Ketchum, Idaho: BIG SHEEP PARADE

It's spelled with capitals, because the BIG SHEEP PARADE is a big deal. Today, October 8, 2023, my friends and I saw 1,200 sheep walk through downtown Ketchum, ID, followed by three excited sheepdogs and many equally excited two-legged humans. It was the send off event of the 27-year old Trailing of the Sheep Festival. Started by local ranchers John and Diane Peavey to educate the public and also preserve dwindling sheep pasture, the festival is now attended on average by 25,000 visitors and is considered one of the best fall festivals in the world.

Before the parade my friend Leslie and I attended a Q&A with famous local ranchers John and Tom Peavey and former Ketchum Mayor Jerry Seiffert. While our friend Kathy tried to warm a cold bench on the parade route, we educated ourselves on the sheep industry in Idaho. Now there are only 210,000 sheep in Wood River Valley, but at one time it replaced silver mining as the big employer in the valley, with millions of sheep. In the early 1900s, more sheep shipped out of Ketchum than anywhere in the United States. (See Life on the Range for the full story of John Peavey and his ranching history.)

Here are some other facts: you need 900 sheep to form a "band." (In a previous post our dinner mates said they had "just a few" sheep (e.g. 30) and I thought that was not "a few" but a whole lot. I now stand corrected.) A good guard dog (aka sheepdog) is worth $3,500 and will defend its herd to the death. A guard dog is classified as livestock, and is only barely domesticated. According to the Peaveys, sheep can mitigate the risk of forest fire by eating grass that could catch fire. And only a foolish rancher overgrazes the land.

Wool brings in enough cash to make it worth the shearing, which is done every spring. The Peaveys have bred their sheep to arrive at a wool micron count of 19. Anything below 20 is considered the finest of wool. (A search of Google informs me that a micron is the measurement of the diameter of a wool fibre. Merino wool is the finest and usually measures between 15 and 25 microns but can be finer still. . Generally, wool begins to feel itchy above 22 microns.)

Hailey, Idaho: sheep dog trials, Folklife Fair, sheep shearing

I know the phrase "like herding cats" but how about "like herding sheep"? Today, on Buttercup Road in Hailey, Idaho, I watched sheepdog trials and learned that not all sheep are so willing to follow the leader. A sheepdog handler has ten minutes to instruct their sheepdog to round up four sheep, lead them through three gates and into a holding pen. Ten minutes seems like a long time, and the first sheepdog, Ben, got them almost all the way into that pen before time was up. Shoot, I thought, nothing to this.

Then I watched two more contestants. The next sheepdog had rowdy ewes who would not behave, scattering in the field. After 8 minutes, the handler had to forfeit, and extra shepherds and sheepdogs entered the field to coax the miscreants back to other side of the field. The next sheepdog, Bobby Blue, made more progress, but couldn't get them into the pen. The sheepdogs, all Australian shepherd breeds, were smart and fierce. They crouched if the sheep got flustered, backed off if needed, and never let up. A great show; catch it if you are ever in sheep country.

Next we visited the Folklife Fair, also in Hailey. Here were craft booths containing every type of wool art you can think of - felted gnomes and pumpkins, purses, hats, sweaters, rugs, blankets, more. Of particular interest were the spectacular multi-eyed wool wall art. You see Kathy examining this art above. The food served in the food trucks? Lamb of course. (We had lamb gyros and a local beer.)

Whilst eating and shopping we were enterrtained first by Basque dancers (the Basque were the original sheepherders in valley). That was followed by the Scottish dancers and bagpipers (Scots were among the early settlers in Idaho), and then the Peruvian dancers (Peruvian immigrants have largeley replaced the Basque shepherds).

And of course, we couldn't miss the sheep shearing demonstration. Here we see a professional sheep shearer. He claims to be faster than any machine, shearing up to 40 ewes in an hour (the rams can take an hour all by themselves). He has his own shearing trailer. The sheep enter into the trailer on a ramp, get a haircut, and exit out the side. He shaves off the fleece in one continuous sheet, all in about five minutes. Two ladies in the audience felt sorry for the poor ewe, but I thought it far better than a trip to the dentist. And within two weeks, the shorn sheep will have a centimeter of new fleece.

We also treated ourselves to Basque rum cake (see pic above), vintage Norwegian sweaters, and (for me), slippers from the Bag Ladies of Sequim, WA.

We also stopped off at the Grange Hall to help weave a community "Mother Tree" using thick hand-dyed wool yarn. Doris Florig, a fiber artist, was our instructor. We worked on the trunk (as best we could). Tomorrow we will enjoy the end of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival with Sheephearing Stories and a BIG SHEEP PARADE. Stay tuned...

Ketchum, Idaho: Fox Creek Trail, Smiley Creek Lodge

How hard is it to find Forest Road 020 off Highway 75? Harder than you would think. Today we elected to do an easy hike just north of Ketchum, and after some GPS challenges, we were treated to a two mile hike on Fox Creek trail that shows off the varied vegetation and foothills of East Idaho. One mountain can be covered in pines; the next only in sage.

