Everything fun this past weekend happened in a 10-mile radius from the center of Ketchum, and it all seemed to start with the letter ‘C’. Camping, Cars, and a Concert. Amazing really, considering we are used to spending a certain amount of time getting to the vacation summer fun by car or plane or train etc. Not here, not now: everything is close at hand for you, friend (would say Yoda).
Wood River Campground is a stones throw from the SNRA (Sawtooth National Recreation Area) visitors center (meaning you are hella close to some pretty sick mountain biking and hiking for the whole fam-damily), and it has lovely sites with nice bathrooms and tasty water. A short walk from the campground lies the base of phantom hill, the infamous spot where crowds gather to watch cars test their speed in the annual Road Rally to benefit the Wood River Drug Coalition. I actually hate cars. But — my extended family, including 3-year old Enzo that knows more about car belts and transmission than I ever will, start counting down the days to this event the minute it ends each summer, so I had to go. I will say, seeing a two-million dollar car go 247 miles per hour is exciting even to those people who find cars totally lamezo — ahem — me.
Luckily, Sunday was my fun day. I packed a picnic and headed to Josh Ritter, the headliner in one of the concerts for the Sun Valley Center for the Arts series. The concert was great, albeit one small issue: it turns out, Josh (yes, we are on a first name basis) has a habit of grinning while belting sad melodies. My friend Katie, pictured below right, was largely disturbed by his inability to match emotion to song content (dude, she broke up with you, stop smiling). All in all, not a bad go for a weekend warrior. However, four bottles of wine among three women throughout the show mean the exercise class I teach Monday morning will be one long ride on the struggle bus.
