We went to a town called Hailey, about two hours eastish of Boise. We've been there before - several times, in fact - but thought we'd visit again so we could go snowshoeing at Craters of the Moon. It also helped that the company Daniel works for is headquartered there, and they own some townhouses for visitors that staff can also rent for very few dollars.
Hailey is in an area called Sun Valley, which is host to all sorts of fabulously wealthy people (and all the problems they bring with them). Just to give you an indication: there are less than 10,000 people living in Hailey but not only do they have an airport, it's an airport that is always busy with private jets. As in, these people have enough money to fly a jet into town for a visit. I think Hailey and Margaret River have a lot in common.
We started things off on Saturday by going for a drive north of Hailey to Galena Summit. There's nothing there except a parking area, but the elevation (8,701 feet, or 2, 652 metres) offers some spectacular views across the Stanley Valley, no matter what the season:
And although there wasn't as much snow as usual for the time of year, there was still enough to prevent one from sitting down to take in the view:
It really is a beautiful part of the world, I think.
On Sunday, we made the drive east to Craters of the Moon to go snowshoeing. Craters of the Moon is a national monument that consists of a lava flow that occurred about 20,000 years ago. We'd been there in the summer, and it is the most amazing landscape. You can see how our planet formed. Here's a link to photos that other people have taken.
And here are the photos we took. It was unbelievable windy when we were there. To the point that we hugged the leeward side of the hills in fear of being blown to South Africa.
Here I am grinding my way up a hill. Although there were groomed trails (trails that have been smoothed out) for the skiers to use, we were told we could go anywhere we pleased. That's the advantage of snow, you can't destroy anything because it's well protected with frozen water.
I really like the way the next photo shows the effect of wind, and some slightly warmer temperatures, on snow. Thank you Daniel!
That black spot on the left is exposed lava rock, or, as I like to call it, "new planet":
We saw a spot where some people were going to camp for a night or two. Sooner them than me, is all I can say. Not only was it windy, but it was really cold, too. I think I would have been miserable.
We also had some very nice meals while we were there, and did a fair amount of relaxing, which is only appropriate for a weekend away. I took some knitting with me; I had been trying and trying to get a particular sock pattern to work out... that was somewhat less than relaxing. I have since abandoned that pattern and started another, and progress is slightly better. Let's just say I'm getting very good at unravelling!
On our way home on Monday, we stopped off at a place called Silver Creek. It is apparently one of the world's premier fly fishing locations. Because it is a spring fed stream, it doesn't freeze over in the winter, which I guess means the trout get big and fat. And because so many people want to fish there, the trout have become very, very wiley. Daniel would like to fish there, which is why we stopped for a look. I'm glad we did:
I think I could quite happily laze a day away there while Daniel tries to outsmart the trout.
All in all, it was a lovely weekend and I came home thinking how I am still amazed that we live in such a spectacular place. Now all I need is some more spring weather...
