On SAFARI

Being the animal lover that I am, what better way to spend a morning than checking out the locals around Boise.  As safaris go, this wasn't the best I've ever been on, since no one volunteered to haul all my junk around, nor could I even con anyone into doing it for money.

Not the biggest zoo in the country either, but even though everything was covered in mesh and screen, making photography difficult, the animals looked happy and healthy.  This Cottontop Tamarind stared me down when he saw the camera.  Say CHEESE!!  Nope ... that wasn't happening.  This was more of you're in MY territory!!

You generally see Coatis at zoos, but you DON'T generally see THIS!!  Mom was outside by a tree when baby one slid down the ramp to the ground following her.  Next thing we know, baby 2 and 3 follow the first.  Baby four thought the ramp was too steep and just sat in the doorway.  Mom corralled the three and nosed them up to this tree trunk where she showed them how to climb.  These two got the message and actually made it up to a cross limb that went straight back to the front door.  It's fun to see mother nature teaching her babies how to climb.

Then we came to these monsters.  I'm sorry, but they just give me the creeps.  Madagascar cockroaches just need to stay in Madagascar!!  I KNEW you'd like this picture!

Aren't you glad I didn't show you THIS one?  Oh MAN ... they give me the shivers!!

Much more dangerous, this guy doesn't bother me at all.   At least he won't crawl around in my pantry.  This Komodo dragon didn't look too happy, although he was fat as a pig.  

The cutest face on safari was this little baby who sat contemplating life as his playmate spent 20 minutes swinging from branch to branch, as we watched.  They are currently working on improving this zoo.  The layout is different from most ... you are always walking into a dead-end and have to backtrack.  That's probably by design so your kids will want to ride the carousel at least twice.  

The tigers were all laying flat in the tall grass until this one sat up and began his kitty bath.  Unfortunately for photographers, the glass is thick and dirty ... you know, the usual at zoos ... and he came out a little blurry.  There were three big lions, two of which rolled over on their backs just as we walked up.  I'd show you a picture, but I'd probably get thrown off the internet.  Lets just say the male must have been having some sexy dreams.

Here's my great nephew Tyler feeding the goats.  For a quarter, you can get a handful of pellets and feel their soft little mouths.  Two were prego I'm sure.  The llama didn't care too much for the pellets, but scratch her back and she would follow you anywhere!!  We spent more time with the goats than anything else, as evidenced by my wallet being $5.00 lighter!!  

I spotted this guy in a tree branch having a snooze.  He blends in so well, he was hard to see.  Squirrels are everywhere, providing hours of entertainment.

One of the best displays is the butterfly experience.  There are probably thousands inside as you walk along a little path.  They land on YOU as well as the flowers and cut up fruit.  Really, this was pretty spectacular!!

I spent an hour trying to find the name of this one.  The kids that were working for the summer called it a glass wing, but I suspect that's not correct.  The zoo was full of kids who applied and were hired to work the summer months keeping tourists in line and butterflies off their clothing as they exit the building.  My nephew will apply next year.

This definitely reminded me of the trip Patty Chance and I took to Costa Rica where we saw millions of butterflies being raised for shipment to facilities like this.  

It's fascinating to watch them fly all around as you try to get pictures.  Boy did they love the flowers in there!!

The usual forest dwellers were hanging out ... zebras in their prison colors sleeping after breakfast.  

Here was two of the biggest porcupines I've ever seen.  They were almost as big as a labrador dog.  The male on the left was trying to break through the door to his bedroom.  Just too much light out here I think ... I know how you feel baby.

For a few bucks, you can hand feed the giraffe, but it was getting late and VERY hot.  Not bad if you are in the shade, but the sun will cook you to well done in a matter of minutes.  

One of their newest additions is a jelly exhibit which just happens to be near a people feeding station.  Order the chicken tenders ... trust me on this one.  My personal pepperoni pizza was cold in the middle ... meaning the cheese wasn't even melted.  Hey ... it's a safari, right?

All in all, a very nice zoo.  They spend a lot of money doing good work for the animals in the wild, like moving elephants to greener pastures to ensure their survival.  I like that.

