More to Idaho than just potatoes

    Research says that when people think of Idaho, they think potatoes. That may be largely attributable to the genuine potato farmer and his genuine potato dog featured in TV commercials. But the image does a disservice to the scenic beauty and cultural attributes of the state.
   Shirley and I are impressed by both. The scenic part is just about everywhere. We think the cultural part is best exemplified by the resort communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley, once a prime destination for celebrities, movers, and shakers. As RVers, campers, and fly fishers we have enjoyed much of what Idaho has to offer. Including their potatoes. 

Boondocking on the North Fork of the Big Wood River.

Which is just a short drive from Sun Valley.

The lodge has been popular with celebrities for a long time. Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls here.

His grave is about a mile away in Ketchum. Part of the tribute is a glass of brown liquid in a double Old Fashioned glass. 

Summer concerts used to be held under a tent but in 2008 they opened a new pavilion--designed to look like the old tent.

There are hot springs along the upper Salmon River. Trout too.

Sun Valley Lodge offered an excellent buffet on the back deck.

At the skating rink behind the lodge, world class and Olympic skaters as well as talented amateurs hone their skills all summer. You may remember an old movie starring Sonja Henie that was set here.

We arrived for rehearsal at the Pavilion and stayed for the concert.

Sun Valley has quaint shops. (That's a euphemism for pricey.)

Up at the Galena Pass we came to the source of the Salmon River, called the River of No Return because the force of the current and steep canyon walls made it impossible for pioneers to turn around and go back. Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe showed how dangerous it was in the movie of that name.

The ghost town Custer is reached by gravel road way up the Yankee Fork.

Shirley learned to pan for gold because there is still a little to be found.

She offered to teach me.

Bonanza! There is a fleck of gold in there--so small that you might not notice if it got stuck in you eye.

The little town of Stanley sits at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains at a bend of the Salmon River.

We went fishing on a mountain lake and came across several black mounds that looked like cow pies. They turned out to be hundreds and hundreds of little black frogs.

Also huge numbers of polliwogs in the shallows.

National Forests permit boondocking--camping without a campground. We think it is a great way to enjoy the blessings of solitude and visits by wildlife.

Such as this otter who was a better fisher than me.

Or this snowshoe hare--also probably a better fisher.

Of course, there are times when we appreciate the amenities of an actual campground--such as a fire ring with grate and a picnic table and maybe running water or a well with a hand pump.

A dipper or water ouzel can actually walk under water in search of the larvae of aquatic insects.

There are huge canola fields in southern Idaho. Like potatoes, it grows well in rich volcanic soil.

Other plants grow in the rubble of a volcanic eruption.

These are at Craters of the Moon National Monument where the astronauts trained for the 1969 moon landing.

We hiked through Indian Cave, a lava tube that is 30 ft. high, 50 ft. wide, and 800 ft. long.

Natural lighting is provided by skylights--holes where the ceiling collapsed. That thought generates a lot of confidence

There are paved trails in the Monument because walking on lava tends to be challenging.

We would be remiss not to pay homage to the classic steak with Idaho potato.

San Xavier del Bac

   When we are in Tucson we never fail to go to Mission San Xavier del Bac just 10 miles south on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation. Our friend Vicki said we should not call them Indians because that is based on Columbus's  mistaken belief that he had sailed all the way to India. We should call them Native Americans instead. Well, I replied, the Tohono O'odham call themselves Indians and the Federal Government calls them Indians. And besides, because they did not speak English at the time, it is not likely they called themselves Native Americans either. In just about every Indian language in all of North America, the Indians just called themselves, in their own language, the equivalent of "The People." As in, some white guy asks, "Who are you?" and they answer. "Oh, we're The People. Why do you want to know? Ain't it obvious that we are the people?" Vicki still is not buying it. You can make up your own mind. 

   The mission San Xavier del Bac was founded by Padre Eusebio Kino, a legend in the Southwest, in 1692 but it was destroyed in an Apache raid in 1770. The present church was rebuilt 1783-97. One of the reasons that Indians in the Southwest actually welcomed missions was that the Spanish, by and large, protected them from their more aggressive Indian neighbors like the Apaches and Comanches. Besides, if you consider the living conditions that most Indians experienced in the 17th and 18th centuries, a house with rock or adobe walls looks pretty good. 

   San Xavier is called "The White Dove of the Desert." Perhaps you can imagine how impressive it must have been for people arriving on foot 200 years ago--the largest building they had ever seen silhouetted against the cerulean Arizona sky. It's still pretty impressive today--even for travelers who have seen the Empire State Building or the Eiffel Tower. 

   Today, the Tohono O'odham are working very hard to recover their agricultural and dietary heritage. There is an exceptionally high rate of obesity and Type 2 diabetes on the reservation. The Tohono O'odham have evolved a very frugal digestive system to cope with repeated food shortages for thousands of years. That is, their bodies have learned to live on less so they are not equipped to deal with the modern diet of your typical American. They have a farm co-op that raises and sells Indian produce. In a bit of unmentioned irony, knowledge of their historic agricultural methods and food culture is being regenerated with the research assistance of a white woman at the University of Arizona. Who is from Slovenia. Only in America, as they say. (And, perhaps, later we will discuss the legitimacy of calling this country and both continents "America" after Amerigo Vespucci. But probably not.)

We like the Indian tacos sold on the reservation. This woman conceded that virtually all the ingredients are "borrowed from other cultures." What makes them "Indian" tacos is they are made by Indians. Green chili tacos are pretty good but the red chili tacos have more oomph.

You pay a little extra for authenticity. Pillsbury would love to get $14 lb. for flour.

Sorry, Vicki. The Indians who grow and sell reservation farm produce at their co-op store didn't get the memo so they went and labeled their stuff American Indian Foods.