STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Celebrate Idaho Founder’s Day and the 25th Anniversary of the Native Plant Arboretum from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 3.
The Lorax will be on hand to welcome children and encourage them to plant and take care of trees.
Tom Crais and Ralph Harris, who ride in the Wagon Days parade as William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, will bring an Appaloosa—Idaho’s state horse. There’ll be huckleberry treats in honor of the state fruit. The state vegetable is, of course, the potato.
Members of the Hailey Tree Committee will be on hand to point out the syringa, Idaho’s state flower; the Western white pine, the state tree, and a host of other trees and plants, including the vanilla-smelling Ponderosa pine and firecracker penstemon.
It’s possible the mountain bluebird, the state bird, might make an appearance. Or the Monarch butterfly, the state insect. And, if someone has a notion, they may swing someone around in honor of the state’s dance—the square dance.
The Arboretum, a project of the Blaine County Recreation District, is located just off the corner of Fox Acres Road next to the Wood River Trail bike path.
The event, put on by the Hailey Tree Committee, is being held on Idaho 3—the day Idaho gained statehood in 1890.