Arrived in Ketchum, Idaho, staying at the Meadows RV Park from June 28th to July 7th. We have never been to Ketchum/Sun Valley in the summer and were excited to explore this beautiful area in the warm sunshine. Our first outing was to go up Bald Mountain (9,150 ft) on the chairlift and hike down. It was a spectacular day with plenty of vistas to see on the way down. The wild flowers were in full blown and the big puffy clouds made the hike even better. Hiking down instead of boarding down was a lot slower but very enjoyable and we stopped in for lunch at the Roundhouse and sat outside on the deck with a beautiful view of Baldy. A couple came and sat next to us, and we found out that she is going to hike Mt Kilimanjaro. We gave her lots of tips. Click on thumbnail to view images
July 4th was an exciting day in the little town of Hailey, just south of Ketchum. Hailey, Idaho offers up perhaps the most quintessential hometown 4th of July celebration in the west, and we were here to experience some of the celebrations. The “Hailey Days of the Old West” begins with a fun and unique parade on Main Street with a sea of local colorful business floats, 4-H groups, bands, and teams of horses, as well as antique cars.
In the evening we bought tickets to see the Sawtooth Rangers Rodeo, a tradition in Hailey, where the Sawtooth Rangers have held an exciting professional rodeo over the July 4th weekend every year since 1947. We were not disappointed as we saw some of the best riders and stock in the country. My favorite show of the rodeo, was the Barrel Racing Cowgirls, in which a horse and rider attempt to complete a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels, placed in a triangle in the center of the arena, in the fastest time. FIREWORKS!!!!!!! to end the night.