| It was a cold weekend in
Boise. These, we were informed are known as the foothills. The snow had gone
on Monday morning, but this was Sunday! |  |
 |
We went into Boise town centre to eat at a Basque restaurant. Sadly it was
closed but we did spot this mural of Basque dancers. There is quite a large
Basque population here some of whom have been here since they came over with
Columbus. |
| Given our interest in
folk music we appreciated this sign celebrating fiddlers. |  |
 |
No it isn't a crack in the wall but an inset mural of the river systems in
this area. |
| This is the State Capitol
building since Boise is the state capital and was our reason for visiting
the city centre. Boise is known as the City of Trees. |  |
 |
They have a copy of the Liberty Bell (which we have visited). We did ring it
- and it was loud. |
| Inside it is quite
similar in architecture to other capitol buildings built around the turn of
the century. The dome seems to be a common feature although this one isn't
covered in gold leaf. |  |
 |
There is plenty of marble which looks splendid following the recent
refurbishment of the building. |
| And this marble floor is
at the basement level. As we have usually found when visiting state capitols, there
is no obvious security. We did meet with a security guard who explained
there are a lot of cameras but basically Idaho is not a prime target for
terrorists. |  |
 |
As with the other states they have a House of Representatives (69) and a
Senate (33). This is the Senate chamber. |
| They also have the seal
and motto woven into the carpet. Then we have the state bird, flower, song
........ |  |
 |
A view from the balcony looking down on the House of Representatives. It looks much
like the Senate chamber except that it has rather more seats and a blue
instead of a red carpet. |
| This gilded equestrian
statue of George Washington was carved by Charles Ostner in 1869. It was
restored in 1966 and moved to its present location in 2009 following the
renovations. |  |
 |
This is a plaster copy of the marble statue of Nike of Samothrace which was
found in Greece in 1863. The copy was part of a parcel of gifts sent by the
city of Paris to the US as a thank you for aid during WWII. It came to Idaho
in 1949 when each of the States received a boxcar of gifts from France. |
| These three vases were
made from American elm in 2009 by Burt Alcantara. The elm was planted in the
Capitol grounds c1887. Several presidents also planted several species of
tree in the grounds. They were all over 100 years old when they were removed
in 2007. Local artists were given the wood from the felled trees to make
whatever they wanted, provided they gave a similar piece to the state for display. |  |
 |
A view of a statue of Lincoln and onwards towards the
city centrefrom the second floor. |
| Down in the basement are
a number of boards laying out the history of the state. Idaho Territory was
established in 1863 and included what are now Montana and Wyoming. It was split a few
years later. It became the 43rd state in 1890. The constitution at that time denied the
vote to Indians and Mormons. |  |
 |
Lewis and Clark played a huge part in opening up this part of the country
and these bronzes in the capitol grounds show them meeting with Chief
Twisted Hair in September 1805. |
|