The Boise Greenbelt

...or, Why We Chose This House

Joe and I first flew out to Boise in May 2010 for his interview. Joe arrived mid-week, and I came out for the weekend, just to see if this city had what we wanted.

It was such a clear, beautiful weekend. There was still snow on the distant mountains, but the valley was vibrant and warm, with just a hint of crispness in the air. While Joe was in his final round of interviews, I arrived at the hotel then ventured out to do some yarn shopping. We met up for dinner later that night and were both amazed at how many NICE people there were.

The next morning, we decided to take a walk down to the Boise River - just a few blocks from the hotel.
Several things overwhelmed and amazed us:
- The path along the river (aka The Greenbelt) was so very clean. There were trash bins and doggy poop stations that people actually used.
- Even with a number of runners/walkers/cyclists and folks setting up for a local race, it was very quiet.
- Walking along the path brought us not only to the river's edge, but also took us through a couple of beautiful areas - Julia Davis Park and the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial.
- The river was crystal clear.

We looked at maybe a dozen houses with a realtor that day, and Joe returned in June to look at some more. We kept coming back to the first house we saw: it was very dated (think early 80s with shaggy brown carpet and exposed beams and stone), but it was big enough for us and our hobbies. The clincher, to me, was that it was barely a half-mile from a Greenbelt micropath. We could walk or ride our bikes through our neighborhood (and not on main roads) to get to the river, then we could go anywhere - our favorite restaurants, the public market on 8th Street, or even a Broncos or Hawks game.

Since I moved here in November, there wasn't a lot of fun to be had in walking the Greenbelt. Even though it doesn't snow a lot in Boise, it gets cold enough to where recreational walking isn't a lot of fun after about 15 minutes. Now that spring is *almost* here, we've been venturing out more and more.
Last weekend we dusted off the bikes. I haven't ridden my bike since the 30-mi MS ride I did in...maybe 2007? Yeah - it's been a while. But the Greenbelt (much like rail-trails in NY) is mostly well-paved, and there are very few hills. We took the bikes down to a favorite haunt - The Dutch Goose - and had a lovely lunch before heading back.

There are times when I'm counting down the days until we can replace the shag carpet / stuccoed walls / dark colors of our new home. But it's a good home, and those things can wait. I can sit in my office and see the snow-capped mountains, and I can walk right out the door and find rejuvenation among the sounds of the rushing water, crisp breeze, and chirping birds of the Boise River.