoyed some special gifts from friends to keep me warm. Thanks Nancy!

So, 10 reasons down, and I haven't even mentioned the food! Stay tuned... 

Colds and To Do Lists

Cold season has hit the Fox casa hard this week. Amongst the haze of tissues, Nyquil, cough drops and our blankies, we have been able to experience a little more of our new hometown, enough for a blog post anyway. So, sniff, sniff, sneeze, here I go.

It's hard to believe that February is already upon us. I remember vividly the day (Oct. 31) that a photographer was set up in our house in Allen taking pics for our posting of our home sale. We were nervous and anxious about this process... Would the house sell quickly? What if it didn't? What if it sold too fast? How would all this get done, regardless of those answers? Being the good little Project Manager that I am, I immediately went to the comfort of a list. If I could write it all down (or what I knew at that point), at least I'd have a tangible item to sink my teeth into. Granted, being the obsessive PM that I am, it wasn't really a to do list, but more like a project plan. But, you get the idea. So, here we are, a mere three months from that date, and our very last item on the massive Fox Relocation Project Plan is done! It's hard to believe. All the filtering, sorting, highlighting and re-reviewing of those items is out of my life. In celebration, here is the proof -- our last item, Idaho license plates.

It's been an adventure, as we've learned that some of our items actually blew up into 10 things in one. And of course, there was a lot of the "we don't know what we don't know" syndrome. We've had to learn new state laws and regulations, but thanks to the friendly people we've encountered... we made it! Now for filing our very first state income tax return. That's a different blog for a different time.

To do lists aside, we have had some more exposure to the beautiful outdoor landscape of our new home as well. As I mentioned in a previous post, I received a wonderful guide to the hiking trails for Christmas. With the weather being too cold for the past few weeks, we haven't been able to tackle those as much as we'd like. We did some driving around in a new neighborhood last weekend and came upon a pretty well-known park/trail system near downtown known as Camel's Back Park. We decided we had to get out and take a closer look, and, it's not named that for nothing! Here is a look at a trail up one of the "humps" if you will. This doesn't do it justice as to the steepness. (We're told that some of the races in town include running up this during the race --- uh, what?)

Since we were sick, we decided to tackle the camel's back via some of the side trails (we're still newbies after all). Several huffs and puffs later, we made it to the top and got this amazing pay off.

Here's a shot of Dave taking a quick break after the hike (and probably muttering at me under his breath).

We did a little bit of exploring and then had to call it a day, but we did enjoy driving around the area and looking at the neighborhoods built into the hills looking out at these amazing views. The oohs and ahhs were overtaking us as we found more and more dream homes in this area. We also had a nice lunch in the Hyde Park neighborhood near Camel's Back.

With the weather getting back into the 40s, we're chasing away the germs and hoping to get back into explore mode this weekend and for the rest of this month. Dave is looking forward to having tons of new outdoor options for his bday this year.

Oh, and for those who know me well, you'll be happy to see I also tackled this to do list item. The best cupcakes in Idaho! DONE!