Idaho Trip - Day 3 - Part 1

We ended the second day in Idaho by loading up Chris’ motorcycle and some other belongings that we would transport back to California. Then we hit the road and ended up in a motel sometime after dark. The next day we drove to Ketchum to catch the parade that is on the last day of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival.

We were rewarded for not driving this part of the route in the dark by seeing the fall colors along the way.

This is the town of Hailey and some of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival activities were here. Sheep played an important role in the economy and history of this part of Idaho. The amount of money represented by the sheep market from the mid 1800s to mid 1900s and beyond is in the billions in today’s dollars.

Now it’s not all about sheep, especially in this valley where winter sports and recreation have a large role. As you know if you follow my blog I keep myself amused by taking photos of things of interest along the way…things like a giant bicycle…

…and a colorful sheep.

Ketchum is just up the valley from Hailey. We parked outside of town and walked to the parade route. Like any other small town parade, people had staked out their spots with lawn chairs. We found a spot with a view and waited for about 45 minutes for the parade to begin. The sheep spend the summer grazing in the high mountains and are trailed down the valley to lower elevation for the winter. This festival was developed as a way to recognize this history and the people involved and promote the concept to the modern residents.

A mounted color guard. The horses were decorated with sparkly rumps, but I already have enough photos to share so I didn’t include that one.

The dignitaries of the town and the parade were transported in the first horse drawn wagon. This is the Lava Lake Lamb Camp wagon from Hailey.

Hook Lamb camp wagon pulled by miniature horses.

This is the Jones Sheep Camp. They call these wagons camps because they are the basis of the headquarters or camp for the shepherds who stay with the flocks in the mountains all summer.

The Ben Holland Sheep Camp, with a double wagon.

The parade included Basque and Peruvian dancers and musicians and the festival recognized the importance of those cultures to the sheep industry . Many of the original Basque herders settled in the valley and became sheep owners themselves. Today the industry relies on Peruvian herders.

This is Miss Lamb Chops and I don’t know the story about her.

It seems that where you find a wool celebration you often find a Scottish component. Scots settled in the valley and played an important role in the early days.

I saved way too many photos for this blog post so I’m going to make this Part 1 and finish it off with Part 2. While you’re waiting for that, take a look at these bagpipers. Do you notice anything odd?

To be continued…