Sun Valley: Hitting the hills

Despite my good intentions to learn to enjoy fly fishing, we decided that it was best for Mike to have some time to ponder life and fish on his own in the wee hours of the morning. To be honest, standing waist-deep in the river yesterday while learning to fish was fun, but damn cold. Mike and I bonded and all, but I wasn't up for the 6am plunge into the icy cold water. I left that for the boy.

So, while Mike headed out to fish this morning, I jumped on the bike and headed out for a short jaunt on the road. The crisp, clear air was a treat and while heading up some mountain road, I detoured into the Sun Valley resort to check out the fancy folks. While toodling around, I overheard a conversation between a 10-year-old girl and her babysitter (But when in Sun Valley, I believe we call the babysitter an aupair...but anyway). The girl was standing in front of a bike rental shop which hadn't yet opened. She was begging her aupair to rent a bikes for the 2 of them and let her "ditch" camp in order to go for a bike ride. "Please don't call my parents on the cell," she begged.

I didn't stick around to hear the resolution, but I was tickled that this young girl preferred to ride a bike than head to day camp.

Post-fishing and biking, Mike and I enjoyed huge Mexican chocolate lattes and read our little hearts out until we could sit still no more.

And then we were off. When mountain biking, our physical fitness far surpasses our technical prowess, so we often found ourselves frustrated as we'd tumble off our bikes. But mountain biking around here is truly spectacular. The single track is literally endless and we finished an epic 4 hour ride without seeing any other people. Love was in the air, though, as we rode through clouds of butterflies searching out their perfect mate.





Tomorrow we head for the tiny town of Stanley, in the heart of the Sawtooth mountains.