Hal was able to take a shift off work in early August, and so we loaded the camper onto the truck and headed west, and north, and then west again, and then north some more...
We have always heard great things about Sun Valley, ID, which is about four hours from McCall. We decided to spend a few nights there on our way to Mom and Dad. They came over to meet us, and we all had a great time. The Ketchum/Sun Valley area was very appealing to us. More of an open valley, with mountains that looked like soft hills. Not as many trees either, so the whole area felt free and unenclosed. We spent the first evening hiking, and when we got to our destination, Pioneer Cabin, we saw some sharp, awesome mountains!
The best thing about this hike was that the cabin was open, as a shelter to passing hikers, and inside was a guitar! Hal tried to tune it, in vain, but it made for a nice photo op.
The next day we tried the 'quintessential' Sun Valley trails, dragging Dad along with us. Now maybe we're spoiled living in Colorado and spending time in Moab (okay, I know we're spoiled!) but none of the mountain biking trails excited us. Kind of a disappointment, for me at least. The trails seemed like they would have been great a decade ago, but not any more. Anywho, Dad was a trooper and lugged his fat bike up about two hours of climbing in the 90+ degree weather!
Overall, the Sun Valley area was accessible and easy to navigate, and the hiking was great, but maybe we missed the epic biking trails...
Back in the car, for the drive to McCall...North again.
McCall is a quaint town, much quieter than the mountainous tourist towns of Colorado, with the Payette Lake being its main attraction. Mom showed us her SUP'ing skills one evening, when we wandered down to the lake after dinner for an evening paddle. The water was the warmest non-ocean water we've ever been in, so it was actually pleasant to hop in and swim around for a bit.
Turns out, the mountain biking in McCall is awesome, and Mom and Dad discovered some great trails with us! We spent two days riding the cross country ski trails at Bear Basin and Jug Mountain. Both places were super fun.
Less than two miles from Mom and Dad's house is a cool park, Ponderosa State Park, which juts out into the lake. There's another good ride through there, with scenic views of the lake.
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| Dad's fat bike is finally put to good use on the sand ;) |
So the riding turned out to be way better in McCall, not to mention the added bonus of quality family time. Many thanks to Mom and Dad for the great rides, delicious food, and memories!
Oh, and the bonus was that we were driving home via Salt Lake City when the men's Tour of Utah (road bike race) was going through. We parked and got to watch them suffer up a 20% grade! Did not make me miss road bike racing...! And the race finished right before an epic squall rolled in...Perfect timing all the way around.
It was a nice break to see something completely new and travel in a different state. Funny how we were only gone 10 days, and yet it seemed like we hadn't been home in months...Oh wait, Hal hasn't been home in months....! Well we are home now, and enjoying it, thanks for reading!
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