Features

If you can dream up an event, The Event will bring it to life, and most importantly, have fun doing it. At 80 years young, owner Penny Weiss, is a 20-year veteran of event rental and planning and has no plans to retire.  In an industry that is fast-paced, high stakes, and back-breaking work, she is still having a ball. READ MORE

Stargazing in Stanley just reached new heights, as if one couldn’t feel any closer to the pristine dark night sky over the Sawtooth and White Cloud peaks. Four years ago, when retired college professor, astronomer, and Idaho Dark Sky Association (IDSA) Board Member, Tim Frazier, spoke on CBS’s Sunday Morning program about the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, someone watching that morning decided to contact the Reserve to donate a family telescope. READ MORE

It was 1914 when the first official school session took place in Stanley, as four students boarded in a teacher’s ranch home in the Basin for a term of six months. Through the decades, educational opportunities ebbed and flowed with the nature of this remote mountain town which endured the harshness of weather, isolation, and economic twists and turns. READ MORE

Blaine County lost an icon last year – family man, third generation sheep rancher, national agricultural advocate, Idaho State Senator, and beloved Trailing of the Sheep Co-Founder, John Peavey. John loved his sheep, his ranch, and especially educating many about the animals and the land. READ MORE

It’s true what they say – food just tastes better when eaten in the mountains. Add in stunning views, fresh air, relaxed atmosphere, and palpable old-west history, and it’s just heavenly. Whether you are day-tripping, camping, passing through town, or just need essentials for a picnic,  Stanley boasts an incredible choice of eateries and dining options providing mountain cuisine that is hearty, delicious, and world-class. READ MORE

Get ready for some revival in the mountains as RJK Entertainment and Sun Valley Resort present one of America’s most beloved live bands to take Sun Valley’s Pavilion stage – the Revivalists. The eight-member collective bring their rocking live show to the beloved venue August 31, for what promises to be the biggest high energy show of the summer and a great way to celebrate Labor Day Weekend. READ MORE

From a young age, Taryn Smith was drawn to explore, and once wrote in a school essay that if she could go anywhere in the world, it would be to the middle of an ocean. This December, that’s exactly where she’ll be, as the first American woman to solo attempt the Atlantic race of the World’s Toughest Row, a global event in ocean rowing. The race attracts teams and solo racers from around the world with the extraordinary objective of crossing an ocean in a rowing boat, unsupported and pitted against Mother Nature. The crossing is 3000 miles of fierce and unpredictable Atlantic Ocean, racing from San Sebastian de La Gomera, Spain, to paradise in Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua. The nearest land – five miles beneath you. READ MORE

If home is where your story starts then Kim Selby’s began in the heart of her childhood home. It was in the kitchen where she watched her mother exhibit a dynamic love for her family through the power of a well-made meal, exhibiting grace and joy as she fed seven children with meals which nourished their bodies as well as their souls. It defined unconditional love for Kim from an early age. “My mother taught me what love could taste like and I’ve never stopped doing the same for others.” she says. READ MORE

When Courtney Modaff walked away from Law school to guide and run kitchens full-time on the Middle Fork of the Salmon, life got a whole lot spicier. The Illinois native had worked on the Upper Salt River during her college years in Arizona, but it wasn’t until her dad invited her to spend a week with him on the Middle Fork that she fell completely in love with Idaho river life, sending Law school aspirations downstream for good. When she began creating dry rubs and spice blends, people started asking her for the ingredients. And the rest is The Spice Shack of Sun Valley history. READ MORE

Last July’s inaugural Saints Weekend in the Sawtooths just about took the roof off a Stanley sky, and sent the stars rainin’ down fire, so it’s no surprise that this summer’s second annual event sold out in a matter of hours. Mountain Village Resort touts this stellar-stacked weekend lineup on the Velvet Falls Dance Hall lawn as their premier music event of the summer, featuring the incendiary energy of Shane Smith and the Saints, who throw down unbridled, openhearted Americana roots music that dares you to stay in your seat. READ MORE

When Valerie Naifeh, award-winning and internationally acclaimed jewelry designer, first came to Sun Valley in 1999 to visit a friend, it was the first time she had been to the state famous for what she thought was nothing more than potatoes. Upon arrival, the Tulsa, Oklahoma native fell in love with the Sun Valley area, its history, lifestyle, and community. Over the next two decades, she and her family spent several weeks a year in the valley, where she often had the opportunity to present her collection at trunk shows and create bespoke jewelry for locals. She felt strongly there was a void here for her unique designs, but it would take twenty-four trips around the sun before Valerie Naifeh would open her second eponymous store in, where else, but the Sun Valley Resort. READ MORE

The mountains are calling and it’s Go time for the Sawtooth Valley Gathering in Stanley, Idaho! SVG’s 10^th anniversary presents a stellar lineup with Jamgrass luminaries, Leftover Salmon and Australia’s The Cat Empire to headline the beloved mountain music festival which brings over 40 thrilling performances from some of the nation’s best live music acts – moments you won’t find anywhere else for 2025. For four days and nights the Sawtooth peaks will echo with the sounds of Folk, Roots-Rock, Americana, Bluegrass, Jazz, and much more. Seven late-night shows feature headliners that are off-the-chart worthy of a decade celebration, and include the innovative American folk duo Shovels and Rope, and live performance phenoms Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country. It promises to be one for the ages. READ MORE

