The earth laughs in flowers ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair ~ Khalil Gibran
I don’t like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It’s just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess ~ Walt Disney
Some men like to make a little garden out of life and walk down a path ~ Jean Anouilh
Flowers… are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty out values all the utilities of the world ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Truths and roses have thorns about them ~ Henry David Thoreau
The earth laughs in flowers ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’m an introvert… I love being by myself, love being outdoors, love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the trees, flowers, the sky ~ Audrey Hepburn
As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round ~ Ben Hogan
Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses ~ Alphonse Karr
There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted ~ Henri Matisse
I hold no preference among flowers, so long as they are wild, free, and spontaneous ~ Edward Abbey
To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wildflower ~ William Blake
Very little grows on jagged rock. Be ground. Be crumbled, so wildflowers will come up where you are ~ Rumi
One person’s weed is another person’s wildflower ~ Susan Wittig Albert
A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms ~ Zen Shin
I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding ~ John O’Donohue
The river moves, but it follows a path. When it tires of one journey, it rubs through some rock to forge a new way. Hard work, but that’s its nature ~ Kekla Magoon
A dream is like a river ever changing as it flows and a dreamer’s just a vessel that must follow where it goes ~ Garth Brooks
I understand that everything is connected, that all roads meet, and that all rivers flow into the same sea ~ Paulo Coelho
When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy ~ Rumi
A river has many curves, but it always reaches the ocean ~ Donald L. Hicks
The link will take you to an overview of my recent road trip from western Washington to Boise, Idaho:
Road Trip ~ Western Washington to Boise ~ Photos
No rose without a thorn ~ French Proverb
It is the time you have spent on your rose that makes her so important ~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Truths and roses have thorns about them ~ Henry David Thoreau
The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change: Yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is ~ Paulo Coelho
If the rose puzzled its mind over the question of how it grew, it would not have been the miracle that it is ~ J. B. Yeats
Road Trip ~ Western Washington to Boise ~ Photos
The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men ~ Mark Twain
A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence ~ Jim Watkins
Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere ~ – Emma Smith
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man ~ Heraclitus
Who hears the rippling of rivers will not utterly despair of anything ~ Henry David Thoreau
I last visited Boise in September 2019 and it was fabulous to be able to plan a road trip and visit again. This was my first journey since the pandemic. It was very special to be able to visit favorite places (Boise and Meridian) and discover a new area (Eagle).
The beautiful Boise River Greenbelt is a paved path which follows the river through the heart of the city and beyond, along many parks. It is 25 miles long with many bridges to make it easy to loop back.
The walk in Boise takes you past Boise State University, to Julia Davis Park where you can stop and explore the gorgeous Rose Garden. Note to self: plan trip next year in June, as many of the rose bushes were not yet in bloom.
About a 15 minute drive from Boise is the Village at Meridian Mall. I am not a fan of shopping centers, but this one is an exception. Many interesting shops to explore, nicely laid out and all outdoors.
Stop in the locally owned Royal Coffee Company for a terrific latte, cappuccino or fruit smoothie. Enjoy it while sitting outside, deciding whether to browse the shops, walk about, dine or stay in the Fountain Square area and people watch. Â
My favorite places to dine in the area include:
The Cottonwood Grill (on the Boise Green Belt), Anthony’s (recently opened, downtown, near hotels) and The Yard House at the Village at Meridian Mall.
It’s an easy drive from western Washington to Boise via I-90 to I-82 to I-84, especially when the weather is good. For my return trip I was planning to drive via the I-84 to the Portland area and then north via I-205 and I-5. It is a longer route, going along the Columbia River in Oregon and is quite beautiful. However, as it was raining, I opted for the faster route and did encounter wet snow in the Oregon mountains. Very glad it was wet snow …
Below are some photos from my journey; will be posting more photos of the River Walks (Boise and Eagle), the Rose Garden and Boise Capitol Building.
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Savor your journeys… real, imagined or virtual, near or far
