August, 2014 – The magic of Sun Valley, Idaho, is that it combines the stunning scenery of the Sawtooth mountains and Big Wood River with the more cosmopolitan pleasures of the fine arts, all in a chic small town atmosphere. Everyone who visits is captivated by its charm, and we were quickly seduced too.
Sun Valley is worthy of many return visits!
At the Sun Vally Road Rally you can see more than just the back end
of a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse!
July, 2014 – We found out that the Bugatti race cars had come to Sun Valley, Idaho for a reason.
We had arrived in the town of Ketchum just in time for the annual Sun Valley Road Rally, a car race we had seen in its second edition back in 2009.
This very cool “see how fast you can go” road race benefits The Drug Coalition of Blaine County.
For the race, the local cops clear Route 75 north of Ketchum, and participants pay $2,000 per run to drive any car they wish for two miles at top speed.
At the finish line, each car’s speed is recorded on radar. And for once, the fastest car through the speed trap wins!
A future car racer checks out a slick Camaro.
Five years ago, when we last saw the Sun Valley Road Rally, it was dominated by a mom, dad, son and daughter who passed the key to their family Porsche Carrera from one to the next as each took a turn in the driver’s seat.
The mom hit 181, the daughter reached 183 mph and the dad got to 186 mph, but the son topped them all at 188 and won the race.
Cool cars and ski mountains — that’s Sun Valley for you!
Things have changed a LOT since then. This year a fleet of six Bugatti Veyrons showed up.
These quad turbo charged cars sell for $2.7 million, have an exclusive “W-16” cylinder design (not a “V-8”), and 188 mph is an easy jog for them. They go from 0 to 62 mph in 2.6 seconds.
A Ferarri 458 cuddles with two companions at the car show
It’s the Bat Mobile! Wait…no…it’s a vintage McClaren Can-Am car!!
Spirits were high the night before the race when a parade of fantastic cars zipped through town before the kick-off car show.
This race is open to everyone, and we saw all kinds of fun cars.
An old bright red bathtub Porsche convertible went by. It had a pair of skis tied to the back and an antique suitcase lashed to the trunk.
“He’s going to race like that?” I wondered out loud. The guy next to me nodded. This race is all about having a good time.
The crowds filled the fields on the Sawtooth Scenic Byway
“Hey look, it’s the Bat Mobile!” I nudged Mark as a bizarre blue machine roared past.
We later found out it was a 1980’s era McClaren Can-Am car, and it had a bouquet of velocity stacks towering in back.
The next day, out on the race track (well, the highway), the crowd gathered, bussed up from town in school buses.
The cars line up before the race.
The Bugattis got lined up at the start while the first car of the day, a Porsche, flew past the crowd at a whopping 219 mph.
Wow. The race was off to an incredible start!
A few more cars limped by in the 180’s and then all our heads turned at once as a blue car flew past at a blinding speed.
“238!” The announcer cried. “From a Nissan GTR!”
I heard some low whistles around me. Then the announcer dropped his voice: “And the Bugattis aren’t happy…”
The Bugattis huddle together upon hearing news of an ultra fast Nissan.
The gauntlet had been thrown. We watched some Ferarris, Lamborghinis, Audi R8’s and a Ford 500 GT and a few other cars to do their runs. Nothing touched the Nissan. And then the first Bugatti ran. It sounded awesome. It looked really fast…
“229!” The announcer yelled
He sounded almost apologetic! We all stared at each other in surprise. Could a Nissan take the day at 238 mph??!!
The first Bugatti crosses the line…a little too slowly!
One by one, the Bugattis rocketed past us. They were painted in gorgeous colors — two-toned blue, light silver, dark silver and orange. As each one passed, we all held our breath, waiting to hear the speed. And with every single one we all let out a disappointed sigh: “229….229….230…”
These Bugatti Veyrons just weren’t cutting it!
I heard murmurs around me. Would a lowly Nissan that sells for a meager $250k beat a car ten times the price?? Not possible!! Then we all watched in awe as a white dot on the horizon came down the notorious Phantom Hill at lightning speed. I swear, if he went any faster he would have been airborne.
Did you see THAT?? This Bugatti Veyron was booking!
Proud owner and driver Benjamin Chen with his awesome car.
“244!” The announcer boomed. “244! A Bugatti”
OMG. Who WAS this guy?
At the break between heats we rushed down to the finish line to mingle with the cars and drivers and watch them prepare for their next run.
Benjamin Chen, the owner and driver of this white and gold dream machine, was beaming.
He is a massively successful equity manager, but you’d never guess it looking at his boyish grin and blue jeans as he gave us the thumbs up.
Young driver Josh Ramsey with his incredible Nissan GTR. The green tape was to help with wind flow and to keep the hood from opening at 200+ mph.
A few cars down from him we met up with Josh Ramsey who would be driving the upstart Nissan GTR for its second run in the next heat.
Just 23 years old, and a self-made race car driver who got his start by sweeping floors in the car owner’s shop for nothing, he was excited and nervous, wanting so badly to beat the Bugattis at their own game.
But the tension and rivalry between these top cars was just a small part of the day. There was lots of action in the lower ranks too.
Mike donned vintage glasses and his wife wore a scarf on their run,
going 110 mph in this 1957 Corvette!
A husband and wife went on a very fast date together, driving their 1957 Corvette convertible at 110 mph.
He wore antique goggles and she wore a fashionable scarf.
A 1950’s open wheel hot rod that had turned heads in the parade crossed the line at 98 mph.
Then another heat of 12 cars lined up and left the staging area to drive to the start line and set up to race.
What’s a car race without a hot rod, especially one that can go 98 mph!
“Did you see that driver in the yellow Corvette?” Mark suddenly said to me. “She’s the little old lady from Pasadena!”
Huh? I didn’t know what he was talking about until a little while later when the yellow Corvette flew across the finish line and pulled over to park near me.
A grandma climbed out of the driver’s seat, took off her helmet and brushed her hand through her hair.
81 year old Shirley Veine stole the show at 166 mph in her bright yellow Corvette
“Wow!” She gushed, looking up at me. “That was fun!”
“You hit 166,” a young woman yelled as she rushed over to give her a hug.
“How old are you?” I asked, astonished.
“81” She grinned.
The Little Old Lady from Pasadena says she LOVES to go fast!!
“You know, I’ve been 120 mph before,” she said mischievously. “Out on those roads where nobody cares. But I’ve never raced before!”
Really!
When she turned around to pump her fist in the air for her fans, her T-shirt said, “Go Granny, Go!” (That link goes to the song on YouTube for you, LOL!)
The Nissan GTR had laid down the gauntlet and had hopes for the high 240’s, but a mechanical failure got in the way.
Meanwhile the race was heating up between the Bugattis and the Nissan.
Benjamin had taken his white and gold Bugatti across the line at 246 mph on his second run, and another Bugatti had matched the Nissan’s 238 mph.
