- Where in the world is the Treasure Valley?
Let's find out next.
Treasure Valley Kelly here today,
and I have some news for you.
Treasure Valley Dave is on vacation this week.
Can you believe that?
And in honor of his great road trip across the country,
I thought why don't you and I have a discussion
about your travels to and from Boise,
the Treasure Valley, and southern Idaho.
Let me start with a little bit of background
on the Treasure Valley area.
So if you're unfamiliar with Idaho,
maybe you think it's a myth,
I know some people just have never met anyone from here
or maybe they just can't even locate it on a map.
Well, we aren't Ohio, we're not Iowa.
We are in fact our own state.
And we're right here in the Pacific Northwest.
We are a landlocked state and we're surrounded
with Canada as our northern neighbor,
Montana, Utah, Nevada,
and then Washington and Oregon on our West.
So here in the southwest part of the state,
that's where you'll find the Treasure Valley,
with Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Eagle, Meridian, Kuna, Star,
a bunch of smaller towns as well.
It's a fantastic place to be.
And one thing to know about this area is we are
in the Mountain Standard Time Zone.
So if you're say in California,
then we are an hour ahead of you right now.
Something you may already know,
if you're a fan of some of our other videos,
is that we have really temperate seasons for the most part.
And with the nice winters we get,
that's mainly thanks to the mountains surrounding us
that we are in that basin of, which makes us the valley,
because that is protecting us with the weather inversion.
It's stopping a lot of the coldest parts of the weather
and a lot of the snow from getting down here.
So if you're planning on traveling in and out of the valley,
you should plan ahead for worsening snow and temperatures
as you go further east or whatever direction takes you,
just be prepared for any travels
that you might need chains for,
maybe put some kitty litter in the back of your car
in case you get stuck.
It's just really good to prepare
for all those sorts of things.
So before we get too crazy
and talk about leaving and traveling outside of Idaho,
let's bring it a little closer to home and talk
about what makes up the Treasure Valley a little bit.
So for the main part,
we're made up of Ada County and Canyon County.
Ada County is to the east part of the Treasure Valley
with Boise, Meridian, and Eagle.
And to the west we have Canyon County,
which is made up of Nampa and Caldwell.
And of course we have a bunch
of smaller towns sprinkled all in there.
And I'll give you a little insider tip here.
If you want to know where people from Idaho are from,
all you have to do is look at their license plates.
So if you're in Ada County,
your license plate will start with 1A.
If you're in Canyon County,
your license plate will start with 2C.
So if you're trying to figure out what county
that bad driver is from, that's a great way to start.
So if you're a traveling around this little valley of ours,
your main method of transportation is going to be a car.
We do have some bus systems and other public transportation,
but if you want a reliable source that can take you
anywhere outside of the really main Boise metropolitan area,
then you're going to want a car.
Now I know Boise is a super popular area,
but I also know not everybody wants to live there.
So let's talk about how far away your commute might be
if you're working in Boise and live elsewhere.
Well, for starters,
Meridian is only 16 minutes away, which is 12 miles.
Eagle is 20 minutes and 10 miles.
Nampa is 24 minutes, which is 20 miles.
Kuna is 26 minutes, also 20 miles.
Caldwell is 29 minutes, 28 miles.
And Middleton is 36 minutes or 31 miles.
As you can see, even if you live
in some of those maybe smaller towns,
you're never so far away or isolated from any major services
or anything that your heart desires in the city.
And for that matter,
you don't even have to drive all the way to Boise.
Sure there's a lot of amazing stores
and the opportunity is there,
but we also have shopping in all these other towns as well.
We have Costcos, and Wal-marts, and Targets,
and we have doctor's offices,
and you'll never be too far away from anything.
That's one really great thing, is everything just seems
to be kind of centrally located here,
making it really convenient even if you do want
to live a little further out, maybe on a couple acres,
maybe have some space and privacy,
you still aren't going to be so isolated
that it takes you five hours to get
from the boonies into a big town.
That's the basics of the Treasure Valley for you.
Of course, that depends on your specific needs and wants,
but you'll find that everything
is pretty convenient around here.
Of course you can also spend hours
and hours just driving around,
looking at all the nature that Idaho has to offer,
and exploring a bunch of shops,
and going down a bunch of back roads,
and finding your own little shortcuts.
So certainly come explore it yourself.
Don't take my word for it.
Now let's talk about traveling,
maybe to and from the Treasure Valley.
Maybe you haven't actually moved here yet.
Maybe you're planning your first exploration of Idaho.
Maybe you're moving really soon, and you're worried
about leaving your friends and family behind.
Well, we're going to go over some examples today
to show you that even though you may be a little further
than you were before, you're really not that far away
from anything at heart.
