Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for idaho
Idaho’s Sweet Willy
By Linda Tancs
To be in the doghouse is generally not a good thing if you’re the two-legged sort–unless, of course, you’re in Cottonwood, Idaho. That’s where you’ll find the Dog Bark Park Inn, a Beagle-shaped bed & breakfast guesthouse. Affectionately known as Sweet Willy, the 30-foot-tall canine takes the cake (er, biscuit) as the world’s biggest Beagle. Guests enter the unusual hotel through a private second story deck. It was named one of the most fun and exciting places to stay by London’s Times. Maybe you’ll agree.
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A Lakeside Playground
By Linda Tancs
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is blessed with an abundance of lakes in the region left by glaciers from the Ice Age, including Lake Coeur d’Alene. No wonder the city bills itself as “Your Lakeside Playground.” The 25-mile lake plays host to sightseeing and dinner cruises as well as a beach and the world’s longest floating boardwalk at The Lake Coeur d’Alene Resort. An all-weather destination, the area is home to three ski resorts offering over 131 runs and the West’s driest powder.
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All Buttered Up in Idaho
By Linda Tancs
Just 10 miles south of Idaho Falls lies the epicenter of celebration of Idaho’s famed export, the potato. Specifically, the small city of Shelley, Idaho has hosted the annual Spud Day festival (www.ci.shelley.id.us) since 1927. The 17 September event commemorates the potato harvest and includes events like a parade at State Street, a potato picking contest, talent show and treasure hunt. Pick up your free baked potato and trimmings at City Park.
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Tater City
By Linda Tancs
Blackfoot, Idaho was known as Grove City, a tribute to its abundance of trees and parks. Don’t forget the potatoes, though. Blackfoot is the agricultural epicenter of Idaho’s revered potato industry. Known as the Potato Capital of the World, it hosts–what else–the Idaho Potato Museum. With each paid adult admission,
you will receive a box of hash browns to take home with you. Welcome to tater heaven.
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Fun in the Sun Valley
By Linda Tancs
Sun Valley, Idaho is considered by many to be the birthplace of the U.S. ski resort industry. Now in its 75th season, the resort destination has had plenty of time to perfect its ski-town image. Located in central Idaho, this wealthy enclave has something for every level of skier. Those willing to test their mettle should head on over to Bald Mountain, or Baldy, where the vertical drop is over 3000 feet. For the more faint of heart, stick to the treeless Dollar Mountain where the vertical drop is a mere 600 feet. Cross country skiers will love the 25 miles of groomed and marked trails that begin at the Nordic and Snowshoe Center. If you need to brush up on your technique, you’ll find the area’s largest Nordic ski school in Sun Valley. This location may also be familiar to you as the site of ice skating shows presented by the world’s best skaters. Sun Valley Ice Rink continues to draw the biggest talent, and ice shows begin at dusk for a fabulous celestial experience.
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Basque in the Festivities
By Linda Tancs
Treasure Valley includes all the lowland areas from Vale, Oregon to Boise, Idaho. With a moniker like that it should come as no surprise that the area attracted those in search of gold and other treasures. An unusually large number of Basques joined in that quest, ultimately homesteading in Boise where the ethnic group grew to its largest numbers outside its European base of northeastern Spain and southwestern France. Every five years Boise celebrates Basque culture at the Fairgrounds with Jaialdi, or “Big Festival.” Now through 1 August, experience Basque tradition through tasty croquettes, dances like the Flag Dance (Ikurrina), and ball games like pelota (a variant of which is jai alai) in the Fronton on Grove Street.
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Wild and Scenic in Idaho
By Linda Tancs
At the River Dance Lodge Ranch Resort in Kooskia, Idaho, they say dreams come true and memories last forever. Well, how could you forget whitewater rafting, fly fishing, canoeing and kayaking in the Lochsa, Selway and Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, three of the original eight rivers in the area protected over 40 years ago by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act? Hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding along the banks is available for those who prefer terra firma. Highway 12, designated an All American Highway, passes right in front of the lodge and offers easy access to the Lewis & Clark Trail. Sounds like a dream come true to me.
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Rocky Mountain Skiing
By Linda Tancs
The highland climate of the Rockies produces prodigious amounts of snow for wintertime sports like skiing. So who has the best vertical drop? Listen in and find out.
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