The heat was on.
In the end, though, very unfortunately, the Nissan had a mechanical failure
Our hearts sank its young driver Josh limped back in after his run, wreathed in disappointment.
Victorious Benjamin Chen hit 246 mph on the golden spoked wheels
of his Bugatti Veyron.
However, even if he hadn’t won the day, at least his team had given those Bugattis a run for their money.
Over at the leaderboard, champ Benjamin’s grin went from ear to ear as he showed us his winning speed.
He told us the magic key on his necklace puts the car in a special “top speed mode,” dropping the spoiler, closing the air diffusers, and lowering the ground clearance.
Oh, to be a multi-millionaire with a super cool race car and a brilliant a sunny day to play with it out on the open road, especially smack in the middle of the Sawtooth Scenic Byway!
The driver’s view (minus the cars) down Phantom Hill on the Sawtooth Scenic Byway
where, for once, the fastest car in the speed trap wins!
See the following links for the Sun Valley Road Rally and the Sawtooth Scenic Byway in Idaho. There’s also a fantastic article about the Koenigsegg race car trouncing the Bugatti Veyron’s speed record in Nevada here.
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July, 2014 – Our stay in eastern Oregon had been truly blissful but, as had been predicted due to the ultra dry conditions, this summer was proving to be a terrible one for wildfires in both Oregon and Washington. A wildfire in central Washington had grown to 400 square miles. That’s 20 miles by 20 miles, or 80 miles if you drive around the outer edge of the fire. Holy smokes!
Welcome to Shoshone, Idaho!
The Shoshone, Idaho, railroad depot.
Whole communities had been leveled, and even though the firefighters were getting the upper hand, we knew it would smolder for months.
Oregon was facing similar challenges, and we could smell the smoke in the air, so we decided to put a little distance between us and the fires.
Leaving Hell’s Canyon behind us, we did a daylong drive east towards Sun Valley, Idaho, and the Sawtooth Mountains where we had spent a glorious month five years ago.
On our way there, we passed through a tiny town that had the most inviting lineup of colored western style buildings on the main street.
The colorful buildings made us hop out of the buggy to look around.
This was Shoshone, Idaho (with a silent “e”), an old railroad depot town.
We just had to stop the buggy and get out to roam around a bit!
At one time Shoshone was the only railroad depot in Idaho, even though it’s been a town of just 1,100 to 1,400 people for the last century.
The railroad tracks here are still active, and Union Pacific and Amtrak trains still pass through.
Just north of town are some ice caves where the winter ice lasts all summer, and the old joke was that Shoshone was the only place around to get a cold beer in summertime!
Amtrak and Union Pacific still use these tracks.
We didn’t see the ice caves but enjoyed walking this quiet town.
The old train depot was very authentic and original looking on the outside, but peeking in the windows we saw ordinary modern day offices inside.
Nowadays you can get a cold beer here!
Hopping back in the truck, we made our way north towards Bellevue and Hailey, small towns leading to Ketchum, the town that plays host to the Sun Valley resort.
From the workaday simplicity of Shoshone, everything around us got progressively fancier as we drove through these towns.
Sun Valley has been home to the rich and famous since 1936 when the resort first opened, and it is still a celebrity hangout.
Demi Moore and Bruce Willis own this art deco movie theater in Hailey.
Biking is popular here — there are miles and miles of paved and dirt trails.
A lady walking her dog in Bellevue said that the farmer who owned the land next to the Hailey airport had sold some of his land to the airport to make the runway longer, and now the jets could come in.
The Big Wood River winds through the area.
Sure enough, in a two hour period that evening, five private jets passed directly overhead going to and from the airport.
Stopping in Hailey to find out a little about the mountain biking in the area, we got into a lively discussion with some folks at the store about their celeb sightings.
Along with all the mega mansions there are normal folks too!
Bill and Melinda Gates had helped a fallen mountain biker on the trail. Warren Buffet had opened his cab door to offer a shared ride to a local.
And, of course, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore bought a few of Hailey’s downtown buildings in the early 1990’s to help the town through financial straights, and then raised their kids in Hailey for a few years.
Our heads began to spin.
What a change from the relaxed and unassuming environment of Baker City and the charmingly remote outpost of Joseph, Oregon.
The Corvettes and Porsches passing us on Route 75 got boring when a series of AC Cobras flew by.
Welcome to Sun Valley!
But this isn’t just a money place. Somehow, despite the vast wealth that surrounds the town, ordinary folks still flock here to get a nature fix.
And we began to get ours out on the trails that wander through the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and along the lively Big Wood River that romps through the edge of town.
Heading into Ketchum one afternoon, we did a double-take when we saw an antique car drive by towing an antique trailer.
Hey, look at that!!
Is that a Bugatti??!!
Luckily, the driver parked it nearby. I ran over to chat with him.
“It’s a 1950 Chevy and a 1947 trailer,” he told me proudly. He was in a rush, though, and couldn’t stick around to tell me more.
While I was admiring this fun rig, Mark glanced over at some parked cars and did a double-take of his own.
“Em, I think that’s a Bugatti,” he said, running towards it.
Now there’s a fun car for the valets to park!
“I’ve only seen those in pictures!” He yelled over his shoulder.
When I finally caught up to him, he was deep in conversation with the driver who turned out to be a Bugatti employee.
The car was here for the Sun Valley Road Rally on Saturday, and this guy not only got to drive it but got to stand next to it and guard it while it’s owner went grocery shopping.
A car body guard? Yup! These cars sell for $2.7 million.
Around the corner at the Sun Valley Lodge we saw a Lamborghini waiting to be valet parked. Wow.
Years ago we’d been lucky enough to stumble into second edition of the Sun Valley Road Rally just steps from our camping spot.
Now we couldn’t wait to see what this little local and family oriented town event had grown up to become…
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Click the following links for more about Sun Valley and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
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The Tetons!
Mid-July, 2012 – We left the corner of Wyoming near Afton and journeyed north into Idaho. We were doing our route planning to take in as many official “scenic byways” as possible, so now we followed Idaho’s Teton Scenic Byway.
We had been to Grand Teton National Park at the beginning of our travels in 2007 and had been awe-struck by the jagged beauty and majesty of the mountain peaks. The national park is on the eastern side of the mountains in Wyoming, and its roads wind right along the base of the mountains.
The Teton Scenic Byway in Idaho is on the western side and the road is much further distant from the mountains, running right through the rich valley farmlands. The views were lovely, but unfortunately the sky and lighting didn’t cooperate with us on that particular day, and the smoke from nearby wildfires made the mountains hazy at best.
Spuds!
But a real highlight was to drive through fields and fields of perfectly spaced, rolling rows of green plants. “What do you think that is?” I asked Mark. “Hmmm….” He mused. “This is Idaho… which is spud country… Idaho potatoes maybe??” Yup! We soon saw a sign saying that this was “seed potato” country. It explained that many farmers in the area are third and fourth generation seed potato farmers and that after storing the potatoes through the winter in cool cellars many are cut into 2″ cubes in the spring to create the next season’s crop.
