Sun Valley

Okay, so technically Sun Valley isn’t really in North Idaho at all. It’s a laid-back little town at the foot of the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains in Southern Idaho. But I just returned from a visit, so I’m going to cheat and write about it anyway.

As the story goes, in 1936, Averell Harriman, chairman of the board of Union Pacific Railroad and an avid skier, created the Sun Valley Resort as a way to fill his trains during the slow winter months. To entice visitors to stay for a while, he built the plush Sun Valley Lodge. From the beginning, it was a popular celebrity vacation spot. During my recent three night stay, I had the chance to study the photographs hanging in the main hallway of the lodge. They showed the faces of famous visitors like Ernest Hemingway, John F. Kennedy, Lucille Ball, Bette Midler, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to name a few. Many of the pictures were of old time actors my grandparents would have known, but whose names escape me. I was interested to learn that while Bruce Willis and Demi Moore are no longer married, they each own a home in Hailey, just outside of Sun Valley. Actually, I was hoping I might run into them on the slopes so I could say, “Hey! Remember me?! I met you in New York City in 1989!”...but that’s a story for another day, I suppose.

The resort’s main mountain, Baldy, has a 3, 400 foot vertical drop.

Idaho didn't get as much snow this year as it usually does, so I wondered whether there would be skiing and snowboarding in Sun Valley, especially this late in the season, but my fears were put to rest by the world’s largest snow making system!

Andrew "shredding the gnar"

The first few times I went down the slope in this inner-tube I dragged my feet and tried to dig my heels into the snow to slow myself down. Then, everyone, including an employee of the resort, ganged up on me and yelled at me until I went down with my feet up. Oh my gosh! Do you remember the scene from Christmas Vacation where Clark Griswald sprays the bottom of his sled with cooking spray and takes off like a bullet? That was ME! I was a blur flying through the air, spinning in every direction!



Friday night, we took a 30 minute wagon ride from the lodge out to 73-year-old Trail Creek Cabin where we ate Idaho mountain trout and wild game by the fire.

When this accordionist stopped at our table and asked if we wanted to make a request, Andrew and Ryan were stunned. I tried not to giggle while he played his accordion a few inches from Andrew’s head and both boys sat motionless with their mouths half open not touching their food.

But the truth is I kind of loved it. I loved everything about Sun Valley. Of course I enjoyed staying at the lodge, and we had a blast skiing, snowboarding, and tubing, but I also liked the wagon ride, the rustic cabin, the cowboy food, and even the accordion music. Does that mean I'm a true Idahoan now?...Giddyup!