Following Hemingway in Ketchum

The first, who brought public attention to Sun Valley was Ernest Hemingway in the late 1930s. The author was one of many celebrities, Harriman, the hotel founder, invited to Sun Valley to promote the place. Hemingway worked on "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (Wem die Stunde schlägt) in Suite # 206 of the Sun Valley Lodge. Later he acquired his own house in Ketchum, but in ill health he shot himself at his home in Ketchum in 1961.

There are a couple of Hemingway sites in Ketchum: the Public Library's archives and the Sun Valley Museum of History, with one of his typewriters, his suite in the Sun Valles Lodge, but first of all, his gravesite. On the Ketchum Cemetery Hemingway is buried under three towering spruce trees, marked with a simple white cross and covered by a large, gray marble slab. Don't think, the beer bottles people have left, show good taste, but, well... Beside Hemingway's grave is the burial place of his last wife, Mary, who died in 1986.

Unfortunately, Ernest and Mary Hemingway's home can't be visited, but about a mile up the river from Sun Valley Resort, there is the Hemingway Memorial, a column with a bronze bust (see pic) – a salute to the man who this piece of Idaho and who came here to hunt and fish and to write. When we explored the town of Ketchum - mostly outfitters, sport shops, restaurants - we also stopped by at Hemingway's favorite pub, the Casino bar, which has little changed from the days. In the "Alpine" (now Whiskey Jacques, see pic), Hemingway once staged a mock bullfight.

Ketchum and Sun Valley don't make a big deal out of their Hemingway heritage, they do little to promote the Hemingway connection, but we found the places and do understand now, why he liked the area. After we had followed Hemingway's footsteps, we left Sun Valley and Bald Mountain (see pic), where in the morning our car was snowed in freshly. Our car has become our "living room" and "storage area" in the meantime: for our Alaska gear, for souvenirs, for drinks, for paper stuff... Will miss our car, nicely running with a great milage of average 30 mpg and seat heating. Won't miss all the snow - more than we've seen the last couple years in Bavaria!


We followed Hwy. 20 - part of the old Oregon Trail and got a good view of the Sawtooth Mountains on our way to Boise:

Craters in the Fog

Sunshine and blue skies this morning, even the Tetons were clearly visible (pic). After a tightly packed and interesting day yesterday, we experienced some disappointments today. We drove from our great lodge in Victor back to Idaho Falls and since we were early, we wanted to peak into the Museum of Idaho, but they didn't accept our official letter of recommendation from ID State. Well, instead, we had breakfast at Great Harvest Bread Company - with the bakery on property: excellent breads, cake breads, scones, cinnemon rolls and other sweets. Nobody should argue anymore, that the U.S. don't have good baking goods (same, BTW, with coffee and beer)! The falls for which the city was named, are not very high, but wide. Note in the background of the picture the huge mormon temple.

Dark clouds were approaching again, and on the drive on Hwy. 20 - "Peaks to Craters Scenic Bwy." - west we had snow flurries. Skies turned blue again and we stopped at E.B.R. I (the Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1) - the first atomic reactor worldwide. Arco, the town nearby, calls itself the "First City in the World to be lit by Atomic Power". Approaching the Craters' visitor center, visibility was almost gone completely, clouds hanging on the surface.

In addition, the scenic loop in the National Monument, which we planned to drive, was closed for the season. The park ranger offered snowshoes for rent, but, considering the weather and our time we skipped the thought. "Craters of the Moon" formed during eight major eruptive periods between 15,000 and 2000 years ago. Lava erupted and huge lava field grew to cover 618 square miles (1600 qkm).We saw at least some of the black stone fields on our way out.

Stopping at Ketchum's Botanical Garden briefly to buy some hardy Idaho seed (they didn't have much), we arrived to Sun Valley and the city of Ketchum (ca. 1.500 population, about 6000 ft. high). Nearly 80 years ago, Sun Valley Resort and the Sun Valley Lodge opened to acclaim: Hollywood stars, international jet-setters, politicians, business people and ski enthusiasts turned a remote outpost in Idaho into one of the country's most famous vacation retreats. It's one of the U.S's top destinations for alpine skiing and snowboarding and the U.S. Alpine Championships will take place here in two weeks. The town is surrounded by mountains and snow was still piling up. Main ski mountain with best runs and most lifts is the Bald Mountain, or "Baldy".

