Labor Day in Sun Valley

 

It had been a few years since we had taken the kids to Sun Valley, so we decided to head there this year over Labor Day weekend.  At first it was just going to be us but then last minute Mark and Paige decided to join us.  So we all crowded into the Airbnb and had a blast.  We got there Friday evening.  Saturday morning after a quick run we headed over to the lodge to check out the car auction.  It wasn't quite the same as when Craig was a kid, or even when I first started going.  Not near as many cars and especially not as many classic cars.  It was still a lot of fun to walk around checking out the cars and also to listen to the auctioneer.  The kids found a grassy area and played soccer and football.  We grabbed lunch there in the village before heading back to the condo to watch the BSU football game.  The game did not go as hoped, so Craig and I headed back to the car auction with the kids and we made a pit stop at the candy store, which is always a must.  That evening we walked around town as we waited to get in to the Pioneer Saloon for dinner.  We all ate way too much, but it was as delicious as always.  It is so fun to take the kids to do the same things that Craig did as a kid.

Sunday morning we got up and packed up and started our drive to the Sawtooth Mountains.  When we are that close to the Sawtooth's we definitely have to make the effort to get a hike in.  The weather was not looking great, but decided to push through anyways.  When we started the hike into Alpine Lake it was still dry so we were hustling as quick as possible to get as far as we could before it started to rain.  At about 2.5 miles in it started to sprinkle and by mile 3 it was raining pretty hard.  We pulled out our rain jackets and put them on outside of our backpacks to try to keep those as dry as possible.  By the time we got to the lake it was coming down pretty hard.  We found some trees to huddle under and eat our sandwiches.  Everything was so wet that we couldn't even sit down.  We were hoping that the rain would stop while we were eating but it never did so we bundled the kids up a little bit more with beanies and gloves and got everyone's rain jackets put on better.  We started back down the mountain in the rain.  The rain gradually slowed down and finally stopped when we were about halfway back.  We gradually warmed back up.  When we got back to the car we got rid of our wet layers.  Brooklyn took her shoes and socks off and her socks were so wet that we had to wring them out.  The kids were such troopers and didn't complain at all.  They also went 8 miles without saying they were tired or wanted to take a break.  They made it all the way up to the lake without a single water or snack break.  Even though it was cloudy and rainy, it was still beautiful.  On our way back out the clouds broke a little bit and we were able to get a peak of why they are called the Sawtooth's.    It's amazing what a good attitude will do.  Instead of focusing on how wet we were and all the rain and that we were cold, we decided to focus on what an adventure it was and what great memories we will have of this hike.  We were so proud of the kids and will be able to use this as a reminder that they can do hard things.  After we got dried off and warmed up we headed for home.  It was a quick trip but so much fun.  I love doing things that create memories for our little family.