Idaho, Part 4

Our destination on September 5th was City of Rocks, outside Declo, Idaho. (The official National Parks website is here.) We turned off the highway and took a back road to the south. The road got narrower, and finally we left pavement altogether.

City of Rocks has no admission fee. You just follow the road as it winds through fields and around massive rock structures. There are signs giving the rock formations' names, and some of the history of the area. (For example, part of the dirt road was an old stage coach route.) In 1843, City of Rocks became a landmark area for people traveling by wagon train to California. This was also part of the route to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

We didn't stop much on this drive, so I'll just give you some pictures of the formations. There are a number of hiking trails and opportunities to rock-climb, but since I'm traveling with two senior citizens, I didn't take the time to do either.

We drove about 40 miles along this dirt road, which eventually swings around and heads back north, passing through Burley and back to the highway. We rejoined Route 84 and eventually left it again to head north to Hailey, Ketchum, and Sun Valley.

We stayed at the Airport Inn in Hailey, and finished off our evening driving through town to locate the local Roman Catholic Church and a gas station. We also did laundry. (Travel tip: take enough clothing for a week and do laundry at least once while you're traveling. Many hotels provide washers and dryers for a minimal fee, and you can get away with packing considerably fewer clothes.)

The following day it was north to Ketchum and Sun Valley. In 1935 and 1936, W. Averill Harriman, a lifelong skiing enthusiast, decided to open a ski resort similar to those found in Europe. The 1932 Olympics has proven the national popularity of skiing. Harriman asked Felix Schaffgotsch, an Austrian count, to travel the United States in search of a site for the resort. Schaffgotsch discovered Ketchum, a former mining town, and determined that it would be an ideal area.

Once the lodge was build and the skiing areas ready, Harriman invited celebrities to Sun Valley to promote it. Author Ernest Hemmingway was a frequent visitor. One hallway in the lodge is filled with black and white photos of celebrities who've visited, many several times. The picture above is of the main lodge. On the left is a shot of the main lobby. The picture on the right shows a pond in the middle of the little village of shops and restaurants around the corner from the lodge.