In the late afternoon we checked in the famous Sun Valley Lodge, part of a luxury ski resort which also includes an inn, cabins, a theater, two golf courses, ice rink, stables, tennis courts, pools, spa and a "village". The lodge features five “Celebrity Suites”, named after some of the stars who have frequented the resort over the years, including “The Marilyn Monroe Suite,” “The Eastwood Suite” named after actor Clint Eastwood as well as the Hemingway Suite.

The location was chosen by Austrian Felix Schaffgotsch, who was commissioned by Averell Harriman, a democrat politician and chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad. His plan was to to increase ridership on U.P. passenger trains in the West, and he was looking for the perfect place to build a ski resort. Harriman purchased the land that would become Sun Valley and in winter of 1936 the resort opened and became an instant success. Gary Cooper. Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Marilyn Monroe, and the Kennedy family stayed here and Sun Valley was promoted in movies and TV series. Still nowadays it's popular with personalities like Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Timberlake or Bill Gates. Photos of all the rich and famous are on display in the hallways and lobby of the lodge.

In the evening we continued our Idaho "brewery research", having dinner at Sawtooth Brewing. Burger, bison bratwurst and different IPA's (which we both prefer) were delicious and the atmosphere in the newly opened pub was great!

Land of the Shoshone and Teton Valley Idaho

Departure from Pocatello this morning in the sun (!), but the car windows were covered with ice. We drove a couple of miles to Fort Hall, where we were supposed to meet Randy'L, public affairs officer for the Shoshoe-Bannock tribe at 9 am. First, we visited the museum, which was not very large, but had some beautiful indian artwork.

Then we went on a little driving tour with Randy'L. Large piece of land the tribe owns, in a beautiful location, surrounded by mountains, but to date tourism isn't existing and Randy'L wants to change that. The tribe owns a buffalo herd (pic), there are mustangs roaming freely and the tribe operates a casino and a new hotel with a great giftshop. It's all tribal artwork they are selling, especially beautiful beadwork and mocassins (left pic taken in the shop, right in the museum).


Randy'L herself was the model for the famous Sacagawea coin (see pics). Sacagawea was the Lemhi Shoshone woman who helped the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804-1806 to establish contacts with other tribes and she was the one who arranged that the Shoshone agreed to barter horses to the group, and to provide guides to lead them over the Rocky Mountains.


We wished, we would have had more time here, since Randy'L's dad has horses and is a successful relay racer. The Indian Relay races are a part of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes culture and originated on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation over a 100 years ago. An Indian Relay teams consist of three horses and four team members (1 rider, 1 catcher and 2 holders). The rider must complete a lap with each horse riding bareback and dismount without any help from their team mates and without losing control of the horse.
Hope to be back in the near future and spend more time with Randy'L and her family to learn more about the Shoshone-Bannocks.

On to Blackfoot and the Idaho Potatoe Museum in a former railroad depot building. A little out-dated, this museum tells the story of the importance, the origins, cultivation, harvesting and proceeding of potatoes in Idaho. Rigby - on our way - was the boyhood home of the inventor of TV, Philo T. Farnsworth, and signs at the city limits proclaim it "The Birthplace of Television."

"Yellowstone Bear World", a private attraction near Rexburg was still closed for the season and most bears (with the exception of three cubbies) were still in hibernation. Therefore, we couldn't do the self-driving tour through the bears' habitats, but got an idea about how large the area is, where about 60 bears (mostly blackbears, some grizzlys), moose, wolves, bison and a couple of other species live.

The drive on Teton Scenic Byway from Ashton to Victor was very pitturesque. The route "rolled" through sparsely populated land, a still snow-covered high plateau, surrounded by mountains. There was some cattle, but mostly fields (as we heard later used for peas, grain and potatoes), some big grain elevators and "potatoe cellars" and partridges (Wachteln) crossing the street. The west side of the Teton mountain range (and sometimes even the three peaks of the Tetons, see pic) formed a majestic background.

