What’s the Opposite of Idaho?

Okay, a bad pun that one of my third graders told me many years ago.

(Incidentally, it’s “you da ho”. As Bob Curran  in the Buffalo Evening News used to say, “For worst effect, read out loud.”

I crossed into Idaho and headed for Boise for a few days. I was in Treasure Valley, which is the area where the six smaller rivers drain into the Snake River and is them out populated region of Idaho. Now, according to my preferred source, the valley had been known historically as the Lower Snake River Valley or the Boise River Valley, but it was dubbed “Treasure Valley” in 1959 to reflect the treasure chest of resources the region offered.

I am sure that the Interstate highway system, which was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, must have had something to do with increasing the value of the resources of the region, as I-84 went right through the region.

I checked into my campground, Hi Valley RV Park. It had nice level sites, great showers and, in season, the photos of the pool looked lovely. Unfortunately, it was still multiple layer season when I was there.

I was parked right next to a rig called a “toy hauler”.

A toy hauler has a back door that lowers down so people can haul their “toys” inside. Sometimes the toys are dirt bikes or motorcycles. So, what toy was this guy hauling?

A Jaguar!

This guy had a porch on the side, with a TV and one chair. That’s a whole lotta RV for one person! I thought Flo was a bit of overkill for me, but I didn’t have to take my Jaguar along with me…

A friend from Kalamazoo was from nearby, and her parents still lived on the family spread. They invited me out to visit.

Talk about a million dollar view!

We chatted and I heard many interesting stories about how the family got there. They offered me a tasty lunch along with the pleasant conversation.

Their house was so homey. Dom and Jody were partial to basset hounds,

They had collections of them tucked here and there around the house.

The hospitality is such as gift! I certainly appreciated my time with Dom and Jody. The weather was starting to look heavy, so I thought it best to head back to Flo.

Another day, I decided to investigate the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, which was right across the street from my campground.

It was a scenic place to be laid to rest.

It had some features I had never seen in veterans’ cemeteries before. For one thing, I don’t remember seeing things on the markers like Dennis Leonard Smith has: “Texas Red, Beloved Husband, Father & Papa, Gone Fishing”. It’s really quite charming.

Another charming thing is the burial of the spouse. On the other side of the Dennis Leonard Smith’s marker, you can see that his wife, Dale Marie Smith, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, was buried with him.

It was a chilly day, and I figured I had seen all there was to see. After all, this wasn’t a tourist destination. I got in Bart, the Big Assed Red Truck, and got ready to leave.

And then I saw this sign. Scattering Garden. I wonder what that could be? I parked the truck and went over to investigate.

There was a part of the cemetery dedicated to the scattering of ashes. This is the view from the platform.

This is the main marker.

Each person whose cremains are scattered have a marker.

And with that, I went back to Flo.

It was as good a time as any to add Idaho to the map.