The match didn't start till 1pm, though, which gave me plenty of time to get up early and hike a four-mile network of various trails in the Military Reserve on the east side of town. There were plenty of cars at the various trail heads when Sadie and I got to ours at 6:30am. She was on her leash, but quickly took her off of hers when I saw all the other dog walkers and runners with their dogs off leash as well. All of them also practiced trail courtesy when they approached other hikers, dogs and cyclists. I followed their principle.
My first choice for a brewpub was in the downtown area. The streets were now cleared of last night's barricades and any street trash cleaned up. People were already moving around. I thought the match started at 10am (when most bars were still closed), but a barmaid at the first place I stopped in said no, the game was on at 1pm. That gave me more time to recreate, and I chose the Boise River Walk, where Sadie could walk in the shade with me and get water when needed. This was a very wise choice, and a choice that apparently half the city's recreationists also opted to do. There were people rafting or wading down the swiftly-moving river; they were running, jogging, dog walking along the paved trail that followed the river.
I made it to the RAM brewpub during halftime. The match was scoreless. That meant only one thing: it was a tense game. I walked into a packed restaurant. All the wall TVs were airing the game. There were several people wearing Bundlesliga shirts, one even wore a red Bayern Muenchen shirt. I wasn't expecting this many soccer fans! The only spot I found was a standing-room only spot at the bar, next to what looked like a father-son duo cheering for the Argentinian forward Lionel Messi.
This match was one intense match. I have always enjoyed soccer, but I'm not one to watch ever game from any one team on a regular basis. World Cup is different, though. It's like watching the summer Olympics. There's always a political undertone in international matches. I was cheering for Germany all the way. I stared at that TV screen with my hands clenched around my mouth, just like the German coach/manager Joachim Löw did as the match played out. I stomped my feet on the tile floor when the Germans missed a goal. I stifled my screams to the Germans to get to that ball. Yes, Germans take their soccer teams seriously, and so do the South Americans. The cameras panned across the stadium visitors, showing intense Argentinian fans and German fans. Both teams played their heart out and gave a spectacular performance. Whoever won would have faced its best challenge,and would leave the stadium feeling defeated.
The match went into overtime. Talk about suspense. No one left the restaurant. The servers and bartenders were busy refilling drinks, taking in more food orders. I had a large chicken Caesar's salad and two beers during my time in the restaurant. Luckily I didn't have to use the bathroom; I would have hated to miss any goal by either team.
In the end, Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time, with the only goal being scored by Mario Götze, a young player from Bayern Muenchen (BM) who wasn't even ranked in the top five players earlier this year. He was a little-unknown, soft-spoken player to the world, although I'm sure the BM team fans were following him. He's only 22 years old and now goes into the soccer history books as the sole scorer for the World Cup final.
I cried tears of joy for Germany, and tears of sadness for the Argentinians, who truly did give all they had. Messi played his best.
The restaurant quickly emptied. Some people were calling friends on their cell phone saying the game had been rigged in Germany's favor (nonsense!), others were clearly glad that Germany had won. I was happy for this victory, after all the financial difficulties Germany has gone through lately with financing other European countries' debts, this is one good thing for Germans. The Ukrainian crisis had been deepening every day since Russia sent in soldiers on February 27, 2014 and seized control of Crimea. Russian leader Vladamir Putin (whom I've deeply distrusted from the start) is a serious foe in the making if the world gives him too much leeway.
Following the World Cup this past month was a much-needed distraction to the other political issues happening around the world. The Ebola virus disease (EVD), which was first announced earlier this year in Guinea in western Africa, now is determined to be spreading and very deadly. The 2 July statistics had 779 cases of EVD with 481 deaths. Then there is the influx of young South American children getting picked up by our US Border Patrol agents, easily an emotional story manipulated by both political parties. These kids are being housed in detention facilities that are no more than jail cells. Why are they coming over now in such large numbers? I have to wonder if the Mexican drug cartels are pushing these kids through to distract the agents from other operations the cartel members are working on.
Now that the World Cup was finally over for four more years, it was back to reality, and reality right now in the world isn't looking so good. The Germans are probably more concerned right now than the US is about what is happening in eastern Europe and the Middle East.
I stayed with Sadie for a while, to let traffic subside and to let her back outside for a break. The van was under the only shade I could find nearby, in a parking lot next to the restaurant. When I went back into the restaurant to use the bathroom quickly, the many tables that 30 minutes earlier had a packed crowd, were now empty again.
Now I had to focus on the continued drive across southern Idaho, toward Twin Falls, another 130 miles away. It was in the upper 90s; the drive was not something I was looking forward to. This was the kind of heat that made driving uncomfortable those first two days of this trip. My choice was to take the interstate and to get to Twin Falls as quickly as possible. I normally prefer byways so that I can see the real America, but this time the heat, once again, forced me on the fastest route to my destination.
Driving now was a let-down. The one big event of the day was over and now I was on a hot drive across southern Idaho. Exits passed by me with little notice. I was tired though, and pulled over at a gas station to lay in the grass again for a half hour. Drinking a large caffeinated fountain drink only made me have to pull over an hour later to pee again.
The Snake River lived up to its name. I crossed it several times on this drive. It was a deep-canyon river here, not nearly as wide as in southeastern Washington, and flowing gently. Nature has carved out some impressive rock formations here, some which are visible right off the interstate when lucky to glance over at the right time. This would be another road trip some day, to explore the fossil beds and rock formations.
I made it to Twin Falls with perhaps an hour of sunlight left. I explored the Shoshone Falls, where many people were gathered just walking down the road to the Snake river, or wading in the water. A county park with golf course was a popular place. I still had my Bundesliga shirt on, and walked behind the bridal veil falls. Sadie stayed in the van, which by now has become her safety zone.
The town itself was already pretty much closed for the day. This town impressed me as being a poor-man's version of an Idaho town, so unlike Boise or other wealthier college towns. I didn't stay, and continued on US30 eastward.
The terrain was clearly dairy-agricultural. The aroma of cow urine reminded me of Lower Bavaria. I should have camped in Twin Falls, but instead opted to go as far as I could for the night. I would do a mountain hike in the morning and set my goal on Burley, ID, where 150 years ago both the California and Oregon trails met and pioneers camped for a while and refreshed on water and other provisions.
I liked Burley. Located on the calm shores of the Snake River, this agricultural town had all the amenities. There was even a nice RV park right on the river, with a shower facility. I drove around town casing it out, and had to stop to enjoy the impressive full moon rise over the river. A lighted cross on a small river island was in the foreground where I was standing, gazing from a paved trail on the river where at night people were still gathered and fished. Was that cross some kind of message for me?
I ended up finding a busy but quiet truck parking area behind a popular hotel. No one bothered us and we slept soundly again.
MORE TO COME
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