SOLO ROADTRIP III: BOISE & PENDELTON [DAYS 1-3]

 phew, done with posting the last trip from over a year ago and now onto my fall 2022 trip! i knew i wanted to do another road / car camping trip instead of international as i was still a bit wary of any restrictions or closures. i thought maybe texas, but then realized i should probably visit my sister in washington state, near the canadian border, since it was almost time for her to complete her phd and i had not visited her yet. i settled on driving east through nevada to visit idaho first, then west to washington, south to oregon, and finishing through california.

i left in the wee hours of the morning as i planned to end my day in idaho. it was a bit ambitious & is feasible, but unfortunately, there was a highway closure which added an hour & half to my already 11+ hour drive. driving hwy 84 means no big cities & almost complete deserted desert; most of the drive was a whole lot of nothing. i had to stop at small towns for gas as las vegas was the last big city until you reach idaho. in addition there were 2 scary road incidents that occurred - someones camping gear fell of the top of the vehicle in front of me (they had absolutely no clue) & i witnessed a car driving the wrong way down the highway. side note, speed limits in idaho are 80 miles (i have never seen it so high)!

i got to my destination, glenn's ferry, after dark. this was not a tourist destination, but a location with a very affordable airbnb. the owners lived in the main house & the airbnb was an older building with a long hallway & several rooms on each side of the hallway, almost like a boardinghouse. each room is its own airbnb. the room had its own bathroom, kitchenette, sitting area, & bedroom which was absolutely perfect. it definitely is a nice place to stay for a more significant amount of time.

my room was very cute, like i said, it was like staying in a boarding house, which really is a predecessor for airbnbs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

i had a very pleasant morning, but unfortunately there was construction in the basement underground level. i did not mind as i was awake, but i had no notification of such construction. before leaving boise, i stopped at the local sinclair for gas & saw some chickens - why, i do not know? boise was only about 30-45 minutes away. i imagined idaho to be super green, but it was not, which does make it sense. there was tons of dead grass fields as it autumn so all the wild grass was dried to a crisp from the summer heat. i also saw one truck transporting many bathtubs & another transporting an airplane wing; i was entertained. 

the first stop of the day was the idaho state museum; which i enjoyed. i try to visit all the stay history museums i can. the most interesting fact i learned is that in the 1940s, beavers were relocated by loading them into planes & parachuting them over underpopulated meadows. i also enjoyed the exhibits about mining & lumber.

sacagawea was from idaho

there was a cute historical building area, but it was closed for the slow season.

across the street is the julie davis park, which has a very pretty rose garden. i decided to open my trunk, change into my dress, slice some avocados on rice cakes, and enjoy my breakfast in the sun. apparently, there was quite a cold front & it was unseasonably warm (in the 80s & 90s). 

the rose garden at julie davis park

i then made my way closer to my next destination & stop to get a latte. as someone who was raised in a very developed area in socal, i found it interesting driving all these established streets with empty plots or new home developments. it was so new, my gps did not recognize some streets.

definitely the highlight of the day was a visit to the old idaho penitentiary state historical site. i love visiting old places & imagining how they once were. i happened to walk in before a tour started, so i decided to join & it was a lot of fun. the penitentiary was active from 1872-1973 & has several buildings that were built throughout those 100 years. it eventually closed after a riot over the living conditions in the very aged prison. this allows visitors to see how the penal system has changed. from group cells, to single cells, & the addition of additional civil rights & recreation.

the rose garden is original from the prison, not an addition from after the fact.

this is one of the oldest buildings on site but is now left in ruins after one of the several riots.

here are some interesting facts.

-  1/5 inmates successfully escaped (that is an absolutely horrible statistic)

-  from 1952-1968, dennis the cat was raised by the inmates

-  the 1st solitary confinement building was known as "the cooler" & the second was called "siberia" 

there were also several signs that would say "no loafing" - makes me thing of bread.

the newer cells. i another cell block, you are able to walk the upper levels.

the laundromat

the indoor gallows with trap door that would open. 

with the tour & my own wandering, i was here for 3 hours! it is very rare for me to stay in one place for so long, but there were so many different building to see. it was also so incredibly hot. i was told it was unseasonably warm. on a side note, there is military museum housed inside one of the buildings & i saw an old man walk into the 6 foot tall plexiglass. i was laughing so hard.

the woman's ward dorm (1920). for a while before this building, female innmates were housed in the warden's house.

a pretty house across the street. though a private residence, i do believe this was the warden's house.

next was a visit to the old boise train depot. online i was getting mixed info if this place is open to the public or only open for special events, but it is a city park. i decided to at least peruse the outside as it is located in the park. once i got their, i learned that they were in fact open to the public. you can't tell in the photos, but the depot is perched on top of a hill and surrounded by platt gardens. it was opened in 1925 by union pacific railroad. the least passenger train was in 1997. in the 1990s a company restored it and converted it to office space before the city took over. 

"big mike" in the background

spanish style (c.1925)

the great hall & newsstand.

the worker will let you go up the old elevator to the top of the bell tower where you can see the views of growing boise.

after seeing the the depot, i made my way to downtown boise to walk around & figure out what to eat before checking into my airbnb. there is not much to do than eat or partake nightlife. downtown is where the basque block is located. there is a museum, but the day i visited it was closed. boise is the largest concentration of basque located outside of spain.

the capitol is in downtown.

i did want to try some basque food, but a lot of places were not open or too fancy for me.

i ended up picking up some tex mex & heading towards the suburbs of boise. i stayed at an airbnb that was pig themed & is an attached dwelling with its own private entrance.

i spent the night journaling, drinking hot tea, & watching anne with an e.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

the next day, i made my way towards the northern east corner of oregon. my adventure continued with seeing random objects being hauled by semi-trucks; this time it was fire hydrants. though it was the fall, the hills still had pretty yellow flowers.  the first stop was the tamastslikt cultural center at the umatilla indian reservation near pendelton. the museum tells about the history & culture of several of the tribes in the area. 

they also have a cafe & september was the month of the buffalo. i had buffalo stew, but unfortunately they did not have fry bread as advertised :(

i made my way to pendelton & stopped at a coffee place first. from my research, i was thinking pendelton was going to be forestry, as this was oregon & they make very famous plaid here (lumberjack-core). i was wrong. i learned that much of eastern oregon is wheat fields & grassy areas. yes there are mountains nearby, but eventually you make your way down the mountain to farm fields.

 

the first stop in pendelton was the local museum. the museum is a bit outdated, but i still enjoy older, smaller museums. the historian was so nice & we ended up talking for a long time as i was also a history major. she talked about her career, while i talked about my travels. she also let me know that during business hours, i had access to the museum restroom all day. score!

the highlight was the old train. 

it is not very common to be able to go inside.

the museum is in the downtown area, so i was able to then walk down the old main streets. pendelton is mostly known for the western clothing brand of the same name & its annual rodeo. i arrived a few weeks after the round-up, so the town was still decorated, but there was absolutely no crowd. i did visit a couple thrift stores, but most of the town was closed.

 

decor for the annual rodeo. all through town their were cowboy saloons.

the umatilla river that runs through downtown.

after stopping at another thrift store, picking up some additional water, & a subway sandwich (my go to when camping if i cannot find another place). i made my way back to summit of the blue mountains to the campground at emigrant spring state heritage area. though this was my first campsite of the trip, it ended up being one of my favorites. it was not very busy at all, the weather was good, & there were free showers with hot water! i would learn later that most campground showers are not free.

this area was a popular stop of the oregon trail.

my camp spot for the night.