We left around noonish in Josh's car. We had to hit up the Dutch Bros before we got any further. I don't drink coffee so I really didn't care. I just wanted to go do something since we were stuck at the house all day yesterday. I was ready for an adventure. We got onto I-84 and headed east to Boise.
Since we came in the winter time there was really not a lot of outdoors stuff to do unless you headed north towards McCall and went skiing or snowboarding for the weekend. Instead, we had to figure out things to do since most hikes were closed due to trail conditions and other activities were closed for the season. I asked them what there was to do around here. They said we could go to the Idaho State Penitentiary and check the place out.
We drove up to the prison. We parked in the lot and walked across the street to the entrance. We paid our $6 in admission and headed inside. They were either self tours or you can join one that was already going. We joined one that was going and just followed them from building to building. We visited the dining hall, which the inmates lit on fire in the 1970s, we looked at what was left of it.
We toured several of the cell blocks, death row and solidary confinement and the gallows. Many people were imprisoned over the active years of the prison and many stories of infamous inmates were also shared with us.
Afterwards, we went into the museum where we saw a lot of guns, war exhibits and swords. We were probably there for about two hours.
Ben and I walked over to the woman's ward because it was a virtual cache. Boise History Series #1 (GCA898) was pretty easy. All we had to do was find the sign within the ward that described two years. We had to find out what happened in those years. Of course we got ourselves a picture to prove we were there.
We met back up with Josh and Sam and walked back to the car.
We drove back into downtown and found a parking lot to stash the car into. We paid and walked the few blocks to Freak Alley. Freak Alley is a notable venue for public art in the form of murals and graffiti located and adjacent to a service alley in downtown Boise, Idaho. The largest outdoor gallery in the Northwest, and a Boise institution since 2002, it began with a painting of a single alley doorway and now extends from the alley itself to a gravel parking lot. Extant murals painted over and replaced by new murals (or incorporated into them) every two years, collectively is the work of more than 200 artists. It has featured prominently in a survey of ten mid-sized American cities with thriving artistic communities in which Boise ranked second. The site, along with the back of the Union Block, received $500,000 renovation in 2018 from the city.
We spent about a half hour looking at all of the graffiti and murals plastered all over this alley way. There were some really creative ones and some I was not really a fan of.
Freak Alley, More Than Just a Virtual Reward (GC7B9G5) was published last summer by Erin (Bluecanoe), a cacher who lives near the Shelton area. To prove we were there, we had to find a mural we liked and get a picture of us with it. I chose the sloth and Ben chose the human heart.
We wandered around a little bit before asking Josh and Sam if they were ready to eat. We saw there was a Buffalo Wild Wings a few blocks away and just walked there. It was getting colder.
It wasn't very busy so we were served pretty quickly. We got drinks, perused the menu and made our orders. Ben and I still had some gift cards from my birthday and Christmas so we used those to pay for our meals. Ben and I ordered the usual. We enjoyed Josh and Sam's company while we ate our delicious food. I can now add another Buffalo Wild Wings to the list of ones I've been to. This marks two for Idaho.
We paid and Sam wanted to take us around the corner to go get ice cream from this shop. This wasn't just a normal ice cream shop but one who infuses alcohol into their ice cream. It was called The Stil (the sweetest things in life) and I have never been to a place like it before. I was so full from food I almost didn't want any ice cream. I decided on the brownie batter without the alcohol. The ice cream was pretty good.
We walked back to the car and headed back to Nampa.
On the way back, I checked to see if there were any geocaches near Josh and Sam's place. There was a traditional down the road within walking distance from them. We parked and Ben and I decided to go grab it before it got dark. We needed to walk off all the food and dessert we just stuffed ourselves with anyway. Hands of Hope Northwest (GC5GAAK) is an organization that accepts medical supplies and equipment from donors in the valley and prepares them for shipment to third world countries. Luckily, we were the only ones around and we didn't have to see anyone while we grabbed this bison tube.
Ben wrote our names on it and we put it back for the next cacher. We walked back to Josh and Sam's.
The rest of the evening we hung out watched Dale and Tucker vs. Evil and some episodes of Superstore. I also worked on my blog as we sat there. I thought it was some great downtime to catch up on the darn thing. A little while later we got cleaned up and headed to bed. This hour time difference sucked.
Next Adventure: Boise Again: Exploring Downtown, Geocaching and Pizza for Dinner
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