How Boise Got Trees

In January 2004 Portland was on the receiving end of a rare snowfall. It looked so nice that I decided to send some photos to my brother who lives in Boise, Idaho. Below is his reply. Contrary to his opening comment, I get the feeling that he was not very impressed. :-)

The snow was impressive, but we got snow too. What I really noticed was the trees! It might interest you to know that Boise is French for timber.

Therefore, Boise is the city of timber which is a politically correct name for an arid wasteland that was devoid of trees when the first settlers came through on their way to Oregon—where there are trees!

To avoid feeling inferior, someone had a bright idea to plant a tree. I think it must have been an oak tree, because soon acorns were falling senselessly to the ground—not a natural state. The natural state is that squirrels eat acorns. But guess what? That’s right, no squirrels.

So, squirrels were imported. This gave the few remaining fur trappers a modest means of support for a few more years until they traded in their 50 calibre buffalo guns for golf clubs and checkered pants and joined the celebrity tour.

Thus the trees and every last squirrel have been imported in order to make Boise, the city of timber (and road kill), the most beautiful area between the Bitterroot Mountains and...oh...Guadalajara!

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