Fifty plus years out here in The West, most of those spent in Northern Utah, yet it took me until 2024 to finally make it up to the Sun Valley area and the Sawtooth mountains. Yet I found that some things are worth the wait.

I stayed in a little condo in the Sun Valley Resort, an expansive property with views of the ski resort and plenty of access to the nearby trails. It was Memorial Day weekend so snow was still on the mountain peaks, with daytime temperatures in the mid-sixties. Pure bliss.

Hiking gives me the freedom to see the town from an elevated vantage point, yet with the feeling of being truly away from the city and fully immersed in Nature. Foraging deer barely paying me any notice as I pass, the clouds overhead putting on quite a show in the sky.

I explore the Sawtooths and try some Black and White photography, pretending to imagine myself as an Ansel Adams protégé. It’s been awhile since the majestic raw wonder of a mountain range took my breath away.

It was the perfect place to start my Summer, and I think my ills from the first part of the year may finally be receding.