Upper Mesa Falls
Where the Teton Scenic Byway leaves off the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway begins, and we made the turn onto that road. Two beautiful waterfalls give this scenic byway its name. The Lower Falls is very pretty, but the Upper Falls is a stunner. We were glad to have our National Park Pass because these falls are one of those “federal lands” area with an entrance fee that is covered by the pass.
Waterfall Mist
The afternoon light lit up the mist that foamed off of the falls, and we wandered up and down the enormous walkways and stairways that cascade along the edge of the falls for tourists.
As we were leaving we noticed three fellows carrying kayaks up the stairs. It turned out they were had just kayaked 8 miles down the river, and apparently that stretch of river is excellent white water and rapids. Fortunately they had stopped short of the falls!! Mark wanted to get a picture of me with them — and when one of them playfully put his arm around me for the shot I discovered he was sopping wet from head to toe! That got me laughing.
Crazy wet kayakers!
The Upper Falls are known for the rainbow that forms in the mist in the mornings, and we set the alarm to make sure we caught the rainbow at its peak according to what a ranger told us. Out of laziness we hadn’t changed the clocks in the trailer since leaving Arizona two months earlier, but we we knew we were off by an hour. Well, we were off by an hour the other way! So we got to the falls in the freezing cold semi-darkness and were just about frozen to the bone by the time the little rainbow finally made its first showing.
The falls create a rainbow each morning.
The Upper Falls is also home to the Big Falls Inn, a cool old log cabin built in 1915 by Snake River Electric Light & Power Co. as an office/residence for workers.
Big Falls Inn – from the Power Company!
Over the years it has been used in many ways — as a way station for travelers on Yellowstone Highway,
Baby robins
as a dance hall, and as a corporate retreat. In 1986 the Forest Service acquired it through a land exchange.
We had simpler accommodations in our buggy nearby, but outside our window a little robin’s nest was full of open-mouthed chicks!
Continuing our journey north, our road wandered out of Idaho and into the Bitteroot Valley of Montana.
Stanley Lake
Creek near Stanley Lake
Stanley Lake
Camping at Stanley Lake
Scenery near Stanley.
Sawtooth Mountains.
Sawtooth Luce's.
Homes perched on the hills in Stanley
Redfish Lake
Redfish Lake
Beach at Redfish Lodge
Ghosting along on Redfish Lake
Private boat-in campsite on Redfish Lake
Salmon Festival in Stanley
Namesake for Redfish Lake
Cattle enjoy a nice view.
Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley.
"Ahhh" moment as we walk towards Stanley Lake.
Sunrise on our final morning
Salmon River
Drive along the Salmon River
Stanley, Idaho
Late August, 2009 - We drove
north from Ketchum/Sun
Valley to Stanley Idaho along
As with Indiana's Amish
Heritage Trail that we had
recently driven, we discovered
the tourism folks of central
Idaho have created a series of
CDs to accompany the
beautiful scenic drives through
their state. Complete with mile
marker indicators, music and
driving instructions, the
recording was expertly made and we enjoyed having a tour guide right there in the truck with
us. We learned tidbits about the mining history, Indian history and geology of the area, and
the CD recommended some excellent stops at scenic viewpoint along the way.
Stanley is a tiny hamlet with just 40 year-round residents, although the population soars to
300 each summer. It is frequently the coldest place in the continental US in the wintertime, but in summer the days are hot. We
rode our bikes to Stanley Lake and found crystal clear water sleepily lapping the shores of towering mountains.
We returned with the kayak and spent a blissful morning drifting across
the mirrored reflections of the rugged peaks. As we floated into the cool
shade under the thick pines on the far side of the lake, we felt intoxicated
by their heady, pungent scent. We laid back and lazily watched the
rainbow trout jumping for moths. Each foolish bug would flirt with the
water's surface until his wings got wet, and then he'd start a spinning
death spiral that ended with the gulp of a fish.
There is a
campground
and several
hiking trails
around Stanley
Lake as well.
We made a few trips to the lake
over the next week, each time
enjoying that burst of "ahhh" as
the trees parted and the lake
came into view.
It seemed like a perfect spot to
bring the family for a week of
camping. The sites are
perched right on the water's
edge and there are endless
activities to keep kids amused
along the shore.
The early mornings were cold
and quiet, but as each day
wore on and the sun flooded
the shore, the sounds of kids
voices carried across the
water.
The Sawtooth Mountains line the horizon like the cutting edge of
a saw blade, and everywhere we turned their snowcapped tops
formed a backdrop. Stanley sits at the intersection of three of
Idaho's official "scenic highways," and there are viewpoint pullouts
and photo-op spots all over town.
One afternoon we got a pizza at Sawtooth Luce's. This little log cabin
eaterie has been in the same family for several generations, and our
waiter proudly announced that three weeks earlier the owners had just
given Stanley its first locally born baby in 30 years.
We took the kayak to Redfish Lake, another
expanse of clear, turquoise water set against a
wide mural of the Rockies. The water was
cool, but so inviting, with every rock and fallen
log clearly visible many feet below the surface.
There were several beaches, some accessible
by car and others, we later learned, accessible
only by boat. The sand on every beach was
wonderfully white.
We cast about for a while to find a good launching spot and settled
on the beach by Redfish Lodge. This is a fun and busy place.
There are cabins, a lodge, a camp store, boat rentals, a marina
with slips and moorings for powerboats and sailboats alike, and a
white sand beach loaded with families. It is an ideal swimming
area, as the water is shallow for a long distance, keeping it
somewhat warm. We quickly inflated the kayak and cast off.
It didn't take long for the playful voices from the beach to fade into
the distance as we pedaled our way along one shore. There was
a point in the distance that lured us, tantalizing us with images of
what might lie beyond. The crests of a few jagged peaks poked
above the nearby trees, promising a dramatic view once we
rounded the point. It seemed like we would never get there, but
suddenly the point swung wide, like a door opening to another
land, and we found ourselves in an emerald green pool of
shallows at the feet of two majestic mountains.
Many evergreen
trees along the
shore were red.
They were going
through their
death throes as
beetles invaded
the tender flesh under their bark. This made for interesting colors among the
trees, but was disconcerting in a forest that should be solid deep green. From a
distance much of the forest high up on the ridge was grey, as many trees had
already succumbed to the armies of invading pests. In places it seemed just one
in ten trees was wearing its intended green hue.
We found a perfect spot to land for a shore-side snack. It was actually a boat-in campsite,
complete with a fire ring, a wood pile left by a previous camper, and a table. A tiny beach
stretched along the shore,
and a large rock sat out a
ways in the lake. Mark was
tempted to go swimming,
but he didn't want to be
soggy wet and cold for the
return trip. So he settled
for wading out towards the
big rock, carefully hiking his
shorts up higher and higher
as he went. He stepped
gingerly from one submerged rock to another, leap-frogging
towards the big boulder. Just as it looked like he'd made it to the rock
island, his foot slipped on some algae and he doused himself thoroughly.