And if you already live here,
and you're thinking about going somewhere else on vacation,
what's wrong with you?
We already have everything right here.
Oh, I'm just playing.
We'll go over that too.
The two main ways to get in and out of the area
are by car or by plane.
So we have Boise International Airport
right here in Boise, super convenient.
It's not too big of an airport.
It's a smaller sized airport, which is really convenient.
There's not as many lines, way faster to get through TSA.
I'm not saying you shouldn't arrive
a little early for your flight,
but you don't need to wait four hours in a terminal.
It's not a large airport.
You don't need trams to get
to all the different wings or anything.
It's pretty easily laid out.
There's one main path you take to get to anywhere.
So it's really hard to get lost.
I would challenge you to get lost in that airport.
That being said, we do have some direct flights
to the more typical areas that you may be traveling.
So you'll find a lot of connecting flights
in those sorts of airports.
Although lately we have been seeing
that they are trying to get more and more direct flights
to more and more locations all the time.
So is it better to fly or drive here?
Well, there's a lot of factors that can come into play
when you're trying to decide.
It's the time, the weather, the cost,
and just your own preferences.
If you decide to fly, and you come to town,
and you're just staying for the weekend,
we have rental cars, Ubers, Lyfts, taxis.
If you're staying in Boise, we have public transportation.
So it's not like you'll really be stuck here without a car,
you'll still be able to get around.
And we have really great hotels,
Airbnbs, and other amenities, so no worries there.
But driving is another totally feasible
and great option as well.
I personally have made that drive
from Vacaville, California to here,
which is about nine hours.
And every single time I've done it,
it's gone off without a hitch.
So if you're coming from the upper western parts
of that Pacific Northwest, things to keep in mind
would be all those mountain ranges.
We have the Sierra Nevadas there,
just being in mind that it might be snowing
up on top of those peaks
even if it's not down on the ground.
And if you're coming from Southern California,
there's a big chance that you'll be
on some really long stretches of deserted road
where you might not have cell service,
or a gas station for 100 plus miles.
And those are all important things to consider
and keep in mind as well.
Let me throw a couple hypotheticals at you,
just so you can get a better idea
of how far away things really are from Boise.
Say that you're in Sacramento.
Well, that would only be nine hours or 553 miles driving.
And that would only be an hour and a half direct flight.
Now going a little more south,
San Diego is only 14 1/2 hours, or 953 miles,
or one really easy two-hour flight.
Las Vegas is only 9 1/2 hours away,
624 miles, which is quite a breeze if you really want
to go get some gambling done on the weekend.
And that's only a 1 1/2 hour direct flight.
Going back up to the north,
Portland is only seven hours away, or 436 miles,
which is a 1 1/2 hour direct flight as well.
Seattle's eight hours away, at 494 miles,
or 1 1/2 hour direct flight.
Salt Lake City is only five hours away at 339 miles,
or a one hour direct flight.
Denver is 12 1/2 hours away at 813 miles,
or a 1 1/2 hour direct flight.
And let's go crazy and go to the other side of the country.
Well, New York City is a 37 hour drive at 2,468 miles,
or if you get lucky, a six hour flight.
Now, Ontario, Oregon, not Canada,
is only 53 minutes away or 57 miles.
So why would you drive an hour to go
to some random city in Oregon?
Well, they don't have sales tax,
so maybe get some cheap groceries while you're there.
Treasure Valley Dave really likes
the chicken restaurant there.
So you'll have to talk to him
if you want to find out more about that.
If you've ever made that journey to Idaho,
go ahead and leave your comment below
so we can hear all your tips and tricks
for traveling around the area.
One funny thing I've heard Boise called
is the most isolated metropolitan city.
So what does that mean?
Well, it just means that we don't have
any other large cities to this scale around this area.
The closest ones you'll find outside of Boise
are going to Salt Lake, or Portland,
or California, or Washington, but we know that
that's not even that much of a drive either.
I will say we don't have an Ikea,
so maybe you do want to stop in Portland.
I know sometimes not all concerts decide to come to Idaho,
but it's a good thing we're really close
to all the places they absolutely do love to come.
So you just take a quick trip down there and you're set.
So that's just the tip of the iceberg
when it comes to traversing the Treasure Valley
and that surrounding area.
Of course, we recommend you come and explore it yourself,
especially with spring just around the corner,
it's the perfect time.
You can come, take a week off, take a month off.
You can take a nice little road trip
up here with the family.
Come explore all the sites.
There's really so much to explore,
and we're only getting started.
If you learned something new about Idaho today,
go ahead and give this video a big thumbs up,
share with all your friends and family,
subscribe, and hit that notification bell
so you never miss another video.
And as always, I'm Treasure Valley Kelly,
looking forward to helping you get home.