Twin Falls

We decided to go shopping in Twin Falls on Tuesday. Located 70 miles south of Ketchum, it takes approximately 2 hours on two-lane roads to get there. Twin Falls and Boise are the best places to shop if you live in the Sun Valley/Ketchum area. Each time we visit this city, we visit Centennial Park in the Snake River Canyon.

Bridge over Snake River Canyon

Centennial Park in the Snake River Canyon

The Boys on the Boat Dock

Sunday Night at daVinci's

daVinci's in Hailey

We have a bucket list of restaurants that we visit every time we come to this area. At the top of the list is daVinci's in Hailey, a town 10 or so miles south of Ketchum. We have been here less than two weeks, and we have already been to daVinci's twice. Sunday  night we dined with our friends who are neighbors of the owners.

This restaurant caters to locals, serving "New York style Italian". It opened in 1996, and has had the same servers since the 90's! The building is 100 years old, and according to locals "has been everything from a flop house to a free store to a restaurant."  The owners claim that there is not a single right-angle left in the building and it finished settling 50 years ago. Needless to say, the dining room is very cozy.

Most of the dishes they serve are made in their own kitchen; each meal is served with salad and crusty bread. Everything is always wonderful, but the desserts are the best! My favorite is Mountain High Mud Pie, "a mountain of cookies and cream and mocha almond fudge ice cream in a homemade chocolate cookie crumb crust on a bed of hot fudge topped with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa--it's huge!" Dick and I shared one! Yum!

Wagon Days! Scenes from The Big Hitch Parade

It seems that Wagon Days would be mentioned every time we visited Sun Valley. For years we have been hearing how great the parade is. Last year when we decided to come back here for a month we made sure that the time would include Labor Day weekend so we could finally see what everyone has been talking about. As you can see, we had perfect weather!

The celebration included live music, paragliding displays, rubber duck race, a concert featuring one of the world's premier classical pianists, a pancake breakfast, and the Big Hitch Parade--one of the largest non-motorized parades in the US.

Stage Coach from Black Jack Ketchum Shoot Out

Cast members of the Black Jack Ketchum Shoot Out

Rotary Rubber Ducky Wagon

The Big Hitch: Wagon Days, September 4, 2010

Wagon Days celebrates the mining heritage in the Wood River Valley. Ketchum was a prosperous silver mining town in the mid-1800's. Big Hitch Ore Wagons were used to haul thousands of pounds of ore on narrow mountain roads with hairpin curves and ledges that dropped off thousands of feet. It was a daunting task for the mule skinner, a man who knew every inch of the wagon he drove, the personality of each of his mules, and the road he was driving. He did this with a jerkline, which is a rein that is 100 feet long that is attached to each of the mules. With distinct whips and jerks, the skinner commands the mules and navigates the road. The mule team can number up to 20 mules. Mules were used instead of horses because of their temperament, power, and stamina.

The Big Hitch

The Mule Skinner

The Brakemen

The End!

Wagon Days! Scenes from The Big Hitch Parade

Looking down to Ketchum from the parade route

Hours before the parade, people found their spots, set up their chairs, left their picnic coolers, and then went down the hill into Ketchum to see friends, shop the sales, and participate in an array of festivities for all ages. It seemed like we were in a receiving line when we ventured down the street with our friend, Chris. We could go no more than 10 or 15 feet without her meeting someone she knew. We met many residents from the Sun Valley-Ketchum-Hailey area.

Great Wagon Days Duck Race

For a $5 donation, you could buy a rubber duck with an id number on its bottom. Thousands of little ducks were raced down the Big Wood River. There were fabulous prizes awarded for the early finishers, including $1 million in store credits in the Sun Valley area shops. Proceeds of the race benefit students, charities, and countless non-profits. I haven't heard that we have won the $1 million, yet.

The Beginning of the Big Hitch Parade

The EhCapa Lead Riders

EhCapa

The EhCapa Riders are youngsters aged 8 to 18 who are trained to do maneuvers and jumps, all without the aid of bridles or saddles. The organization was formed in 1956 as a way for kids to have fun with their horses.  The riding style is reminiscent of Native Americans. EhCapa is Apache spelled backwards! Needles to say, they were very impressive

 

Since there were so many horses in the parade, the local hockey team was enlisted to don roller blades and scoop up the road apples after the horses passed. They had a very interesting technique and often there was pressure to finish the job before the next group marched by! On many occasions they elicited enthusiastic applause!

The Grand Marshall

Adventures at Adams Gulch

Although the local weather seems to be moderating a bit, it is still a little cool. Today was one of those picture perfect days with a glorious blue sky, warm sunshine, and a soft dry breeze. We had a lazy morning and planned to head for the library when it opened at noon. When we stepped outside, we decided that it was not an indoor library kind of day. We would take the boys to Adams Gulch and hike as far as the creek, so they could romp in the water. As we loaded them into the car, we sighted a pack of approximately 70-80 paragliders soaring over the mountain behind the rv. They were so high that we had to get the binoculars to determine exactly what they were. As we were watching, one of the rv park neighbors walked by with her dog. She told us that Paragliding Nationals competition was going on and that the pilots were using gps settings to set their flightpath. She knew this because one of the pilots has an rv next to hers. From our vantage point it looked like a collision was imminent.