Oh well, so much for staying dry.
After kayaking a little further we turned around, leaving the dramatic
rocky horizon behind us. Before long, the sounds of kids playing in
the water at Redfish Lodge pierced our little oasis of silence, and
we paddled our way back into the hustle and bustle of a hot
summer day at the beach. Kids licking ice cream cones, parents sipping cold beer, and sunbathing teens changing from white to
pink greeted us as we deflated the kayak and folded it back into its bag.
That weekend the town of Stanley hosted the Salmon Festival, a fair
celebrating the local salmon. We knew nothing about salmon when we got
there, other than how to grill it, but by the end of the day we had learned
many amazing things about the life cycle of these intrepid fish. We were
astonished to learn that when 3-year-old salmon make their way from
Stanley down the Salmon River to the Snake River to the Columbia River to
the ocean some 900 miles away, they make a mental note of the smells
along the way so they can sniff their way back home a year or two later,
never making a wrong turn up a wrong tributary. Once home, they flirt with
each other and the females choose their mates. The males quiver
alongside their females, waiting impatiently for them to lay their eggs so
they can be fertilized. Once the seeds for the next generation have been
sown, the parents die.
We had known that salmon fishing
had deteriorated badly in recent
years, but were shocked to learn
that in the decade of the 1990's
only 10 local salmon made it
back to Stanley to spawn, putting
them on the endangered species
list. This year 750 or so are
expected to return, a recovery
attributed to the removal of many
dams along the rivers and
meticulous breeding in
hatcheries. We had known that
river dams impeded salmon
migration, but were stunned to
find out the trouble is during
their trip down to the ocean, not during their return up river to spawn years later. Young
salmon approaching a dam as they swim towards the ocean are guided out of the river to
be loaded onto trucks and barges so they can be taken around the dam and then returned
to the river on the other side where they continue their swim to the ocean. For Stanley
area salmon this happens at four dams on the Snake River and four on the Columbia.
That's a lot of corralling, loading and unloading for a six inch fish that is designed just to
swim with the current to the ocean. Most don't make it. The young are tagged with
microchips before they leave the hatchery so they can be identified upon their return from
the ocean, at which point they have grown to recognizable salmon size. The
microchip tags aid in isolating a few fish for hatchery breeding when they return,
keeping the hatchery DNA pool as wide as possible.
This was a lot to take in and gave us a far greater appreciation for the wild caught
filets we buy at the supermarket. Mulling it all over, we wandered about the town
of Stanley, taking several bike rides along the scenic highways. The views
everywhere were breathtaking.
We went to a lecture at the Stanley
Museum given by a man who had
kayaked the same route that the salmon
take: the Salmon River to the Snake River
to the Columbia River to the ocean. He covered the
distance in 52 days in 2001, experiencing some of the
same hassles the fish do at the dams as he took his
kayak through the lock systems.
Stanley also has a mining history, but we didn't stay long
enough to delve into it too deeply. There are some
intriguing mining relics and ghost towns in the area that
we decided to save for a return trip another year.
We took one last hike out to the far end of Stanley
Lake and breathed in the moist pine scent.
On our final day in the area
the sun cast an orange
glow on the rocky peaks for
a few moments as it rose in
the sky.
Then we started a two-day
trip down the road along the Salmon River, thinking of the salmon and of the kayaker as
we drove. The river was our constant companion as we descended northwards towards
Ketchum Farmer's Market
Sun Valley outdoor skating rink.
Outdoor restaurant overlooking the skating rink.
A young skater gets some coaching.
Quaint buildings around the Sun Valley resort.
Swans greet visitors to the Sun Valley Lodge
Welcome to Sun Valley
Lodge.
A bright fire crackled in the Lodge's fireplace.
Upstairs brunch was being served.
Arnold in the Austrian Alps of the west.
Figure skating legends Dorothy Hamill and
Charlie Tickner.
Peggy Fleming.
Ore wagon for shuttling ore
and supplies between mining
camps.
One of the Ketchum Fast
Freight ore wagons.
Fog drifts between the mountains.
Rolling mountains surround the town.
What a spot for a summer cabin.
The paved bike path near Elkhorn.
Pre-performance talk at the Sun Valley Pavilion.
Listeners picnic on the lawn outside.
The Sun Valley Symphony Orchestra.
A young concert-goer blows bubbles.
Fairy princesses show us the Wolf.
Pirouettes...
...and curtsies.
The instrument "petting zoo."
Ketchum welcomes all visitors
whether funky or fancy.
Funny statues are everywhere.
Both big kids and little kids paused by
this stuffed bear for a quick hug.
Our stay in Ketchum will always be a highlight among our
travel memories.
Ketchum & Sun Valley, Idaho
August, 2009 - We had been in Ketchum / Sun Valley for several
weeks, but we were enjoying ourselves so much we didn't want to
leave. The town was bustling with activity, and there was always
something going on. We arrived in time for the Farmer's Market one
afternoon, and after eyeing up the beautiful produce, we made our way
over to the Sun Valley Lodge.
I had heard about the summer figure skating at Sun Valley when I was
growing up, and it was a thrill to see the outdoor rink. It is shaded from
the hot sun by a mesh canopy, and it sits across from an open air
outdoor restaurant at the Lodge.
On Saturday nights in summertime there is a full-fledged ice show, and
diners can enjoy a gourmet meal at the cafe's tables while watching
World and Olympic champions perform.
While we were there it was an open public skating session. Kids and
adults of all ages were playing, practicing and having fun. We watched
a few young skaters diligently training with their coaches.
The Sun Valley Lodge complex is spread out over a large area and
includes not just the outdoor ice rink but an indoor one as well. There
are extensive walking paths that wander between quaint buildings and
little shops, taking guests to the Opera House and the Sun Valley
Pavilion where the symphony orchestra performs outdoors every night in
August. We got lost quite a few times and found ourselves going in
circles.
There is a little pond that is home to
several swans. The Lodge itself is a
grand old structure with an elegant
entrance.
Inside the Lodge we found a cozy fire
burning brightly in an inviting living room
just inside the lobby. Upstairs there is a
huge library that overlooks the outdoor
skating rink, as well as an elegant
dining room.
Along the walls there are dozens of
photographs of all the celebrities that
have visited Sun Valley. Averell
Harriman, Sun Valley's founder in 1936,
invited everybody who was Somebody
to be a guest
at his resort.
Hollywood
legends were regulars, and he encouraged artists and writers like Ernest
Hemingway to make this new resort area their home. Many presidents
and their families were photographed out on the slopes.
