BMW Northwest 2020 Magazine - Flipbook - Page 28
n the fall, when this festival is held, you can
expect crisp air and sunny blue skies that are a
spectacular backdrop for the red maple leaves. To
capture an incredible photograph, we walk into
the hills north of Ketchum for a shot of the sheep
as they make their way down to Highway 75 for
their debut back into civilization.
Then we take our place in our parade chairs
among thousands of others and watch colorful Basque
dancers’ twirling down the street to the music of an
accordion, flute and tamboril drum followed by their
sheep wagons.
Then the sheep appear. You never know what you’re
going to get when 1,500 sheep that have seen no
one but their herder for months are suddenly confronted by hundreds of people cheering them on as
they march down Main Street in Ketchum. One year
some bolted, leading chasers on a wild sheep chase
through town before returning to the flock. Another
year they simply baaaa-lked, refusing to move.
These sheep keep their cool, moving like an amoeba
down the street and parting ever so slightly for two
priests and a rabbi (seriously) who stand in the
center exhorting them to “Go and be the best sheep
you can be.”
Of course, I take plenty of pictures. I love sharing
them with friends—they can’t get over it. And it is
hard to believe until you see it.
The Big Sheep Parade over, it’s time to sit back and
relax. We can accompany ranchers to a nearby aspen
grove to see pictures of churches and horse riders that
lonely sheepherders have carved into the aspen bark.
Or, we can tackle one of the hundreds of miles of hiking and mountain biking trails surrounding the area.
Whatever we do, we’re never disappointed.
“Those of us who live and work in the valley know we
have an extraordinary life, and that’s what we try to
share,” says Flat Top Sheep Ranch’s Diane Peavey. And,
I invite you to come along for the ride next year, too.
2 6 BMW Northwest Life 2020
SAVE THE DATE
2020 TRAILING OF THE
SHEEP FESTIVAL
Oct. 7-11, 2020
Visit trailingofthesheep.
org for information and to
purchase tickets to paid
events in advance.
Getting there
Set your GPS: I-90 east to
I-82 E/US-97 S to WA 221
to I-84 and follow signs to
Sun Valley/Ketchum.
Restaurant
Recommendations
While the Trailing of the
Sheep Festival trots
out plenty of great lamb
dishes, you can find
plenty more at Ketchum
restaurants. The locals
swear by the Ketchum
Grill (ketchumgrill.
com), and you can find
assorted lamb dishes
at its sister restaurant
the Town Square Tavern
(ketchumtavern.com), as
well. The Pioneer Saloon
(pioneersaloon.com) has
long been a must-visit,
with its prime rib, Idaho
trout and giant Idaho
potatoes. And Grumpy’s
(grumpyssunvalley.com),
known for its “Sorry,
we’re open” sign out front,
has been featured on the
Rachael Ray show for its
giant schooners of beer
and Grumpy burgers.
Lodging
The Limelight Hotel
(limelighthotels.com/
ketchum) , Knob Hill
Inn (knobhillinn.com),
and Sun Valley Resort
(sunvalley.com/lodging/
sun-valley-lodge) boasts
its storied lodge where
Ernest Hemingway
finished “For Whom the
Bell Tolls” and pictures
of celebrity guests line
the hallway.
Extend your stay
The Trailing of the Sheep
leads into the Sun Valley
Jazz & Music Festival the
following weekend, which
features five days of jazz,
doo-wop, Cajun, zydeco
and country music, along
with dazzling piano
duets, energetic dance
competitions, dance hits
through the decades and
even performances by the
Yale Whiffenpoofs. We’re
talking 40 bands and 200
musicians taking their
turns on several stages.
Visit sunvalleyjazz.com
for more information.
Fall leaves
If you visit in late
September or October, the
colors of autumn accent
the Wood River Valley at
every turn. You can catch
the color on the Proctor
Loop trail accessible from
the Hemingway Memorial
on Sun Valley Road. Or,
take the Boundary Trail
a mile further down Trail
Creek Road, crossing
the bridge and following
the Corral Creek Trail
to Uncle John’s sheep
corrals.
Or, head just north of
Ketchum to the Lake
Creek trailhead. Cross
the bridge and head
through the woods for
some dazzling displays
of yellows, oranges,
reds and even magenta
splashed across the
backdrop of the Smoky
mountains.
Wine tasting
This being a resort
community, it’s not
difficult to find good
wine selections at every
turn. Enjoy a glass with
caprese in a casual
setting at the Sun
Valley Wine Company
(360 Leadville Ave.) in
Ketchum. Or, stop at
Base Camp (600 N Main
St., Hailey, ID) on your
drive into town for a
surprisingly good variety
of well-priced retail
wine—and you can fuel up
at the same time.
Sun Valley—beyond
the ski slopes
Sun Valley is widely
regarded as one of the
best ski resort towns
in North America,
repeatedly landing in the
top five in SKI magazine’s
Reader Resort Survey.
Come late June, you’ll
find speakers like Deepak
Chopra, Ariel Huffington
and Marianne Williamson
at the Sun Valley
Wellness Festival
and Conference
(June 26-29, 2020
sunvalleywellness.org/).
Sun Valley Resort
brings out Olympic figure
skaters at its weekend
ice shows, which kick off
July Fourth weekend.
Sun Valley Wine Auction
Weekend (July16-18,
2020, sunvalleycenter.
org/wineauction/) is
regarded a premier event
complete with vintner
dinners, wine tastings
and a wine picnic with live
music.
The Sun Valley Writers
Conference (Saturday,
July 18-21, 2020
svwc.com/) pulls in
authors like David
McCullough, Salman
Rushdie and Sandra Day
O’Connor. The Sun
Valley Music Festival
(July 26-August 20
svmusicfestival.org)
offers three weeks of free
symphony music in the
outdoor pavilion in late
July and August. And
Labor Day Weekend’s
Wagon Days (September
3-6, 2020. wagondays.
net/) rolls out historic
carriages, water wagons,
stagecoaches and the
towering ore wagons that
ferried gold and silver from
the mines around Ketchum
in the Big Hitch Parade.
Opposite: All things
sheep—and the
Basque heritage of
the shepherds who
traditionally watch
over the flocks—are
celebrated at this
quirky fun festival that
includes a "blessing"
of the sheep by two
priests and a rabbi
PHO TOS: C A ROL WA LLER, MIKE PAT TER SON
The Championship Sheepdog Trials features some
of the West’s most talented border collies and their
handlers vying for points to qualify for national
competition. But they typically meet their match
in these sheep.
Returning to Ketchum, we check out the spirited
Taste and Craft event that showcases local Idaho
food and beverage artisans. Unique products like
jalapeno and chipotle-flavored wine, pumpkin stout,
raspberry-f lavored potato vodka and other beer,
wine and spirits are sampled and many are for sale.
Before ending the night at Whiskey Jacques’ annual
music event with live music from fan favorite bands
like Dusty 45s and The Hot Club of Cowtown, we set
out a couple lawn chairs on Main Street for the Sheep
Parade on Sunday and have a casual dinner at Sawtooth Club next door.