Idaho
In 1984, my parents got the wild idea to road trip to Sun Valley for Spring Break. One of our favorite friends Joan lives there and we had an open invitation to join her for some fun in the sun. We loaded up our trusty Suburban and trekked 10 hours over to Sun Valley. We rented a condo at Warm Springs. It was a ski-in/ski-out, which was so amazingly cool at the time as we always shlepped our gear from the back-40 of the parking lot. Each morning we woke up, suited up, and rolled down the hill to the lift. I can still feel the wind in my hair and smell the sulfur from the river. Papa spent one day at the condo watching the NCAA Tournament and then he decided he wanted to join the fun. So at the age of 40, he took his first ski lesson on Dollar Mountain. He worked hard mastering the pizza stop and was able to join us on the big mountain. He was a trouper and he really enjoyed having an apres-ski beer at the end of the day out in the sunshine with his family.
Over the years, I have taken my kids to Sun Valley and we have made many fun memories. My boys did not turn into mountain lovers like my generation, but rather liked to focus on the donuts and hot coco at the lodge and soaking in the afternoon at the big circular pools at the Sun Valley Inn. And the favorites that I first discovered during my early trips are still there today. I love going to Grumpy’s for a frosty beer, to The Pioneer Saloon, aka the Pi-O, for a rustic dinner, and to the Trail Creek Cabin via horse driven sleigh ride, which is a mountain-style log cabin-turned-restaurant was originally built in 1937 and sits right next to the rambling waters of Trail Creek, with a jaw-dropping view of Bald Mountain in the distance.
National Park Service Units: 3/5
Nez Perce National Historical Park (Yes, I visited the Unit in Oregon, but it is listed in the NPS Passport book under Idaho)
Minidoka National Historical Site (Yes, I visited the Unit in Washington, but it is listed in the NPS Passport book under Idaho)