Sun Valley

Mark and I had high hopes of taking a trip out of the country this summer. Lack of planning due to lack of commitment {on my part} resulted in a week set aside on the calendar with nothing scheduled. Mark was determined that we still have a getaway, so after throwing around several ideas we ended up landing on Sun Valley Idaho. Not exactly the adventure we were dreaming of but it was nice just to get away together. We left the girls in good hands (grandparents) and hit the road!

on our way

 Our first stop was at Craters of the Moon in Arco ID.
This National Monument formed when Lava erupted over a several thousand year period.

The stark contrast of lava flow with wildflowers was pretty amazing

We walked through one of the caves on the Moon

Indian Tunnel is about 800 feet long

 I am always worried about my claustrophobia but this one really wasn't that tight.
Except for the small opening to exit.

 We ended the day with pizza at Smoky Mountain Pizzeria (ironically in Ketchum, not the Smokies;). We had a pretty delicious Great White pizza with artichokes...yum!

We got up fairly early the first morning for a hike to Fishhook Creek. We stopped in at the Visitor Center to get some information and met this little guy.

Fishhook Creek Trail is a 6 mile round trip hike through the Sawtooth Wilderness.

The scenery was gorgeous and we met a lovely older couple on the way that reminded me of my parents;) Roy slowed us down some with his stories, but Mark was really enjoying talking to his new friend.

 We had a brief picnic and headed back down the mountain stopping for a look at Redfish Lake. Mark was sharing with me some things that my grandpa Lemar had told him about this lake 20+ years ago. I thought it was funny that he claims he can't remember so many things but if fish are involved .... that memory is pretty solid;)

 We stopped for a soak in one of the natural Hot Springs on the Salmon River.  Our little pool at Basin Creek was a mix of freezing and scalding pockets. Mark moved rocks around until it was just right and we sat until our fingers pruned.  I don't know what it is with me and natural hot springs (Boiling River), but I had another Garter Snake slither on by me ... freaked me out!! He actually provided us with quite a bit of entertainment as we watched him fish and then warm up on the hot rocks (safe distance from us of course)

 On our way back to town we discussed dinner options. The one thing I say doesn't sound good is a burger. We end up at The Burger Grill. I order a burger. It's surprisingly good considering I am super picky about where I will eat a burger. The place is run by a very nice Hispanic family and Mark can't resist the Carne Asada Tacos. The best part is that I am going to all this "trouble" to make fry sauce and Mark comes back to the table with packets. I had completely missed them.
What a couple of nuts!!

 We spent the evening walking around Ketchum. It's a quaint town with a hint (or more) of "yuppiness". 

Reminds me of a smaller Park City or Jackson.

Our third day was similar to the second. Hiking, eating, exploring town. Our hike to Baker Lake was shorter than the day before but higher which meant a steeper climb.

Toward the top we lost the trail due to lots of snow still on the ground.

The setting at the lake was beautiful.

 You would never guess that right across from the scene above would be a half frozen lake

 We spotted this sign as we drove through the wilderness and I had to risk my life hanging out the window to snap a photo. C'mon ... how often do you see a sign with your namesake on it?

It was another great day of time in the mountains with my favorite hiking buddy!

 We got back to town by late afternoon and looked around for a sub shop. We found Johnny G's Subshack. It was a total ski bum type a place, but I think we both agree it was the best sub we've had. I enjoyed every bite until this guy invited his dog to eat up on the table near where we were sitting (outside).
 That's just how they roll at the Subshack!

 

 Later that evening we went to the local cemetery to find Ernest Hemingway.  He was living in Ketchum when he died in 1961. His grave marker is surprisingly simple. So nice that someone had just brought him a drink.

 For dinner we drove south to Hailey and found KB's Burritos.  We love to try new places to eat when we travel. It makes it easier when we don't have to worry about whether the girls will find something to eat. We had no problem finding options since there are very few national chains in this area. The food at KB's was tasty! Mark had a salad with yams in it and it was so good. 

 

 We walked around Hailey and came across this cute little church in the center of town

 We also came across some ice cream that got our attention

 Our time in Sun Valley was coming to an end. Our fourth day we were traveling to Twin Falls and weren't in a big hurry so we actually had a sit down breakfast. We ate at another location of Big Wood Bread (where we had grabbed a pastry one morning) and had a Breakfast Burrito. Oh man .... I think this might have been my favorite thing we ate the entire time. It was so delicious! The weather was pretty perfect too. Just the right temperature to enjoy eating outside.

We couldn't resist another soak in a natural hot spring. On our last day before traveling home we found Russian John. This one was more of a warm spring than HOT, but the setting could not be beat! It was so hidden and peaceful until some goober on the other side of the ridge started shooting his gun!
It was the perfect way to end our little getaway in Sun Valley.

We slowly made our way south leaving behind the yummy food and gorgeous scenery of Sun Valley.

We only had about a 70 mile drive to our next stop so we had plenty of time to stop and see some sites along the way. Problem was there isn't a whole lot to see between the two points. We were pretty excited to hear about the Ice Caves and planned to make a little detour to check them out. When we made the turn and ran into this .... we made the easy decision to pass! Talk about Tourist Trap .... ugh!

Seriously??

We spent our last night in Twin Falls. No particular reason. Just a new place to check out. We went to Shoshone Falls which was pretty remarkable.

Pretty soon our 5 days were up and we were heading back to get our girlies! Weird how quick the time goes on vacations. For us, exploring new areas along the way is as much of the adventure as the destination itself. Mark decided we should go home a different route than we came. We cut through a little corner of Nevada and found ourselves in the town of Wells at lunchtime. Now I love an old historic town, but this place appeared to have been left in the past ...and deserted. There was no lunch to be found unless we wanted the gas station. We pushed on to ....Wendover, where the selection was bleak unless you are the Casino buffet or gas station fast food type (we ended up being the latter;) We had been spoiled with all the good food on our trip and were a little sad to go out on such a low...ha. The good news is we have each other to commiserate with and all the great memories to share!

And there is nobody I would rather share them with. Here's to many more adventures to come!