I was naturally
drawn to the
figure skating
heroines of my
youth: Dorothy
Hamill and Peggy
Fleming. We also
visited the Ski &
Heritage Museum where there are skis of every imaginable type, many
hand-made by miners and ranchers to get around in winter. The museum
showed video clips of 1956 Olympic champions Dick Button and Tenley
Albright at their winning moments. Every famous winter athlete has spent
time in Sun Valley.
Over at the Ore
Wagon museum we
learned that fifty years before Sun Valley was created, Ketchum was a
hotbed of mining activity. "Galena," a
silver-lead ore, was found throughout the
mountains in the area, and the ore was
carried by wagons down to the railroad
trains and smelters in Ketchum.
The Ketchum Fast Freight Line consisted
of many teams of horses, mules and
oxen that pulled these wagons on a 160
mile loop through the rugged mountains,
stopping at the mining camps to deliver
goods and pick up loads of ore. Thirty
wagons were on the road at any one time, and the grades these teams of 14-20
animals climbed were as steep as 12-15%. Once the mining faded, Ketchum
became home to Peruvian sheep herders, and in 1920 was second only to Sydney,
Australia in sheep production.
Today the peaceful valley boasts multi-million dollar celebrity homes on every hillside.
A quick scan of the real estate page lists eye-popping prices that make you wonder
where the regular folks live. Chatting with a caterer and a former maid, I learned that
most ordinary people live in the outlying towns of Hailey and Bellevue. However, the
pretty, light fog that drifts between the mountains around Ketchum/Sun Valley each
morning doesn't know the difference between miners, sheep herders and VIPs.
We took the paved bike path through the Elkhorn area southeast of town and stopped
at Hemingway's memorial, a humble little statue under a tree.
The views all around town are spectacular, and it is easy to imagine an artist finding
his muse in this setting. A group of artists were coming to town to set up easels
outdoors and paint, but our visit had drawn to a close before they arrived.
We did watch Clint Eastwood's movie Pale Rider while we
were in the area, however. The movie was set in the Boulder
Mountains just north of town where
we camped, and we learned that the
movie people built an entire town
back in the hills, shot the movie and
then removed the town once they
were done. It was a classic Clint flick,
where his stone-faced, gritty, lonely
character took on the gang of local
bullies by himself, liberating the
defenseless, harrassed miners who
had been the bullies' easy prey.
It is hard to imagine the size, sounds and smells of the mine and smelter
that dominated the Ketchum landscape in the 1880's. Today there is a
brand new $5 million symphony concert hall, the Sun Valley Pavilion,
where the prestigious Sun Valley Symphony is in residence all summer,
treating the locals and visitors to beautiful (and free) music almost every
night.
We sat outside on the grass with the locals on opening night while
the sponsors of the summer's series got wined and dined inside
the hall with a private concert. The music is piped outside all
around the hall so listeners can picnic in the grass during each
concert if they wish. Humming along to Rodgers and Hammerstein's
best songs, we were hooked. We returned for three more concerts
when the seats inside were free and the music soared.
They offered a Brahms night, and I was torn between that and the
group bike ride up the long climb to Galena Lodge. Why do the best
things always happen at the same time? Brahms won, as I love his'
dark and brooding music, and wanted to hear it live. Mark wasn't
sure about going until I pointed out that one of the pieces they were
performing, the Academic Festival Overture, sets the stage in one of
his all-time favorite movies: Animal House.
One Saturday was Family Day. It
started with a doll parade in the
morning, where every little girl in town
dressed up as a fairy princess, and it
ended with a symphony concert
geared towards kids. We watched
the many fairy princesses prance
around the lawn outside the Pavilion
during the concert.
Some little girls nearby acted out all
the scenes in Peter and the Wolf.
They showed us the cat, the little bird in the tree, the duck
quacking in the pond and, of course, the wolf.
We were treated to some
pirouettes and fancy moves, and
finally a curtsy. The symphony
orchestra had an instrument
"petting zoo" that day where you
could check out the instruments up
close. There was a festive, easy-
going air to everything the
symphony orchestra did.
Before the concerts, you could
attend the final rehearsals for that
evening's performance and listen to
a short lecture about the music to be played that
night. Afterwards, the players and audience
descended on the town. All the stores stayed open
late, and the coffee shops, bistros and even the
grocery store were suddenly flooded with ruffled white
tuxedo shirts, black dress pants and shiny shoes as
the orchestra players mingled with family and friends.
We enjoyed every minute of
our stay in this area. For all
the high-brow music and
fancy homes, there was also a playful side to this town. Sitting
outside a coffee shop one morning, we watched a roller-blader
doing laps around the center of town. He kept a smile on our
faces as he ducked and dodged and swerved in and out of
traffic.
The funny dog statue near the ice cream shop was watching him
too. Even the silly stuffed bear that waited patiently outside the
chocolate shop kept an eye on him.
We had passed a pretty flower-lined fence every day on our way
in and out of town, and it was with a wistful sigh that we got a
final photograph, packed up, and drove north out of town for the
last time, on our way to new sights in Stanley, Idaho.
Related Post about Figure Skating:
A Unique Encounter with Figure Skating Legend Toller Cranston 01/28/15
Related posts from our RV travels to the Sun Valley area:
We discovered moose are rare here.
Our welcoming committee.
The Harriman Trail.
Soaring mountain views.
We never tired of the view, and it changed constantly.
A storm covered the mountains in a blanket with a
black lining.
The sun shone a spotlight on us for a moment as the
storm gathered steam.
The worst of the storm passed us by in the end.
We awoke to clouds embracing the mountains. When they
cleared the peaks were white.
Sheriff's speedtrap at the Sun Valley Road Rally.
Family Porsche - mom-181, daughter-183, son-188, and dear old dad-186 mph.
Ford GT - Ties for the day's honors at 188 mph.
Young hot racer drove the
crowd wild at 183 mph.
The movie theater shows "Sun Valley Serenade"
every afternoon for free.
The young Norwegian refugee arrives.
Sonya Henie, a charming, flirtatious pixie.
Milton Berle and Sonya Henie.
Glenn Miller leads his band in "In the Mood."
Trapped in a ski lodge, and falling in love...
Sun Valley guests were escorted by horse-drawn sleigh from
the train station to the resort.
Sonya Henie's elegance is mirrored on the ice.
This was a special skating show and movie that doesn't
have a parallel today.
Ketchum / Sun Valley, Idaho (2)
July / August, 2009 - Still camped in the national forest outside Ketchum,
Idaho, we left our dream campsite along the creek and moved to another
one with a spectacular mountain view. The welcoming committee here
was a moose. He came two nights in a row and quietly munched the
grasses down by the river.
A fisherman and his
son came by one
morning and said they
had been fishing this
river for 25 years and
had never seen a
moose. We suggested
they come by at dusk,
as the moose seemed to like visiting at twilight. Our new friends came by at the
appointed hour, but the moose was on a different schedule that night. He must
have had something else going on earlier, because he didn't make his
appearance until an hour after our friends had left.
