To get a sense of this city, stand at its center. Stand on Boise's Capitol Boulevard bridge and look over the state capitol's dome to the mountains. There begin the vast boreal forests expanding north through Canada.
North lies a land of blue and green and for much of the year, white.
Now, turn and look south past the Spanish tower of the Morrison-Knudsen railway depot. South stretch the great Western deserts, widening their palette of tans and reds all the way into Mexico. Both are natural wonderlands mainly empty of humans. As cities go, Boise is still a babe in a wilderness, and with luck it will be all the better for it. Boise also straddles an historical dividing line.