I played couch potato for the rest of the day.  I'd probably be trying to bake something other than myself, but I do not have a sewer connection, meaning for ten days I have to be pretty conservative on the water.  Coming up ... mall shopping, quilt stores and the music festival.  I would love to say that the weatherman was right and it's going to be in the 70's for the weekend, but he hasn't been even close to right the last four days.  I won't hold my breath.  An air conditioned mall sounds pretty good right now.

Ghosties In The Flower Garden

I just LOVE flowers.  Who doesn't??  The trouble is, I'm NOT good at growing them, so I torture myself by going to botanical gardens and seeing all the beauties that CAN be grown.  Yesterday Lynda and I headed back to the Idaho Penitentiary.  Yard 2 (the one outside the walls where the prisoners grew most of their food) has since become the paradise of flower gardeners.

These guys are smart ... right inside the door is this chalkboard showing you exactly what the name is and what the flower looks like.  I'll try to remember the scientific names of those I posted.

This one is a purple flower.  Really, I'm too old to remember any of these names.  Maybe a clematis?  I suppose if I'm ever going to have a garden with flowers, I'll have to settle down and not travel because SOMEONE will have to take care of them!

What's really neat about THIS botanical garden, because honestly, I'd rather see other things like museums ... what's neat is they have left the guard towers intact.  There is evidence all around that this used to be prison grounds.

Here's a beautiful _________________ ..... you fill in the correct answer because I have no idea.  Looks like a daisy to me, but it might have been the Blanket Flower (I looked back at the chalkboard).

We quickly discovered we were in the playground of the squirrels.  First we saw one in a tree being chased by another.  The more I looked, the more I saw running up and down the pathway and jumping on the prison wall before scrambling to the top.  This one is sitting on the catwalk the guards patrolled at the top of the wall.

I counted eight on this section alone.  They would squawk loudly, jump straight up in the air and play chase.  Lucky for the garden staff, they are not hole diggers!!  

This is a pretty pink and green thing .... I guess I should have taken more pictures of the name plates, although many plants didn't have them.  There were lots of little ponds and creeks everywhere, an english garden, a rose garden, even a large tree garden.  

This little guy who has recently lost his tail, crawled right out into the sun for a picture.  There were lots of critters around if we took the time to look.  

Little did we know this place is HUGE!!  The more we wandered up the hill, the more lost we got, even with map in hand.  These huge monoliths standing at several different sites, are remnants of the blocks the prisoners cut in the quarry and hauled to the prison for building construction.  All those lines are holes they drilled to split the rock.  

Daisies .... these are daisies.  Did I get it right???  They were blooming between the kids garden, the treehouse and the vegetable garden.  They've got it all here!!

Finally, in the top corner (at least what we thought was the top) was the Prison Cemetery.  I called out to Ray again, or anyone else who might want their picture taken, but no one answered.  There are many graves here, most with a concrete stone that says UNKNOWN.  Very few of the headstones are left, since people have stolen most of them.  

Here lies William R. Trent, who died at 23 years of age in the 1800's.  I tried to look up some of the names in the book I purchased, but none of the headstones matched.  Quite a few prisoners were hung in the yard and buried here, with no one knowing or caring for that matter.  Original wood headstones have all disappeared.

This is Levie Maxfield.  Some of those buried here actually worked at the prison as guards.  The oldest was 81 years old, but most were VERY young.

As we left the cemetery, we thought we were taking the trail back down the hill.  Surprise!!  We kept climbing up and up where we could look down on the prison and across the valley to see the City skyscrapers.

It was getting VERY hot and there was no water in my backpack, when we finally came upon Sacajawea.  The entire top section of the gardens are dedicated to Lewis and Clark, with plantings they described in their journals.  Now I'm hot, thirsty and have a shoe full of gravel.  Time to get out of here!!

On the way back down the hill, we found a section of big trees that usually escape fires, with tables and chairs in the cool shade of the canopy.  We stopped to rest for a minute when I spotted this garden art.  There's lots more art around, in fact there's some kind of sculpture around every corner.  This one however, was rather unique.  Those silver things are shell casings, with the "bells" (or ringers) being hand grenades.  Bet you haven't seen THAT before!!  We discussed putting yard art in our OWN yards, but this would NOT be one!!

