The Gem State

A bit of a blog about the Gem State (Idaho), which has become my state of residence!

It is cold up here, but not oppressively cold, although we did go through a pretty intense six weeks after Christmas in which the temperature dropped below zero and often didn't go above 22. :(

I am proud to say I showed remarkable resilience in the harsh conditions. I believe I am picking up some "winter savvy." It is a truth universally acknowledged (in Idaho) that there is a wrong way to do winter. I am actively avoiding this wrong way and pursuing the right way. Some of the basic principles are getting out of the house (even if it is cold), participating in community events, warm drinks, warm coats, HOT SPRINGS, and exercise. Did I mention hot springs?

Apparently Idaho is pretty volcanic. I didn't realize it at first because I've never heard of any volcanoes in the area. Naive? Maybe. There are several impressive mountain ranges, and apparently beneath these ranges lies secret pockets of magma that heat the local water. Okay, I'm not a geologist. All I know is that there are probably at least a dozen natural hot springs within several hours of me. Surprisingly, I have never been. But Elliot and Ali took me :) It was sublime. You see, I had long heard of these hot springs and had been reluctant to go because of the getting in and getting out part. I don't care if the water is steaming hot! You still have to get out! But I was mistaken. Because as I sat for minutes under a small waterfall of hot shower temperature water and gazed at the snow covered mountains around me, I felt perfectly content. And then as I stepped out of the waterfall and stood in the open air, dressed in only my swim suit, and my body created a  pillar of steam, rising into the winter air, I realized that I didn't feel a bit cold, and it made me feel powerful!!

Of course, you can't stand outside the water and remain warm for too long. But still, I enjoyed spending an hour or two defying the winter in my swimsuit, surrounded by warmth.

But that's only a part of Idaho. :) A large majority of the valley is filled with farmlands and I always marvel how the snow makes the brown furrows of earth look beautiful. But even when the snow melts, Idaho is beautiful. My sister and brother in law took me off-roading down by the Snake River. The deep blue river was contrasted by golden sage brush, red tinted shrubs, and the deep brown of canyon walls.

The people of Idaho are a very interesting sort. You have your legitimate cowboys and farmers who wouldn't venture in to Boise if their lives depended on it. You have a large population of people who used to live in Southern California. You have a good number of hipsters who hang out in the Seattle-Portland influenced coffee shops that are to be found all over. Then there are the outdoorsmen, the migrant workers, and the average local Idahoan who has lived here their whole life and never been on an airplane.

But here are two things that will help you round out the picture in your head: (read carefully)





And finally...

I was informed today that it was a collector in Idaho who bought out all the guns in the Bond family estate!!

Yes. Of course it was. (From Skyfall-which I haven't seen yet)