We were in a stunning setting with the Harriman Trail running behind
us on one side and the most amazing mountain view soaring into the
sky on the other side.
We rode the trail up to Easley Hot Springs where a swimming pool
and hot tub have been built to take advantage of the springs.
Further on, the trail winds through the forest and meadow. I wanted
to ride it the remaining 10 miles up to Galena Lodge, but the weather
had other ideas.
A magnificent storm swept in during the afternoon and
blanketed the whole valley with black clouds. I was way up the
trail somewhere on my bike, hoping to outpace the downpour coming
back. I made it back just in time, but Mark had gotten nervous that I'd
be caught out somewhere, so he had climbed onto the roof of the buggy
to see where I had disappeared to.
When I got back the sky darkened even more. The sun peeked
through the clouds for a moment and gave us the most unusual
lighting all around the trailer.
We were both enchanted. What a magical moment. As the
lightning started in the distance and the rain began to fall on
the horizon, we were overcome with a delicious, eerie
feeling. We could see Ketchum getting pelted by rain in the
distance, but our little oasis had a tiny spotlight of sun.
The worst of the storm
passed to the north of us,
but it affected the weather
for the next week.
We woke up the next
morning to find the
mountains embraced by clouds and covered
in ice and snow. The warm daytime
temperatures had vanished. We would get a
few hours of cloudless skies and bright
sunshine each morning, but by noon an echo
of that storm would begin to well up in the
mountain peaks. By mid-afternoon each day
we would be engulfed in overcast skies.
Ketchum / Sun Valley is a town for the Rich
and Famous, and we stopped noticing
Porsche Carerra 4's after the umpteenth
sighting on our first day in town. Fortunately, for the wealthy car enthusiasts in
town, the Sheriff has a great affection for raw power. One morning we found
ourselves in the midst of the unusual Sun Valley Road Rally. The Sheriff had
agreed to shut down a few miles of Route 75, the Sawtooth Scenic Highway
heading north out of town, so the townsfolk could race their cars.
This was a
charity event, and
entrants paid $1,500
a run to drive their
cars as fast as they
could past the
Sheriff's speed trap.
He then wrote up a
fake ticket showing
the speed they were
going when they
passed the radar
gun. For three
hours the cars went
off at five minute intervals.
Twice each hour for 15 minutes the road was temporarily opened to regular traffic.
Mark had a field day watching the Ford GT's, Vipers and Porsches parade past the spectators to
the starting point beyond the top of the hill. We would hear each car in the distance first, and he
would try to guess what it was by its whine. Then the car would crest the hill and start its descent
towards the radar gun. An announcer would tell us the type of car and the speed it was going,
and we had fun guessing the speeds before they were announced. The Toyota Prius was a big
surprise at 107 mph, and the vintage (1956) Ferrari with its equally vintage driver was cute at
117 mph. A Bentley and souped up truck joined the fun.
However, the big surprise came when a middle-aged mom with
long dark hair stepped out of a Porsche after it was clocked
going 181 mph. She got a round of applause, but left us all even
more shocked when she handed the keys over to a young
blonde, gave her a hug and sent her off to the starting line.
When the Porsche showed up again, the radar read 183 mph.
The crowd went wild, and the young girl emerged. We
discovered that she was the mom's 22-year-old daughter, and that the boy she was handing the
keys to was her 23-year-old brother. When he came roaring by at 188 the crowd went ballistic.
Finally, dad got a turn at the wheel. We were hoping he would show us all how it is done, but he
didn't quite match his son, coming in at just 186 mph. The young boy in that Porsche shared the
crown for the day with a Ford GT that also reached 188 mph.
All that fast-paced excitement had
to be countered with something a little lower key. We went in to
Sun Valley to watch the 1941 movie, "Sun Valley Serenade,"
starring Sonya Henie. There is a free showing every afternoon.
The movie theater is the Sun Valley Opera House, a cute building
in the middle of the Sun Valley Resort complex.
This movie was originally made, in part, to promote Sun Valley
as a winter destination. Who better to be the star than the
utterly charming 3-time Olympic figure skating champion of the
day, Sonya Henie.
The producers put together a first-
rate show, with Milton Berle and
Glenn Miller's band taking
supporting roles. The story tells of a
young Norwegian refugee who
beguiles her unsuspecting sponsor
into falling in love with her.
As you listen to "In the Mood" and
"Chattanooga Choo Choo"
performed by the master himself,
the movie unfolds with scenes of
Sun Valley, appearing as it did when
it first opened.
Trains brought visitors into town from far away places, and horse-drawn sleighs took them to the
resort from the train station. Sun Valley was a bright light of pure fun and fantasy at the end of
the Great Depression, and its promotional movie is bewitching.
Besides Henie's dazzling
performance as a piquant
and mischievous flirt, some of
the most intriguing scenes
are on the ice where she
performs with a partner and
supporting cast on a sheet of
ice covered in a thin layer of
water. The scenes were shot
at night, and as the skaters
glide across the ice, their
reflections make them seem
to be dancing on water.
We left that movie with smiles on
our faces, caught up in the charm of
Sun Valley as it once was. We had
gotten the idea to see the movie
from the Visitor Center's list of "50
Fun Free Things To Do in
Ketchum / SunValley," and when we
checked the list that night there
were still quite a few to go. No
need to leave Ketchum/Sun Valley
just yet.
Related Post about Figure Skating:
A Unique Encounter with Figure Skating Legend Toller Cranston 01/28/15
Related posts from our RV travels to the Sun Valley area:
Lots of folks jump from the 480 foot tall Perrine Bridge
in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Pretty bike bath along the Snake River.
The first settler built his farm in this valley.
The welcome committee greets us outside Ketchum.
A mule deer stopped by our campsite every night.
The paved rails-to-trails bike path runs for 30 miles.
Averell Harriman wanted a world class
ski resort destination on his railroad line.
The Harriman Trail runs 20 miles north from Ketchum.
It is a great place for mountain biking.
We saw lots of riders on the trail everyday.
Lance Armstrong's quest for gold in the
Tour de France inspires cyclists even in
this remote outpost.
The Elephant Perch bike shop has a weekly group ride
into the postcard-like scenery.
This laid back town is full of whimsy.
Even the huge chair is wearing
cowboy boots.
The whole town lives outside for the summer months.
In this upscale town the free samples are gourmet
meats and imported cheeses.
Flowers and mountains frame the town.
The town rallied support for Pfc.
Bowe Bergdahl who had recently
been captured in Afghanistan.
We found the ideal campsite.
...but the views and serenity were worth the white
knuckles and scuff marks.
Perched on the edge of a glittering creek, we had to
go to great lengths to shoehorn our rig down a trail
into this paradise...
The sun always disappeared as soon as Mark
stepped into the ice cold water.
This place is ideal for rest and
relaxation.