I got back to the rig in time to play with the puppies for an hour before heading out to my Nephew Travis' house for a barbecue.  This kid can really cook!!!  Corn on the cob, chicken (not burned like I make it), pasta salad and for dessert?  Raspberry white chocolate bread pudding, made by his wife Brandi who works as a baker.  This dessert rivals the #1 Jerome Arizona Mile High Cafe bread pudding!!

On the way home, I spotted a pretty good example of the laid back atmosphere here in Boise.  The truck to my left is towing the car with a rope, right through downtown with tons of traffic making a left hand turn.  No one cared!!

Today we're off to the zoo, in spite of my desire to veg out on the couch.  Going and doing every day, ALL day, can be tiring.  Tomorrow it's fly fishing, something I've always wanted to do, and my nephew is an EXPERT!!  I'm taking advantage and hoping to at least learn how to set up my rod that's been in the closet for about fifteen years.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!!

You KNOW I'm crazy about baseball, so when my Outlaw sister Lynda said there was a game, I was all over it.  Let's GO!!  I quickly found out where the park was ... right next door to the RV park, as the announcer called the game loudly on Monday, followed by fireworks ... it was their opening game of the season.

This is the field for the Boise Hawks, "A" league farm team for the Colorado Rockies.  On Tuesdays, you can get a ticket for the game, along with a free hotdog for $2.00.  The down side is you have to sit facing the sun for two hours.  It isn't AT&T Park, but it's baseball!!

The net screens strung up across the entire baseline made picture taking a little difficult and since the only thing the announcer announced was their names, it was a little hard to follow the game.  We had to be constantly looking at the scoreboard to see what was happening.  The Rockies have just recently changed uniforms, so these purple shirts are all new.  Too bad they didn't change the batting helmets also ... they are the old green color.

I cheered for the Hawks and booed the other team along with the crowd, so my Outlaw family wouldn't disown me.

With hawks and falcons so prevalent in this area, and of course light standards being the perfect nest location, the locals helped this baby along by providing a platform.  She flew in during the game and parked on the nest.  A peregrine falcon they said.

The opposing team was the Salem Volcanos.  Who's ever heard of them??  I decided to check and see what team they were associated with.  HOLY COW!!!  They are the GIANT'S "A" league team.  I switched sides immediately!!  Trouble is, I was the only Giants fan in the entire stadium, which caused a little riff.  I silently rooted for them the rest of the night.

About that time, Dad falcon came along and perched on the second light pole.  It was just a little too far away for my short lens.  He spent a good part of the game preening and cleaning up for Mom.

There were lots of bad plays and then there were good ones like this.  The Giants player started his slide a little early ......

and was definitely OUT.  There were also some pretty BAD calls by the umpires.  A killer shot to center field and the Giants player had a triple, but was called out on his slide to third base.  Even the Hawks fans agreed he was safe.  There's no big screen around here however, so no instant replay or challenges.  By then it was 3-2 Hawks, who held on to win the game.  That's okay since the Giants beat them on their opening day 6-2!!  Series tied ... tonight is the last game for the Giants before moving on. 

Here's the Hawks mascot, Humphrey, who came up to visit us at the end of the game.  Did you notice it's still light outside??  It was a 7:15 start, the game is over and it's still light.  Daytime lasts MANY hours up here.  It's light at 5 am and STILL light at 10 pm, making for some L-O-N-G days!!

I tried to sleep in, but of course that never works.  Today we're hitting the botanical gardens and a couple of quilt stores.  My fabric-feeling fingers are getting itchy!!

Back In Prison Again .....

I don't know why I'm so fascinated with old prisons.   Maybe it's because of the Old West Cowboy shoot 'em up movies I used to watch as a kid or because I'm just hoping one of their ghosts will show up in my camera or maybe I just like the bad boys.  At any rate, I spent a good portion of yesterday in the Idaho Penitentiary which finally closed it's doors in 1973.

