Finding Raptors

Although we were curious to see Boise, our main reason for spending two nights here was to have time to visit the Morley Nelson Bird of Prey Conservatory – the largest nesting ground for birds of prey in the entire world. Evelyn read the My Side of the Mountain trilogy this year and has been very interested in peregrine falcons (and all raptors) ever since.

We didn’t have a confirmed sighting of a peregrine falcon, but we definitely saw a golden eagle, prairie falcon, and three red tailed hawks. Many birds were soaring overhead too high to identify.

We drove down into the canyon to Swan Falls, where a power plant, built in 1901, still operates. Many anglers were down along the river, and we met an older gentleman who was “magnet” fishing. Interestingly, he found some old bullets. He let the kids throw in the line a few times and James pulled out a large nail.

After nap time, we drove into downtown Boise and walked around Julia Davis Park and the Boise River, both of which are right next to Boise State University.

Interestingly, Boise is home to the largest Basque community outside the Basque region, so we went to a Basque restaurant called Txikteo for dinner.

Of course, before heading out of town, I had to stock up at the world’s largest Albertson’s (which is incidentally the same size as an average H‑E‑B in Texas). Albertson’s is headquartered here in Boise.

Other pictures from our time in and around Boise:

Snake River and Twin Falls