Ketchum / Sun Valley, Idaho
Early July, 2009 - After landing in Burbank, California, following our
seven week sojourn in Michigan, we collected our trailer and made a
circuitous route to Idaho in search of some R&R. We had fallen in love
with the small town of Kellogg, outside of Coeur d'Alene, two years
earlier, and everything we had heard about Idaho from other travelers
was outstanding. One six-year full-timing veteran we met in Pioche, NV
last year told us, "I just came from a boondocking spot in Stanley,
Idaho, and it was exactly what I've been looking for all these years:
gorgeous mountain views, meadows filled with wildflowers, clear
streams, and lots of wildlife." This image had been in the back of our
minds ever since.
After a long
slog across
the Nevada
desert, we aimed for Twin Falls, Idaho. We had thought we'd blow right
through town, but instead we got a blowout on one of the trailer tires
about 60 miles from town. We limped into Twin Falls on the spare tire
with eyes only for Les Schwab Tires. Once a new tire was in place, we
opened our eyes a little more and began to look around. What a neat
town.
It is legal to
jump off the
huge bridge
spanning the Snake River with a parachute, and we watched for quite a
while as people suited up with all kinds of lines and parachute gear,
walked to the middle of the bridge, climbed over the railing, and jumped
off. In the distance we could see the spot where Evel Knievel tried to
jump the Snake River with his motorcycle back in 1974 (his parachute
opened too early and he landed on the water's edge just below his
launch site).
There is a pretty bike path that goes along the edge of the Snake River,
offering fantastic views into the canyon and river below. The first settler
had put his farm on the river's edge smack in the middle of the canyon.
Today the same area is home to a beautiful pair of golf courses. As I gathered tourist material at the visitor's center, I wanted to
stay longer, but this was a hot time of year to be here, and the mountains were calling up ahead. I had emailed the head of the
Escapees' Boondockers club, asking where the best boondocking
spot might be in the Sawtooth Mountains, and got the response,
"There are MANY beautiful spots." I was a little bemused by this
vague answer, but when I arrived at the Sawtooth National
Recreation Area I discovered that she was right: there are
gorgeous spots all over the place, no planning needed.
Our welcome committee the first night was a young mule deer.
He walked through our campsite, totally unconcerned about our
presence. One special patch of grass kept him occupied for over
an hour. The second night, in a new site, another mule deer
stopped by to say "hello." We were quickly feeling all the cares of
the world slip away.
There is a wonderful rails-to-trails paved bike path that goes between
Bellevue, to the south, and Ketchum, to the north. Thirty miles or so
in overall length, it does several loops in and around the Ketchum/
Sun Valley area as well. We rode it into town regularly, although the
wide shoulder on Route 75 makes for great cycling too. Riding these
paths and roads, I kept feeling as though I was riding through a
bicycle touring catalog's best photos.
The town of Ketchum has its deepest roots in silver mining, but it also
has the distinction of being home to a world class ski resort. Averell
Harriman, a railroad baron, wanted a prime winter tourist destination
somewhere on his line. He hired an Austrian count to scour the
countryside along the railroad in order to find the best location. After
several months of searching, almost ready to call it quits, the count
made one last trip -- to Ketchum -- and decided this was the spot.
The Sun Valley resort opened to
great fanfare in 1936. It was such a
celebrated wonderland of ice and
snow and the rich and famous that far
far away in New York City my mom
grew up in the 1940's fantasizing
about visiting someday (and she did,
in 2003).
We first heard of Mr. Harriman
because of the mountain bike trail that bears his name. It runs from Ketchum north for 20 miles
to Galena Lodge, winding along the Big Wood River. Between that trail to the north and the
paved bike path to the south, we were very happy campers, getting out on our bikes every day.
Brilliant deep blue skies greeted us every morning during our first week,
giving way to puffy clouds every afternoon. It was paradise.
Our first stop in town was the bike shop, of course. There are many
bike shops in Ketchum, but the one in the center of town -- and the
one broadcasting the Tour de France every day -- was the Elephant
Perch. Lance Armstrong was in the hunt when we arrived, and there
were high hopes he'd pull off one of his famous maneuvers to win.
The Elephant's Perch has a group bike ride every Wednesday night,
and they were relying on Lance for inspiration to tackle the
mountains around town.
We saw some of the faster riders out on the road and vowed to join
them the following Wednesday. Unfortunately, ten miles into the ride
(just as I was wondering how I was going to fare on the big hill up
ahead) the heavens opened up, and it poured. Mark and I took that as our cue to exit and dashed back to the trailer as fast as we
could go. The ride leader, Nappy, had told us that the group never misses a date at The Roosevelt, a restaurant in town where
they reserve a private room to imbibe a bit after the ride. We didn't realize just how serious these post-ride dates were until later:
the whole group had turned back when the downpour began, but they went straight to the bar!
This happy-go-lucky spirit pervades the whole town. Whimsical statues
grace the main drag, from huge cowboy booted
flamingos to huge cowboy booted rocking chairs to
fun and crazy animals and other sculptures.
The summer is short here, so
everyone spends a lot of time
outside. There are a zillion cute
bistros, with cafe tables all over
the place, and there are events
going on every day.
If it isn't a musician strumming his
guitar in the middle of town, it's the
gourmet meat and cheese vendor
giving away samples (even pure
angus beef "sliders"). Every day
we came into town we were swept
up into something fun.
On a more serious note, the town was trimmed head to
toe in yellow ribbons, with plaintive signs stating, "Bring
Bowe Home." Beloved local boy, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, a
Hailey, Idaho native, had recently been captured in Afghanistan, and a video tape of him had
just been released by his Al Queda captors. The community had rallied around his family, and
there were offerings of support everywhere.
Grateful to everyone, past and present, who has gifted
us with freedom, we enjoyed many strolls around town.
There were flowers everywhere, pretty mountains in the
distance (with ski runs plain to see), and it was a big
enough town that it took several strolls on different days
to see all of it.
We had been out of our home and away from our
lifestyle for so long that these kinds of easy days in a
friendly town were exactly what we needed. Stanley,
which we had assumed would be our destination, was
still 60 miles up the road, but we couldn't tear ourselves
away from Ketchum.
We even got library cards at the local library so we
could take out some CDs and DVDs to enjoy in the
trailer (there was little radio and no TV reception in the
national forest).
We scouted out many boondocking areas by bike, and
happened on the ideal spot 3 miles down a very bad dirt road. It was too tempting not to try, but
in hindsight it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I stood on the roof of the trailer and trimmed
branches for quite some time before we shoe-horned ourselves into the spot. Only after we'd
gotten in did we think about getting out. Yikes. On the day we pulled out there was thunder and
lightning in the distance and big, fat threatening raindrops falling all around us. Our patch of dirt
quickly turned into a mudhole. But Mark managed to do a 30-point turn with the trailer, dodging
two large boulders and three trees, and got us turned around.