The buildings are pretty spectacular, having been built by the prisoners in 1872 using stone they quarried very close to the site.  The Wardens here were thrilled to announce to the world they had saved the State of Idaho $800,000 by using prison labor.  I guess that's what the Judge meant when he sentenced them to hard labor.  

If you thought being self-sustained was a new thing, these guys have been doing just that since day one.  Every prisoner was assigned a job, including growing vegetables in the corner of the yard.  Eventually, they added on a huge yard surrounded by steel fence, where they raised chickens, hogs and all the groceries used by the prison.  Finally, they began to work the Prison Farm, purchased for $75,000, growing wheat, oats, corn, barley, vegetables and all kinds of livestock.

These buildings were used as a recreation area, the commissary where they could buy what they grew and later, a hospital/quarantine area saving thousands of lives in a flu epidemic.  In their spare time, not that they had much since they worked so hard, they were allowed to make crafts and sell them in the prison store to make extra money for themselves.

The stories these walls could tell.  This is Cora, who was sentenced to nine months for adultery, even though she and her husband were separated.  Back in 1908 they put the women in the same prison as the men, causing all kinds of problems for the Warden, as you can imagine.  Cora was finally pardoned, but that law is still on the books, so be careful if you come to Idaho.

Another way to save money was for the prisoners to wash all their own laundry.  They were so good at it, they enlarged the facility and washed all the uniforms from the Mountain Home Military Base.  

Here's the mangle iron they used ... a slightly larger version than I used as a kid.  They solved the lost sock problem by only using ONE dryer for ALL socks.  If a sock's mate could not be found, it was hung on the wall until another similar one showed up.

Other jobs included working in the steam plant which provided all the heat and energy used by the prison, as well as shucking and canning peas (sold for profit), pitting fruit and peeling apples, not to mention raising hogs and cattle for milk and meat.  These guys would do anything to keep from spending 24 hours a day in these 4-person cells.  

Eventually they allowed prisoners to decorate their cells, thinking it would make them happier and therefore less of a problem.  The square hole in the triangle to the left was for eavesdropping on inmates.  There's a big hallway behind the wall for maintenance of plumbing, also used to spy on anyone who might be plotting an escape.  

There were a few escapes, including a couple of women, but most were recaptured using the Prison Hound Dogs who tracked them down.   Many ended up in this section, Death Row.  

Over the years, there were only a handful that were hanged from the gallows in the outside yard for all to see.  When this unit was built, Ray Snowden spent his last days here for murdering his friend/girlfriend.

This room, right next to the above cell, was the chamber built for that purpose.  From the time we entered this building, I called out to Ray who is supposed to haunt the area.  I was hoping he would make an appearance and scare us real good.  Alas, I didn't meet up with him. 

You can see the trap door on which he stood with the release lever to the right.  The dark shadow on the left is my camera reflection in the window.  But WAIT!!  See the two blue dots on the wall next to the shadow??  I looked at every picture I took of this room and that wall is solid white.  Even pictures I took from the exact same spot.  Ray ..... Is that YOU???  Talk to me Ray!!!

With all the female problems they had (including magic pregnancies), this building was finally surrounded by a rock wall and called the 1920 Womens Ward.  Lyda Southward spent her last days here after boiling down fly paper to get enough arsenic to kill her husband.  When they found out her last three husbands died the same way, she was dubbed Lady Bluebeard.  The guards said she could charm the wildest cat, let alone all the menfolk she encountered.  

This is all the room the women were allotted ... two to a cell.  One had to stay in bed while the other got dressed since there wasn't enough room for two.  They didn't work like the men did, but they were allowed to make crafts, play cards and socialize in the central area all day long. 

So many more pictures and stories to show and tell, but it's time to move on.  By the way, my camera keeps count of the number of shots I take.  I just crossed over the 10,000 mark where it starts back at number 1.  

From the prison we went to the Boise Depot ... a story for another day ... and on to tonight's baseball game.  The Colorado Rockies A team ... not triple A or double A but their "A" farm team, plays right next to my RV park.  I know that because I heard the announcer half the night like he was right outside my door!!  On Tuesday, for a measly $2, you can sit in the sun and get a free hot dog.  Our plan is to barbecue our OWN dogs and sit in the shade.