Surprises of Idaho

Hi! I am looking serious for no particular reason. I was happy to be in Idaho, glad to be walking along the Boise River greenbelt, and pleased as hell to just be outside. Plus I'd just seen a two-headed calf.

The calf AKA the eighth wonder of Idaho was born in 1950, lived for 5 days and was donated a year later to the Idaho Historical Society, where it now stands in the center of a saloon. Because calves  and saloons, obviously.

I walked to the Historical Society from the hotel and fished around in my bag for the $2 entry fee. "I like your head scarf," said the lady behind the desk.

"Oh, thank you," I replied.

"Did you get it at GODDESS FEST?"

"Um, nooo, I didn't," I said. "What is that?"

"Oh, it's over there in the park," she replied, "Just a bunch of hippies."

At which point I considered going, "DAMN HIPPIES," just for fun but instead said, "I'll have to check that out." Which I did, and on the way I couldn't help but notice the enthusiastic Boise Library. I'm not typically a fan of exclamation points but this one? No problem. Over at Goddess Fest I found the usuals: jam bands, lots of Native American-themed tattoos, merchants selling flowy Nepalese garments, and enough patchouli and incense to drive a perfectly well-adjusted individual com-plete-ly over the edge.