In the end, however, the white
knuckles and scuffs were all worth it:
the many days between our arrival
and our departure were pure
storybook fantasy.
We were camped on the edge of a creek with a
cascade of mountains rising behind us. The mule
deer came by every evening, except on the
weekends when the forest had too many human
visitors.
The sun shone so warmly that we ran around in
shorts and tank tops, that is, until Mark decided to
sponge off in the water. Then the sun always
went behind a huge cloud and stayed there, leaving him in shade while he hooped and hollered and
thundered like an ornery bull, splashing ice water all over himself. It was all very impressive, but I preferred
taking a hot shower in the rig. Of course, by that time the warm sun would be out again.
We spent our days walking and riding along the dirt road,
reading and listening to things we'd gotten from the library,
tidying up the many loose ends that had been frayed with our
hasty departure in May, and generally getting back to our old
selves. It felt so good to unwind in our own home.
Our return to the rig had been a little rockier than we would
have liked. We dashed first to San Diego and then to San
Francisco in pursuit of one final sailboat deal before giving up for
the season. We had learned over the course of the preceding
months that the sailboat brokerage business is not one for the faint
of heart. It is a cut-throat, dog-eat-dog world of ruthless
backstabbers. One broker told us how another had robbed him of
a deal at a boat show and then gloated openly for days afterwards.
Another lamented that his employer had stolen a deal from him at
the last minute and refused to pay his commission after he had
invested weeks of effort in the transaction. He later found out the
employer owed other employees tens of thousands of dollars in
commissions too. Apparently honesty isn't a policy in that industry.
So it was no surprise when the boat that we had been assured had
air conditioning ("I saw the compressor myself") turned out not to. However, it was a very big surprise when on
the same day, in the same town (tony Sausalito), a pair of well respected brokers who had been selling one of
the highest end European brands of yachts for years got hauled off to jail for embezzling several hundred
thousand dollars from their clients. How reassuring (though depressing) to discover that our assessment of the
California boat business was right on the mark.
We were able to laugh about all that now, in the shade of a tall pine with the water glistening on the rocks in
front of us. Our dream had sent us on a wild goose chase, including a whirlwind tour of Michigan. We hadn't
ended up where we expected, but all had turned out well. These woods, this town, our trailer -- all wonderful.
We were living a dream right now, and, as life has taught us over the years, dreams can
be very flirtatious and hard to capture. Sometimes they make us feel like toddlers,
running around on stubby legs, waving our arms, chasing butterflies. The best moments
in life are gifted to us like jewels from leprechauns, unexpectedly, as if by magic.
Thank goodness for our beautiful national forests. As we hung around Ketchum for a
month, we were able to take our "summer cottage" from one priceless creek-side
campsite to another stunning mountain-view campsite, and enjoy exquisite scenery all
around us every day.
We had partied long and hard with friends and family all winter, and then we had eaten
our way around Michigan for almost two months. Who can pass up fresh raspberry pie
made by the Amish? Or hot-out-of-the-oven pastries and cookies at a cute Canadian
farm stand overlooking Lake Erie? Not us! But now our clothes told the rest of the story,
as everything we owned was too tight. It was time to get fit and healthy again. We
started doing daily runs and bike rides, and we got our hand weights out of their hiding spot way under
the back seat of the truck.
But man, were we sore. A little exercise sent us
straight to bed for an afternoon nap each day.
What's more, the sun didn't crest the mountains
until after 9:00 in the morning, so why get out of
bed before that? For a while I think all we did
was sleep, exercise and nibble a little here and
there. We had driven 4,000 miles around
Michigan, and done another 1,600 to get here
from California. It felt really good just to stop.
And what a place to do it: Ketchum and Sun
Valley are worthy of a really long visit.
Related posts from our RV travels to the Sun Valley area:
The Trail passes lakes, streams, farmland and cute towns.
The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes is 72 miles of paved
cycling bliss.
The Trail crosses old train bridges.
We started getting into cycling when we
arrived in Idaho.
Kellogg, Idaho is a special town that has an eclectic feeling.
St. George is popular in Kellogg, ID.
One of Kellogg's chalet homes.
It winds through the woods.
Plaques describe the ecology and history of the area.
Portions of the Trail flank a wide lake.
Muddy moose tracks!
Beautifully maintained by Union Pacific, there are rest areas
and restrooms along the trail.
The scenery is stunning.
The water is blue-green because of the high mineral
content.
We will be back.
Northern Idaho
August 26-September 2, 2007 - Leaving the North Cascades, we visited Coeur
d'Alene briefly and headed east towards Montana. In the town of Smelterville, 30
miles east of Coeur d'Alene we stopped overnight at Walmart. We noticed a paved
bike path next to the
parking lot and took out
our bikes to explore.
We soon discovered
that we were in the
middle of the charming
72-mile-long Trail of the
Coeur d'Alenes rails-to-trails bike path. We found a campground and
stayed a week so we could explore the bike path more fully. Each day
we drove the truck to a trailhead, unloaded the bikes and rode a ten
mile segment, out and back.
The valley area 30 miles east of Coeur d'Alene is one of the
richest mineral deposits in the world, and the town of Kellogg is
the heart of this area. In the 1940's it was poisoned by the toxic
silver mining process. In the 1980's the mine closed, the
railroad shut down and everyone lost their jobs. As one woman
put it, it looked like an atom bomb had gone off. A fellow who
grew up here in the 1940's said you could taste the sulphur
dioxide in your mouth all the time and the air was always hazy
blue from the smoke stacks and smelters. Rather than flee
when their world crashed in the 1980's, many townspeople
stayed. Declared an EPA superfund site, Union Pacific cleaned
up their mess by burying their toxic waste along the tracks and creating the 72-mile long paved bike path. The high school
students planted a million trees on the barren hills surrounding town in the 1980's, and today those hills are lush, the air is clear,
and the town is optimistic.
There is an artsy
flair to the town.
Someone in town
loves St. George
and the dragon: we
found them in a
sculpture and a
mural. Several
homes had an
alpine look to them,
and nearby there is
a ski area complete
with gondola and chair lifts. There is something upbeat and
offbeat about Kellogg that really appealed to us.
The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes is a gem. There are
trailheads along its length, each with display maps showing
the highlights. It passes through the historic town of Wallace,
the simple mobile home town of Osburn, the former mining
towns of Smelterville and Kellogg, and through the lakeside
town of Harrison. Some parts of the trail are busy and others
are very quiet. Mostly alone on the trail, there were times
when we shared it with cyclists, dog walkers, and inline
skaters, but there was never any congestion.
In one lonely area, far from civilization, we discovered
some moose tracks. I had been reading a book that talked
about how moose like to eat the roots of lilies, and this part
of the Trail passed a large lily pond. Some workers
painting a train trestle further down told us a moose had
been in the area for several weeks.
After a week in this
charming part of the world
we ventured on eastwards
to northern Montana and
the stunning Glacier