Ketchum, ID

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Our day began at Sockeye Campground on Redfish Lake in Stanley, Idaho. Tory and Aden did school first thing, then we hit the road toward Ketchum, Idaho.

This is one of Andi and I’s favorite places to travel in all of the USA. What a gorgeous view during our one-hour drive along Highway 75 this morning! The rugged Sawtooth Mountains are a breathtaking sight, and I love the Wild West feel of rural Idaho.

Ketchum is a small town in Central Idaho located next to the popular Sun Valley and Bald Mountain Ski Areas. Thanks to the mountains and the visitors who frequent the ski areas, there’s a lot to do here from skiing, mountain biking, hiking, shopping, restaurants & more. Ski towns aren’t often RV friendly, but Andi had a lead on some free dispersed camping outside the city limit. We decided we’d better secure a spot to stay for the night as soon as we arrived into town since camping on the forest service road would be our only option.

From Highway 75, we drove for several miles down Lake Creek Road. We passed a high-end residential area and then came to a dirt/gravel road which lead to several turn-outs with people camped. A dozen campers and hunters were already set up in this area, so we continued farther down the gravel road. The last turn-out area dipped into a small valley, which provided a little bit of privacy from the main road. Andi said he’d read that the spots closer to the highway have cellular service, and that’s why they are more popular camping spots. There wasn't any cellular service in the spot we found, but since we were traveling with our Starlink satellite that didn’t matter to us. The camping spot had a clear north-facing view and as soon as Andi set up the satellite, we’d have both internet and cellular for all of our electronic devices.

Andi, Laura, Shaun and I spent the next 30 minutes or so settling into our spots. No services offered here, just a circular dirt area with a fire ring in the center that someone had made out of rocks. Once we were all set up, Laura made lunch for everyone — grilled cheese and chicken & rice soup. The six of us sat outside in lawn chairs and enjoyed our lunch together. The sun was shining and temperatures had warmed up into the 70’s. It was a gorgeous fall day.

After we ate lunch, we decided to drive into downtown Ketchum. Andi rented a co-working space in town since tomorrow he has an all-day meeting he’s calling into, so he wanted to see where the office was located and make sure he could gain access to it. While we were downtown, we walked along the sidewalks and browsed some of the outdoor stores.

Next, we stopped at the Limelight Hotel for happy hour. We found a spot on their outdoor patio and ordered hot tea and appetizers. It got cold quickly after the sun went down! We tried to grab tacos to-go, but the restaurants were all crowded in town with wait times. Instead, we went back to camp and re-heated leftovers. Nobody was really that hungry anyway since we had apps at Limelight.

Tomorrow, Andi has to work most of the day and then push off toward Jackson, Wyoming.