Boise/Alpine

Yesterday and today have been split between Boise and Alpine. Yesterday afternoon we went to the Boise Farmer's Market which is extremely popular. There are actually two separate markets, more or less side by side, which run concurrently. One turns several blocks of a downtown street into a pedestrian mall lined with booths:

                                             Boise Farmers' Market

It has every conceivable stand: produce, meat, nuts, baked goods, scores of food stands and arts and crafts. And lots of people! 

                               Pottery at the Farmers market 

Then we went to a tea shop located just a block off the market. All kinds of loose teas. 

                                         

                          Ellen is looking over the variety of teas offered

We went back to S&C's house - Ellen and I picked up walnuts- and we had a lovely meal outside on the patio, and then off again, this time to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. The production was a musical based on the book The Secret Garden. Not an obvious book to turn into a musical, I must say, but it was actually quite affecting, and the children who played Mary and Colin were excellent. 

                                        Pre-showtime at the ISF

                                                       

                              Taking a bow at the end of The Secret Garden

Sunday morning we had breakfast with S&C and got off at about 9:30a.m. Another beautiful, sunny, cool day! Every day this week has been like that! The trip back to Alpine was lovely. We stopped this time in Picabo at the Silver Creek store.

I had picked up a book by Joseph A. Altsheler at the thrift store in Salem, and I read a couple of chapters from it to Ellen. Altsheler was a favorite author from my boyhood, and when I saw one of his books, I picked it up on a whim. This one is from his "Forest Runners" series which is set in 19th century Ohio on the frontier. The protagonist is a young Henry Ware, early twenties, a fine specimen of manhood, utterly fearless and resourceful  in the wilderness, pitted against the Indian, the foe of the white settlers. Altsheler was a strong proponent of manifest destiny and white supremacy, I'm afraid. I must have read at least 20 or more of his 50 novels - all juvenile fiction. It's a wonder my mind was not corrupted! (Oh no! Maybe it was!)

When we entered the Swan Valley east of Idaho Falls, we stopped at the Clark Hill Rest Area overlooking the Snake River. Lovely. There was a memorial there to an Idaho author, Vardis Fisher, who wrote many novels about the Old West. Maybe not too different from Altsheler in his outlook and attitudes. 

  

                          The Snake River Valley: up and down

                                              Vardis Fisher memorial

We're back in Alpine now - got in about 5:30p.m. Just had a nice supper on the deck (again!). We'll be taking care of Max this week. Betsey and Rob have returned from their trip to Columbia, MO. Betsey posted on Facebook a wonderful picture of herself with her running friends there. She looked really happy!