Boise, Idaho

[FartingMonk 3606]

I just got an opportunity to go startup the new Meta data center in Boise, Idaho.  What is there to do in Boise?

[royiv 9180]

Boise is a great town. I’ve spent a lot of time there for work and, in a lot ways, it reminds me of the Austin that I grew up in 35ish years ago. The downtown area is trying hard to establish a scene, there’s a big university and there’s a river running through downtown. There’s also skiing and hiking right outside of town.

That said, it’s pretty remote. While the airport has gotten much better, it’s still small and you won’t have many nonstop options. Politically, the city of Boise itself is pretty moderate, but get outside of that and things get a little wacky.

[South Austin 52221]

Lots of potatoes.

[gernblansten 3191]

It was a pleasant surprise when I was there. A lot of hiking, biking, and fishing. The downtown was bigger than expected. But if you don’t like to be active outside, I could see where it might not be great. 

[RPM 26268]

I've actually had some pretty wild nights in Boise. Lots of horny women that don't want to fuck potato farmers.

[ztejas 43385]

7 hours ago, FartingMonk said:

What is there to do in Boise?

[Braff Zacklin 13487]

2 hours ago, ztejas said:

 

10 hours ago, FartingMonk said:

What is there to do in Boise?

I take offense. I live on the other side of the state, not Boise.

 

 

[Tylerocks 2552]

Didn't spend a lot of time in Boise.  Saw Phish in the BSU Pavillion.

Saw Panic @ Lucky Beach State Park.

 

I lived in Ketchum/Sun Valley after graduation...great skiing/boarding, hiking/biking, rafting, fishing etc..golf.

About 2.5 hours due East of Boise.

 

Edited August 3 by Tylerocks

[FartingMonk 3606]

I'll probably live in the Kuna area.  I hope to be snowboarding a lot.

[Braff Zacklin 13487]

41 minutes ago, FartingMonk said:

I'll probably live in the Kuna area. 

[Ex-Calihorn 0]

Pledge brother and roommate of mine from UT moved to Boise in 1993 from Santa Barbara. I’ve been there dozens of times and enjoyed the vibe. As noted by others, very much like Austin of the 80’s but smaller. Plenty of activities abound for not only outdoor activities but also a good music scene. If you enjoy being outdoors, Bogus Basin is literally 15 minutes away and cheap lift passes for residents of the city. Close to Glacier/Yellowstone/Tetons. Unfortunately, there has been a mass migration of individuals from the West Coast getting away from the governmental non-sense.

Friend purchased his home in 1998 for $295k in a desirable area and just sold it for $900k. Nice little investment on his part.

[Mr.Hovis 70]

Bump. I had a trip planned to North Carolina later this month, needless to say had to change plans and will be making our first trip to Idaho instead. Renting an Airbnb in Boise for a week and will do easy day trips from there. So, any recs for restaurants, beer/wine tastings, trails/outdoor stuff and general cool shit to do would be appreciated.

So, looking forward to the trip except for the flight out of ABIA. We're flying out on Southwest Saturday 10/19 at 1:00pm. I know that UT vs Georgia is that day but did not even consider that is F1 Week at COTA since I don't follow racing. Well, until after I booked everything. Oopsie. From Driftwood to ABIA is usually an easy drive, but while F1 is going on, how bad is it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ztejas 43385]

Departing AUS on Sat afternoon shouldn't be too bad. Traffic once you get into town will be elevated but I think if you tack an hour on to when you'd leave on a "normal" Saturday you should be fine. 

Sunday and Monday will be the crazy days departure-wise. 

[shnsajax 3590]

On 10/8/2024 at 9:13 PM, Mr.Hovis said:

Bump. I had a trip planned to North Carolina later this month, needless to say had to change plans and will be making our first trip to Idaho instead. Renting an Airbnb in Boise for a week and will do easy day trips from there. So, any recs for restaurants, beer/wine tastings, trails/outdoor stuff and general cool shit to do would be appreciated.

So, looking forward to the trip except for the flight out of ABIA. We're flying out on Southwest Saturday 10/19 at 1:00pm. I know that UT vs Georgia is that day but did not even consider that is F1 Week at COTA since I don't follow racing. Well, until after I booked everything. Oopsie. From Driftwood to ABIA is usually an easy drive, but while F1 is going on, how bad is it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How did you enjoy your trip?

[Mr.Hovis 70]

The trip went really well, just a low key, chill week out of the Texas heat. I had not been before and can see how some compare it to how Austin was 30-40 years ago. I will say it is very clean, traffic was not an issue and there is either no homeless issues, or they are in an area we didn't make it to. The greenbelt that runs through town is awesome. We covered different sections of it while walking, checking out some smaller museums and getting food/drinks. The food and drink options around town were great. It wasn't on a level like New Orleans but still suited us just fine. The Basque Block Deli has a Wednesday& Friday Paella special, with the guy cooking on the sidewalk. That was a fun lunch, and I learned a little about the Basque and their influence on Boise. A small German deli, Alpen Hause? I think, has great sandwiches and German beer on tap. I can't remember the names of all of the  brew pubs/ restaurants downtown on 8th we hit, but there's quite a few and enjoyed each one we tried. Either we were just lucky on our choices or it's hard to find a bad meal there.               

it was Halloween while we were there, and there was a city sponsored party at the old penitentiary. The city has converted it into their botanical gardens, which is both kind of cool and odd. We didn't stick around to long since it was geared towards kids. But the families that were there looked like they were having great fun.

We made it to the National Forest past Idaho City on hwy 21 then cut over past Lowman before coming back on hwy 55. We hiked some trails around the Payette River which was the best scenery of the trip. There have been a few fires recently that left a lot burned areas which is unfortunate, but not uncommon there due to lightning strikes. Stopped at Locking Horns in Horseshoe Bend on the way back for burgers and beers. Nice deck right by the Payette, but what stood out was they use old beer kegs cut in half for urinals. That was a new one for me and I'm an old.

The War Hawk Aviation Museum was cool visit if you're into military/ history stuff. Planes, cars and tons memorabilia including a Hitler pin cushion, my personal favorite. 

Oh, and I didn't get stuck in COTA traffic, so I have that going for me.

[closetohumping 17416]

On 8/2/2024 at 10:52 PM, FartingMonk said:

I just got an opportunity to go startup the new Meta data center in Boise, Idaho.  What is there to do in Boise?

Lots of white supremacist compounds around there

[Mr.Hovis 70]

39 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

Lots of white supremacist compounds around there

I had heard that about Coeur D'Alene because that Aryan Nation group of fucktards was based there. Fortunately, did not see anything resembling hate/racial type of bullshit on our visit. The people I encountered were so friendly it kind of caught me off guard. You get up in the remote areas though, I have no idea what's happening.

[Your Mom 4804]

Make sure you pronounce the S like an S and not a Z.  It’s serious business out there. 

[Braff Zacklin 13487]

[shnsajax 3590]

I had heard that about Coeur D'Alene because that Aryan Nation group of fucktards was based there. Fortunately, did not see anything resembling hate/racial type of bullshit on our visit. The people I encountered were so friendly it kind of caught me off guard. You get up in the remote areas though, I have no idea what's happening.

Yeah it’s 8+ hours north of Boise. We moved here 10 years ago and love it. Though I wouldn’t care as much to live outside of Boise in some of the surrounding areas. There are some off the grid people 30 miles NE of Boise but itself is pretty awesome, clean, and walkable.

Glad you caught the Basque Block during one of the paella days. They pride themselves on that and a fun experience.