Among a few tiny little villages on the way, Driggs was larger and more attractive, with nice shops and restaurants along the main street. Main attraction is the Teton GeoTourism Center, opened in 2014. It roots in National Geographic's 'Geographical Tourism Program", defining geotourism as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place. Two exhibitons called "summer" and "winter" with videos and exhibitions inform about tourism in the Teton Valley. E.g. we didn't know that the oldest dogsled race (since 1917) takes place here.

We arrived in Victor, another vilage on the scenic byway at 5 pm and were very pleased that we got a large suite with a cozy living room (with balcony and fireplace), fully-equipped kitchen, two bathrooms and bedroom in the Teton Springs Lodge & Spa, a resort on the west slope of the Tetons. There is the main lodge building and several cabins spread out on the grounds. The lodge offers a spa, golf and fly fishing, heli-skiing, with a large pool (still snow-covered), tennis courts, fitness center and much more and is conveniently situated just 30 minutes from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We didn't want to go out for dinner anymore, so we just sat on the balcony at sunset and enjoyed the gorgeous mountain view and our reheated left-over pizza.

Rain and dry waterfalls

Today was a REALLY rainy day. We drove 260 miles and it didn't stop to rain once. It got very bad on the last third of our trip to Pocatello, in Southeast Idaho. We mostly used Interstates and were able to drive 80 mph most of the time, but, unfortunately, didn't see much of the landscape, just noticed that there were feed lots for cattle, dairies and grain fields on our way.

Our first stop was in Twin Falls, respectedly at the overlook above town. The famous Shoshone Falls were rather disappointing: just a little trickle of water instead of the massive waterfall we knew from pictures. Apparently, due to the Shoshone Falls Expansion Project, the water of the Snake River (pic) is only fully flowing April to October (at least that was what the sign said).

Idaho is a state of only about 1,5 mio. people, tourism isn't really a main economical factor, though the state is very conveniently situated and borders different states: Washington and Oregon to the West, Montana and Wyoming to the (North)East, Canada to the North and Nevada and Utah to the South. Right now, in the Southeast corner of Idaho, we are only about two hours driving time away from Salt Lake City and about three hours to Grand Teton (Yellowstone) National Park. The influence of the Mormons already becomes noticeable in more "temples" in this area, and, the church also operates the unique (though a little weird) Museum of Clean in Pocatello. This museum serves to sell the idea and value of Clean, to put Clean in the minds of all: clean lives, clean homes, clean language etc. It was closed on Sundays.

Pocatello is a city of approx. 55.000 people, named for a Shoshone chief and surrounded by the Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation. It is known as the “Gateway to the Northwest” and pioneers, gold miners and settlers traveled the Oregon Trail and passed through, followed by stage lines and the railroad. Unfortunately, the Fort Hall Replica is only open in summer and we were just able to peek in and see the grounds (pic). The Fort was built on the Oregon and California Trails as a small outpost on the banks of the Snake River in 1834 and was operated as a trading post in the wilderness. Also, the closeby Bannock County Historical Museum was closed, as well as the Sandpiper Restaurant, an Idaho institution. Not our day today!

To console ourselves, we drove from Pocatello's little downtown to the Portneuf Valley Brewing (PVB) - in some sort of warehouse/industrial district, not too easy to come across randomly. Owner and Brewer Penny Pink opened it at the current place in 2002 and now it's a comfy place with great pizza, great beers and live events three times a week. PVB has ten beers on tap among them one rotating Seasonal and one Brewers Special. We especially enjoyed the Shady Side Black IPA - a pitch black American-style IPA. Our medium size "Meatlover's Pizza" (pic) was too much to eat for the two of us, so we got a box and it'll be lunch or dinner tomorrow.

Southward to Boise

This has been a very long day: Got up at 6:30 am at the monastery, left there at 10 am and drove about 210 miles through completely different landscapes to Boise, the Capital of Idaho, in the South. It took us about four hours in total, but we made a couple of stops inbetween and, in addition, had a time change (from Pacific to Mountain time), loosing one hour.

The Rolling Hills of the Ni-Mii-Puu

Ni-Mii-Puu, Nez Perce Country - this was on our today's itinerary. What a change in the scenery: gently rolling hills, originally grassland, now farmland (grain, canola, lentils, peas), starting to turn green. We drove South on Hwy. 95, mostly straight road, no traffic, just had to adjust the autopilot to 65 mph and could enjoy the scenery.

