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SUN VALLEY (5920 feet above see level) lies in the northern part of Idaho, which is one of the least populated states in the country. All I knew about the state of Idaho, prior to this visit, was that the state is considered the biggest potato producer in America. I also didn’t know if the name “Sun Valley“ is the name of the valley or town. It turned out that both presumptions were correct: it is the name of a resort community and also considered as the name of the surrounding region that include the charming towns of Ketchum and Hailey. |
The city also has a farmers market where local farmers sell their produce once a week. There are also craftsmen, musicians and plenty of good food that smells so good that you just have to have some… |
Pictures on the left are from downtown Hailey where they have a BBQ every Thursday and Friday (Summer Time). |
One of the most famous residents of this valley was the writer Ernest Hemingway, who spent his last years here, together with his fourth wife. His granddaughter Mariel Hemingway still lives here. My husband and I visited his grave and were surprised to find that people instead of flowers bring bottles to his grave… Hemingway was not the only famous person living here; Bruce Willis for instance owns a ski resort, other famous faces that have homes here are Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Mohamed al-Fayed, John Kerry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc… |
Sawtooth Valley |
We spent one of our afternoons by the beautiful mountain lake - Redfish Lake. |
Redfish Lake |
The lake was named after a certain type of a salmon that is endangered now and if they catch you with it you end up in prison for a year or pay a big fine. |
CRATERS OF THE MOON NATIONAL MONUMENT AND PRESERVE is about 60 miles east from Sun Valley. The landscape is just incredible, dark and rugged, looking like the lava just stopped moving a week ago although it is 2000 years old. |
The roads through the park are good and there are also many boards with information about the lava and other volcanic phenomena. From these I found out that there are fast running and slow running lavas that cool down and harden in different ways. Sometimes there is a lava bubble right underneath the surface that leaves behind holes in the shape of a giant egg and sometimes there is a whole underground river of lava that makes caves and tunnels. Even the craters are not all the same, they have different shapes, forms and they are of course different sizes. |
Anatomy of the Crater |
The wall of the crater |
Oxidized Cinders |
Bathtub ring – this is how high the lava pool once was |
Main crater |
This is just one of the tunnels (right) that were created by the underground river of lava. The entrance is wide and has stairs, but you have to drag yourself through a small hole in the ground to get out. I loved it. |