Aspens wearing their fall color of yellow were everywhere, including one with a potential "arborglyph," sheepherder tree carvings, which my 2023 Trailing of the Sheep Festival handbook tells me is a disappearing western art form. While sheepherders do pass by the Fox Creek Trail, I suspect this may just be the handiwork of a lovelorn teen.

After our hike, and getting a little hungry, we took a drive to Galena Summit to eat at a lodge there. At about 8,000 feet, it had a sprinkling of snow. In the distance were the Sawtooth Mountain range. The Sawtooth range covers four counties and 678 square miles. And yes, its peaks do resemble the teeth of a saw. But our first lodge at Galena was closed, so we continued on to the delightful Smiley Creek Lodge. quon

Smiley Creek Lodge has everything the adventurer might need - ebikes, paddleboards, snowmobiles, a cafe, restaurant, bar, yurts, cabins, and now luxury tiny homes. All of this at the base of the Sawtooth mountains and alpine lakes.

As the restaurant was closed, we elected to enjoy a "liquid lunch" with Manny's local beer on Smiley's outdoor patio, near the chainsaw bear sculptures.

We also viewed a few of the luxury tiny homes, with views to die for. Book now!

Hailey, Idaho: sheep and buffalo horns

I'm visiting friends from graduate school this week. Our location? East Idaho, home of Sun Valley, Ketchum, and Hailey. For the past 27 years, Hailey and Ketchum have been hosting The Trailing of the Sheep Festival, which ends with the herding of hundreds of sheep down the main street of Hailey. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

AFter a 160 mile drive from Boise, we arrived in Hailey feeling a little peckish and in need of nourishment. After an outstanding Thai lunch, we were ready to explore Hailey, birthplace of the poet Ezra Pound, residence of Ernest Hemingway, and former home of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.

Our first stop was the Blaine County Historical Museum which has been preserving local history since 1964.

Here I learned more about mining,the first switchboard in Idaho, the aforementioned Ezra Pound (proud to be have been born in Idaho, but spent most of his adult life in Europe), and the buffalo horn chair you see above. This buffalo horn chair was made by James Kinney as he came across the plains from Indiana to Idaho in 1868. It's not something you see everyday.

Later that night we attended a Farm to Table dinner held in a suprisingly luxurious humane society building, nestled in a valley between arid foothills. All the food was locally sourced and delicious. The main entree? Lamb. The lamb was raised nearby at the Peavey ranch, which has been in operation for five generations. We sat across from the director of the festival, and matriarch Diane Peavey came by personally to greet us. On our other side was a family with "just a few sheep." How many sheep, my friend Leslie inquired. "Oh, just thirty ewes."

Snohomish, WA: Maddy & Shane get hitched!

Last year, Maddy's twin sister Ronnie married Jordan. This year, it was Maddy's turn. Equally creative as her sister and Jordan, Madeline and Shane made the wedding their own.

Pastels were the theme, and all the fun took place under a massive white tent, dripping with balloons and fabric flowers. The tables were lined with homemade paper mache vases filled with dahlias and other flowers picked in the wedding party's yards. The bride and groom were married in a suit and dress handmade by my sister Cindy. The officiant was Shane's brother-in-law, who kept it short and funny, but meaningful.

Our extended family was at Table 5, enjoying local beer and wine and a taco buffet.

We were also delighted with the photo booth, hand built by Shane with awesome lighting effects (Shane is an electrician by trade). We piled in and smiled.

We were also treated to a wall of art, gifts from artist friends of Maddy and Shane, celebrating the couple. A few are posted here for your viewing delight. All weddings should this be creative and delightful. Congratulations to my neice Maddy and her new husband.

Whistler, British Columbia: World's Fastest Bobsled Track

So for many years, decades actually, I have been gathering with friends from high school every summer for a long weekend. In the beginning, being youthful and poor, we camped in the woods. Now we rent houses with hot tubs. Every few years we break out of our usual visit to the wilds (and golf courses) of Eastern Washington and go further afield. This year we headed north to Canada to the year-round resort of Whistler, British Columbia. (Above is the view of our gondala ride to the top of Whistler Mountain).

This was the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and is still the site of world's fastest blobsled track (or "bobsleigh" as they say in Canada). Why is it the fastest bobsleigh track in the world? Because the French Canadians built it too steep, or so said our guide at the Whistler Sliding Centre. We had arrived to try bobsleighing in the heat of summer, for the thrill, and also to support actual athletes who hurtle down this track in the winter. We started our tour with a walk of the track to understand just how steep it gets. You see above that it is basically vertical. Lest you fear for our safety, we didn't go down this part of the track.

No, we did the tourist version. Fitted with helmets and neck braces we slid into an extra large, fully padded sleigh on wheels. A professional driver sat in the back. We didn't even push the sleigh. Our job was to hang on and "lean into the curves." Down we wooshed, trying to "see" the curves as we moved at 87 kmh (roughly 54 mph). Total elapsed time to the end of the track: 53.54 seconds. Mostly it was a blur with a lot of whacking of my helmeted head side to side on the padded edges of the sleigh as I failed to lean into the curves. I don't need to repeat this experience. However, I will now watch bobsledding in future Olympics with proper respect and awe.