We spotted an occasional paraglider pilot as we drove to the trailhead. It was nice to get back to Adams Gulch. I can't remember exactly when, but Ellen took me there years ago for my first hike. I was so out of shape that I almost died! She walked along and talked the entire loop while I was struggling to breathe, trying to keep up with her. Things have changed a little over the years, and now it is easier. At any rate, we took the boys up to the creek. They had a great time splashing in and out of the water. After a time, Sirius headed up the trail and I followed. Dick and Baxter followed me, and before we knew it, we were well into the Adams Gulch Loop. (Finally, I can cruise up and down and continue talking! I hope Ellen is watching me!) At the half-way point of the loop, there is a picnic table that is a memorial to a young man from Ketchum. I always wonder how they got that up there. It had to have been air-lifted, because the trail is narrow and winds around and up to the top. It used to seem like there were 10 hair-pin curves, but today I counted them and there are only four! As we approached the table, Baxter's ears perked up and he broke into a run. There were two young mountain bikers sitting on top of the table enjoying the view. We had a delightful conversation with them. The couple was from Bend, Oregon and this was their first trip to Sun Valley. They could not believe how wonderful the biking is here. Yesterday they biked up and down Bald Mountain, (9100' above sea level) the highest ski mountain in Sun Valley! We were impressed!

We continued the hike, and again, Baxter broke into a run. Ahead of us we saw two paraglider pilots in a meadow, stuffing their equipment into back packs. One man was near the trail. We greeted him and asked him how it was going. He replied, not well. He was in a 75K competition and he was only able to complete 10K. We gave him our condolences and continued. The pilot caught up to us a little later. He asked us where he was. We told him, and then I asked him how he was going to get back. He said he was looking for a ride to the main road and that he would be able to find his way back from there. (He was camping in a tent near River Run!) Of course, we would squeeze him and his 50-pound backpack (the size of a small casket) in the CRV and give him a ride to wherever he was headed. He and Dick walked up ahead of me. I stayed back, because by this time, Sirius was getting very tired. He kept searching for shade and water. The creek meandered along the trail, so the dogs did have water most of the way.

As we got back to the trailhead, we spied a sag wagon. The competition organizers somehow knew that several of the pilots were forced down in the Adams Gulch area. The man thanked us and we headed to our car. I told Dick that I was disappointed because I was curious about the competition and missed an opportunity to ask questions.

We headed out and stopped at a sport equipment shop so I could purchase hiking poles. (We did things backward today!) When we went to pay for the poles, the owner of the shop struck up a conversation with us and somehow it turned to the Paragliding Nationals. The man was a retired helicopter pilot and had a friend who held many of the (Idaho) state paragliding records. He explained the rudiments of paragliding and told us that today's competition was an international event with the best pilots coming from all over the world. They were to fly from Bald Mountain to Galena Summit. A few years ago, the competition was sponsored by a bread company whose owner was a paraglider pilot. At the end of the flight, the pilots had to come down on target and they used a very large, round loaf of bread for the bull's eye. The pilots had to hit that loaf with both feet and smash the bread! Today they were given gps coordinates for a target.

Now we are back at the library. Dick is working, I am blogging. --Lost in cyberspace!

For more information on the Paragliding Nationals in Sun Valley see:
http://www.suite101.com/content/us-paragliding-nationals-augsept-2010-in-sun-valley-idaho-a279119

Wow! We're in Cyberheaven!

After struggling for a couple of days with the rv park wifi, we decided to find a better option.--And did we ever! We are in cyberheaven! We are at The Community Library in Ketchum, where wifi is incredibly fast (or so it seems when contrasted to the frustrating process we had to endure at the rv park)! The park wifi booted you off every few minutes. Then you had to log back on, only to get a message that the server could not be found because "you were working offline, please uncheck working offline". By the time you got the appropriate box unchecked, you were no longer on the internet and you would have to start over. When the two of us were working at our laptops in the rv, there were audible groans of anguish and sometimes, naughty words. Now we can peacefully cruise the internet!

When we first entered the library, we were met by a very nice woman who explained all the services they offer. She asked if we wanted library cards, and since we will be here for a month it makes sense. We signed up and now have a three-month probationary period where we can take out (only) six items at a time. Makes me chuckle--never in my life have I taken more than a couple of items at a time from a library.

The Community Library is supported solely by local donations! They receive no state or federal funding. They operate a thrift shop called The Gold Mine. It is conveniently located in downtown Ketchum and when we cleaned out Ellen's condo, we took tons of wonderful things there. (Dick and his brother must have made 20 or 30 trips!) It is gratifying to see what all that was supporting. We would never have guessed. This place is huge and well-stocked, peaceful and comfortable. Their children's library is equally as nice. Dick has work to complete for KONE, so he will put in several hours at his laptop before all is said and done. We were delighted when we found this gem.