Sun Valley and the Sawtooth Mountains

By Mom of TJB and MMB August 17, 2016

Family pic at the wedding

Sun Valley, known for its long, cloudless days amid the sharp walls of the Sawtooth Mountains, is a four-season resort town located two hours from Boise, Idaho. The Sun Valley resort was dreamt up by W. Averell Harriman, a diplomat, former New York governor and an American aristocrat, in the 1930s. Heavily involved in the in the railroad industry, he built a ski resort at the end of a Union Pacific Rail line and modeled it after those in Austria and Switzerland; however, he needed people and Idaho was among the least populous states. Hollywood was the key. In 1936, Sun Valley's first year in operation, pictures of Errol Flynn, Clark Cable, Claudette Colbert and others frolicking at the new resort flooded newspapers and for the next 80+ years, celebrities have flocked to the area and it became an instant success. Home prices start in the million dollar range and its exclusivity makes it very popular among the upper class. It is also quite popular among golfers, bikers, fly-fishermen and hikers in the summer and downhill and cross country skiers in the winter, it has a little bit of everything for everyone who wants to be outdoors (and has $$$).

We were invited to a wedding of one of my Macalester women's soccer teammates, Emily Howland, and were excited to explore the area. We flew in on Wednesday night and spent the night in Boise before driving out to Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and Craters of the Moon National Park and then up to Sun Valley for a few days of wedding festivities. Craters of the Moon was very cool and quite peculiar.

The lava flows and volcanic craters from deep fissures in the earth (the Great Rift) leading to crazy hills and rock formations.

The only other place on earth like it are the lava flows on Maui by Makena beach. It is a vast area of black rock from lava that welled up from the Great Rift beginning 15,000 years ago. We visited the Spatter Cones (mini volcanoes that ejected globs of hot lava) and the foamy cinder cone complex (created when high gas content erupts near a vent). Not much can grow on lava except some dry grasses so the area is quite barren but with fascinating ridges and rock formations. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area!

Marit all dressed up for the wedding

Theo looking sharp, too!

The wedding was in a beautiful valley at the Galena Lodge outside of Sun Valley. The weather was perfect and there were lots of kids (at least 20) and an excellent DJ!

We danced all night and enjoyed seeing some old friends (Annie, Annie, Amy, Grace, and the bride and groom - Emily and Brian) and another guest of the groom was one of my best friend's from Boston College, Chris Iaquinto, who I had not seen in over 10 years! Small world!

Emily and Brian's wedding ceremony at Galena Lodge

Mac Women's Soccer - Amy, Katie, Marit, Grace, Eila, Annie and Annie

The next day we said goodbye to our friends and head up to Redfish Lake Lodge for an afternoon at the glacier lake and spent the night in Lower Stanley. Unfortunately, the area suffers from frequent droughts, which leads to severe fire danger, including the current Dry Creek fire in Sawtooth National Forrest. Sunday, we were unable to take the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway on Route 21 due to the heavy smoke and the fire so we drove the long way but we made it to the airport in time and it was a quick flight back to Seattle.