BOISE ISN'T A WASTELAND... WHO KNEW?

Last weekend Utah State University had Friday off for Fall Break. How did I spend my Fall Break? I decided to go on an adventure to Boise, Idaho. My good friend Branden grew up there and he said if I went, I wouldn't regret it. I didn't believe him. Why on earth would anyone want to go to Boise for fun?

To my dismay, I actually DID have fun. He felt the need to keep me entertained the whole time so I would have good things to remember about Boise. I got a few things crossed off my fall bucket list too!

We stayed in Branden's parents gorgeous house in Eagle, ID. It's just a few miles outside of Boise. All of the houses are absolutely beautiful! The leaves on the massive trees had turned orange, gold and red and the air felt clean and crisp. The houses surrounding the area are built with an abundance of space in between one another and I felt like I had so much room to breathe.

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On Friday, we searched for a pumpkin patch. We rummaged through hundreds of big beautiful pumpkins to make sure we had the perfect ones. I tell ya, they all start to look the same after the first few feet of endless rows of pumpkins. BUT, I found the perfect candidate for carving and I was happy. Going to a pumpkin patch is my way of feeling festive and like I'm doing something holiday oriented.

The Berry Ranch Pumpkin Patch in Boise, ID

Next, I got to carve that sucker. I am so indecisive when it comes to artistic things. I looked online at ideas for literally 30 minutes. I got fed up and threw my inhibitions away and decided to wing it. I wanted to do something I'd never done before and scoring looked appealing. Scoring is carving but not all the way through. It's particularly interesting on a pumpkin because the light will shine through from your candle when it's finished. I randomly drew maple leaves on my pumpkin and using wood carving tools, I began to carve. A few hours later, I was finished. I had three leaves scored into my pumpkin and that was all my patience would allow me to have.

There is a destination in Boise called the Greenbelt. It's a recreation area with bike and running paths that surrounded by an exquisite river. In Utah where I grew up, there is a similar path but the Greenbelt really is unique. Especially in the fall.  The leaves that line the river have all changed colors and the air feels so fresh. We were able to get a few mile bike ride in before our horse back ride.

Biking along the Greenbelt path in Boise, ID

We had the opportunity to ride horses in the foothills of Boise. We went about an hour before sunset and rode until the sun was almost down. It was the first time that I have ever ridden a horse in the open without a tour guide or strict supervision. The horse I was on was well tamed but the other horses were a bit temperamental and competed against each other. We wore helmets because the owner of the horses said it would be better to be safe than sorry. From the comments I've gotten about my Facebook and Instagram post, helmets apparently are a stupid idea when riding horses. In my defense, my horse was running!!! Running! And the fact that I had a helmet made me feel more safe. I had never been on a running horse and it was AMAZING! I felt like a woman from a western movie galloping across the desert with my one true love of a horse.. or something. So that's that.

Continuing with my adventures from Boise, we had tons of delicious food, met many incredible people and had a great little vacation away from work and school.

Thank you Branden and Boise for opening my eyes to the fact that not all of Idaho is barren and uninhabited.