WEEK 35
LOOKING FOR AMERICA
April 28 - May 3, 2026
IDAHO
A bit reluctantly, we left Ogden and the Salt Lake area on Tuesday, heading for Idaho. We’d seen so little of the area, only venturing up into the mountains for a drive on Monday when the rain stopped. David also went on a hike with Heather and Garret, but my knee wouldn’t allow me to join them. We definitely wish to go back, perhaps on our way back west after our summer in Minnesota.
But now, we’re headed northwest through the rest of Utah into Idaho and on to the Wood River Valley, sometimes referred to as Sun Valley. We plan to spend the next five days with my daughter and her “girls,” Ash and Aspen — Wolf/Husky dogs. We’re hoping to go camping over the weekend up over Galena Pass to somewhere in the Stanley area in the Salmon River Valley.
On Wednesday, we drove up to Stanley, checking out the campgrounds and lakes in the area. The National Park Service hadn’t opened the parks or campgrounds yet, but was due to do so on May 1st, the day we planned to head up there to camp. Back in Hailey, temps were warm, reaching near 70 degrees, but up in the Sawtooths near Stanley, there was still snow, in some places quite a bit.
We lucked out. We found a free campsite right on the Salmon River just south of Stanley. It was perfect. Private, beautiful, and would allow the dogs to run about. After a lovely day of driving, seeing, and picnicking in a snowy rest area, we headed back to Hailey, hoping that the charming campsite would still be vacant when we drove up on Friday.
Thursday dawned, sunny and full of promise. I had been waiting weeks for this day. I had an early appointment at the Sun Valley Sports Medicine clinic for a knee injection. By this time, I couldn’t walk for more than half an hour at a time. Sleeping was tough. My knee ached all the time, and my knee and leg had been swollen for a couple of months.
Usually, an injection like this takes a few days to begin relieving the inflammation enough to reduce pain and swelling. It took hours. By Friday, I could move in ways I haven’t been able to in months.
We got the campsite! A quiet place on the banks of the river, with mountains behind us and in the distance. Like any good camping weekend, we made good food, played games, enjoyed a fire…and watched the full moon clear the mountain peaks a good 40 minutes after it officially “rose.”
We enjoyed watching several male Ospreys fishing the river to feed their families back at their nests. We never found the nests, but in researching about Ospreys, these guys were definitely doing dual duty of guarding and fishing.
On Saturday, the gate was open at Red Fish Lake Recreation area so we were able to drive in and spend time by this beautiful mountain lake where we had camped last September.
There are hot springs in Stanley, so we visited them on our last night. Unlike so many that are just in the open on the side of the road on the edges of creeks or rivers, the Mountain Lodge in Stanley built tubs in the springs and little sheds to make it easier for guests to enjoy.
The stars were magnificent that night as we walked down the road from the hot springs, like someone had spilled a bag of glitter across the sky. Sometimes, the wild outdoors takes my breath away.
The mountains and the terrain in the Wood River Valley and north in the Salmon River Valley are different from those we experienced in Arizona and Utah. For one, there aren’t the red rock hoodoos or the obvious uplifts noted in the canyons we’d visited. The very big hills are covered with sagebrush and other high-desert plants. Beyond them are the Sawtooth Mountains, currently snowcapped. There’s a different energy here. Ancient. Raw. Alive.
I treasure these times with my family. When we leave my daughter and her beautiful dogs here in Idaho, we will begin our week-long trek to Chicago, where we’ll spend the rest of May with my oldest daughter and her family. We’ll get to see my grandson do his thing in his school’s track meets. I believe we arrive in time to see the championship meet, which will determine if they go to state. I’m super excited for this! He sent me a video from a meet where they took first place over eight teams in their conference, so, maybe they have a good chance at their championship? Turn down your volume…this is a busload of very excited teenage boys!
It occurred to me the other day that, after a little over a month on our own since leaving Mesa, Arizona, we will be doing a lot of peopleing for the next five months or so. Lots of time with family and friends. I also counted up our months in the western coastal region, mountain ranges, and various deserts. I realized it will have been eight months since we’ve seen the grass and trees and muddy rivers and lakes of the Midwest. Will it feel like “home,” I wonder?