Sun Valley Diary 7

Ketchum

The picturesque little town on the lap of the emerald green rolling mountain always reminds the name Ernest Hemingway to the Hemingway readers. No, I didn’t read much of his works. I only read “The Old Man and the Sea” during my early teens, that remained in my memory. But I didn’t know that in his final years he lived in Ketchum. Before going for the Sun Valley trip, I rented few of his books from library. After reading few books, and his life story I was kind of overwhelmed. In his remarkable life he penned down some of greatest novel of the century, travelled many places around the world, worked as journalist in war-trodden Spain, but killed himself at the end. I sometimes wonder, why he  killed himself, was he loosing his ability to produce great works, I don’t know. 

So, in my itinerary I kept Hemingway memorial. The quiet memorial is sitting in amid nature, where you can find beautiful Procter loop for hiking. After visiting the memorial we took a walk there. Though we didn't cover the whole loop, but it was nice walk on a sunny day. Here I want to mention one thing, that Hemingway memorial  and Hemingway grave are not in same place.  If you want to visit his grave, you ned to go Ketchum cemetery. 

As it was our last day in Sun Valley, I kept it low and more relaxing, keeping in mind a 100 miles drive on next day. Ketchum is a typical tourist town. You can find beautiful boutiques to great eatery. If you are a foodie, please check the restaurants there before going. We took a Ketchum map from a Starbucks. We actually wanted to visit the Sun Valley Museum in Ketchum. That little museum provides all the information about the place. 

Early 20th century the small ranching community was transformed into the exotic ski resort by Union Pacific  Railway to increase commuters. Since then, Sun Valley emerge as a ski destination with world class facilities.

Union Pacific railway model

The Sun Valley Museum has three parts. First part is about how was the life before the settlers came. Second part is the Ski, and Hemingway Museum. There you can learn how the ski technology has evolved over the time. As Hemingway lived there in his final years, you can learn about him and his life there.

Hemingway Typewriter

We took a little more time to read all the plaques there. We finished everything by afternoon, and decided to go back and stay indoor rest of the evening. 

Those 3 days whirlwind tour in Sun Valley is memorable. One of my friends mentioned me to visit Sun Valley during Christmas. May be in future we will try to that.