First stop after a two-hour drive from Coeur d'Alene was Moscow - namend by the first settlers after a town in Pennsylvania - a vivid little university town, seat of the University of Idaho. We met with Gina at the Chamber of Commerce and strolled along main street with neat little boutiques, shops, cafés and restaurants.

The Appaloosa Museum & Horse Club is the main attraction in town. Palouse Country, named for the river, is home of the Appaloosa - a spotted horse breed - and this museum was established to illustrate the history of the Appaloosa horse and its region of origin. It's also called the "Nez Perce Horse" because this tribe has established a refined horse culture and used selective breeding. Shown on the right picture is Chief Joseph, the leader of the Wallowa Band of Nez Perce Indians, a very famous indian chief, who surrendered to the army on the escape of the tribe to Canada in 1877.

On towards the "sister cities", Lewiston/ID and Clarkston/WA – great view from an overlook (see pic) down to the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake River. Have been close to this area about 13 years ago, when we traveled the Lewis & Clark Trail all the way from St. Louis to Astoria.
In the meantime it has become much warmer: up to 60 deg. F. and, for a change, we didn't have any rain today!

We drove down to the Clearwater River and through the Nez Percee Indian Reservation to the Nez Perce National Historical Park in Spalding - which isn't a National Park in the traditional sense. It is rather a conglomeration of 38 sites spread out over four states and it tells the story of the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) people. Following the route of the 1877 conflict, this park is rich in history and culture.
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Leaving Spalding, the landscape changed again, when we climbed up the Clearwater mountains: forest and a little bit of snow again, too. In the little town of Cottonwood in the middle of the Camas Prairie we stopped at the Dog Bark Park Inn - a unique, funny place consisting of a "visitor center", a woodcarving workshop (dog folk art, all breeds, in wood), a sculpture park and a B&B as well as several utility buildings and a truck in the shape of a dog. The B&B is a large wooden dog structure (see pic), with two bedrooms and a bathroom in the body of the dog. Dennis, a self-taught chainsaw artist, and his wife Frances, a carver, too, operate and built this place and were very interesting and friendly people. So was their big yellow retriever.

Last stop for today: the Monastery of St. Gertrude between Cottonwood (a little town which even has a microbrewery!) and Keuterville, on the rolling hills of the Camus Prairie, with a view of the Clearwater and Bitterroot Mountains and the Seven Devils, a scenery, which reminded the sisters of their homeland in Switzerland. The Benedictine Sisters of the Monastery of St. Gertrude originally came from Switzerland, went to Oregon, Washington and from there to Idaho. The sisters were called to educate children in the rural areas. In 1907 the monastery was moved near Cottonwood and in the 1920’s the present monastery - visible from far away thanks to its huge chapel with two towers - was built. Besides schools throughout Idaho, the sisters became active in health care.

Besides the monastery they operate an Inn with four generously sized, cozily furnished rooms with patios (see pic). Sister Corinne greeted us upon arrival and after the evening prayer we drove to dinner with her and sister Chanelle in our car. Only three miles we went, to a very unique, very rural, very rustic pub in Keuderville, a village of 12 (!) inhabitants, in the middle of nowhere, the roads ends here. Besides the special atmosphere (old photos, bearskin, antlers and other memorabilia on walls and ceiling), we were eating great fresh fish & chips (it was friday!). And, the sisters surprised us completely: No habit, they drank beer, we discussed politics (they dislike Trump, too), the pope, the role of women in church, the immigrant situation in Europe. They had their mobile phones in hands and told us that they are on facebook... And, small world: in this bar we met a guy from Stuttgart/Germany who was visiting his bro-in-law here.

Being an agnostic and a non-religious person, I have to admit, that it was good conversation and an interesting evening, also, a great place to stay. In the morning we got breakfast with the sisters in their refectory (buffet-style and neither "quiet", nor stiff) followed by the "grand tour" on the property - including the chapel with its beautiful altar, carved in Germany and shipped over, the Spirit Center, the cemetery and grotto and the museum - before we headed on to Boise.
That was the view we had this morning from our room: