So I started my first morning in Crawford by jumping on AF1 to Salt Lake City. Nothing out of the ordinary occured and it was a fairly uneventful flight — that includes the movie which was The Interpreter (I had higher hopes tho in it’s defense it was interrupted by the gaggle to which I had to pay extra close attention since we were the pool). We do our thing in SLC — which from the air is very pretty especially the Salt Lake Flats — and head for Boise (yes, I took lots of pics). We touch down in Boise after flying over some really beautiful northern Utah/southern Idaho terrain. We then have to wait for the prez to deplane and get into Marine One. As soon as he’s in we’re shuffled off into our choppers — big ass Chinooks!!! We strap in, put in earplugs and take off. It was about a 30 minute ride that was perfect and smooth. We touched down, took shots of Bush deplaning and headed off for Donnelly, population 138.
In Donnelly we were to switch out with FOX travel pool, they were being driven up from Boise once the press plane landed. They wouldn’t be in town for several hours, so we decide to go get a beer and some souveniers.
We walk along the road to the no-stoplight center of town to The Club. It was a local bar we had been told about. We walk in and it was like that scene from Animal House where they walk into the black club and the band (Otis Day and the Nights — I think) sees them and stops singing. Everyone turned around and looked at us. We sat down nonchalantly and ordered local beer. The joke was you could tell we weren’t from there bc we had all of our teeth. (By the way the place was half full and it was a Monday at 4pm, by 6 it was packed). The waitress, whom we later found out os from Sweden, told us the local specialty is Huckleberry Vodka. We thought about it for a second but then went for the beer, Moose Drool. After a few minutes she brings us free shots of the vodka anyway and it was great!! (One of the camera guys and I later went across the street and bought a bottle at the liquor store.)
After 3 or 4 rounds of beer we decide to go get some something to eat at the bar across the street, Vigilantes. We walk in and take a seat at a table. We order beer — I got the Bitch’s Brew on draft — and food. As I walked over towards the restroom I passed a sign that said, “Don’t squat with your spurs on,” of course, took a picture of it.
The rest of our time in Donnelly was uneventful, we made it back to our pick up point Huckleberry Vodka bottles in hand. We then got our stuff, got in the van and drove to Boise. It was a beautiful two-hour drive along the Payette River.
When we got to Boise the food was gone but the drinks were still flowing so we joined in. After a few drinks at the hotel with several WH advance staffers we (several crew people from different nets) went off to find a bar. We couldn’t find the one we were looking for but were directed to one with good music. We walk in to The Balcony and didn’t notice much about except how empty it was — this was Boise on a Monday night. I then notice the Elton John painting on the wall, then David Bowie, and a few others. I ordered drinks and finally put two and two together after the bartender batted his eyelashes at me. We hung out, did some shots, played a little pool, drank my favorite beer — Fat Tire — and I called it a night.
I started the day on Air Force One and ended it at a gay bar in Boise.