Visually soaking in the Sawtooths is pure balm for the soul and a sight to behold, but soaking in the area hot springs is another exhilarating experience, and to some, quite addictive. As winter dispels, there’s nothing more relaxing after invigorating mountain recreation than slipping into nature’s geothermal warm embrace. Because Stanley is situated over the Idaho Batholith – a large granite formation fractured by faults – hot water from deep in the earth’s core rushes up through each fault, spilling out onto the surface, spilling into streams and creating pools. As a result, Stanley is surrounded by numerous springs, some more difficult to get to than others, depending on the season. But whether you hike several hours to the spring’s location, or pull off the side of the road at the sight of rising steam, spring soaking in the Stanley Basin is dreamy and steamy. READ MORE

“It was the best decision I’ve ever made,” says Adele Savaria, of the 1981 move with her mom from Alpine Meadows, California, where she raced for the Squaw Valley Ski Team, to the Wood River Valley and the Sun Valley Ski Team, when she was 16 years old. Her successful racing career flourished with the coaching efforts of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), propelling her to a six-year span as a member of the US Ski Team, racing World Cup and competing in the 1987 World Championships. That decision would land her in the lap of a family legacy steeped in the SVSEF organization and an unfolding chapter of Wood River Valley skiing history. At the 1988 Copper Mountain National Championships slalom event, she made her most daring race move with a spontaneously uncharacteristic plop in Pat Savaria’s lap to make her introduction. The two have been together ever since. READ MORE

Stanley’s cure for cabin fever is to party! Because it’s fairly safe to say February is on the backside of winter, sub-zero temps, long nights, seized engine blocks, and closed roads. No wonder the restless want out. Winterfest, the family-fun community event which happens every President’s Day weekend, is a gathering for laughter and merriment, camaraderie and celebrating old traditions, to kick against winter and its relentless assault on the Sawtooth Valley. February 14-15, Stanley brings out their crazy, their weird and wacky pent-up winter blues for a weekend wingding y’all are invited to. READ MORE

After last fall’s scorching in the Sawtooths and the searing of a tourist season, here’s to reigniting a fire to hearten the soul of Stanley, for there’s no better time than winter and the annual Sawtooth Outdoor Bonspiel, S.O.B., to visit the oft-coldest town in the country and show them a little warm love. Winter here is beastly, a little crazy, and a lot of fun, and this event is no different when the cries of “Whoa!” and Hurry Hard!” ring through the frosty air and the winning stone comes gliding smoothly down the ice. It’s Curling, the game with the ice and the rocks and the sweeping and the yelling, and the beer. READ MORE

When Stefanie Togni decided to retire as an interior designer to devote more time to her art, she saved the best client for last – her family’s dream home in the Wood River Valley. Even though she wanted to fire herself a few times, she ended up nailing a design brief she’d written when interviewing potential architects to design their home, one in which the most important consideration was capturing sunlight and views, and a seamless flow through indoor to outdoor living.  She also gave the interior design a persona to ensure cohesiveness, a feel of John Wayne meets Ralph Lauren meets Frank Sinatra. “If the house were a person, it would be a cowboy, one that listened to Sinatra and drank whiskey in a bubble bath; a mix of California vibes in the mountains, rustic but playfully tasteful,” she says. READ MORE

It’s early summer in the Pioneer foothills, a remnant of snow and ice still clings to the high granite peaks. A fold of Highland cattle ambles through the lush grass and sagebrush on a leisurely trek to alpine meadows and misty draws, as easily suited to forage and thrive in the challenging conditions of Idaho mountains as in their Scottish Highlands origins. They are gorgeous beasts, serene and sauntering, strength and grace under tousled, long ginger red hair, in beautiful contrast to the blue sky and abundant foliage. These are the cattle of Hyndman Peak Beef & Cattle Co., a first generation regenerative-based ranching operation specializing in grass fed and finished Highland beef. READ MORE

Legend says the original owner of Stanley’s Rod and Gun Club, est.1931, came to town running from the law. After the bar was up and running, supposedly, he lost it in a cribbage game. Since then, the establishment has been burned down twice, famously “stomped” in, and brawled up more than that. Music played seven days a week and Nashville greats have graced the stage – the likes of Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jim Nabors and the Braun boys’ bands. Last owned by the Kirch family for over 50 years, Stanley’s oldest watering hole has stood the test of history, and now, 93 years later, the iconic saloon embraces its new proprietor, Tripp Costas, who’s eager to usher the Stanley institution into its next century. READ MORE

Never underestimate the creativity generated in the dim recesses of the Cellar Pub.  It’s where the brilliant entrepreneur and Ketchum April Fools aficionado, Nick Harman, who defers to the title ‘crazy,’ resurrects his best imaginativeness. And to date, that would be Randimals, combination animal toys with a simple message, that What Makes Us Different, Makes All the Difference in the World. From sketches on napkins and a little inspiration from the personalities of a Basset Labrador mix named Ollie, a crazy idea has turned the plushy world upside down and generated two children’s books with a beautiful story and inspiring message. READ MORE

Halfway along Forest Road 70633 north of Stanley (known historically as Nip-and-Tuck Road) sits the heaped ruins of a one-story log cabin, surrounded by a Forest Service buck and rail fence. The views here of the Sawtooth Mountains are stunning and the Stanley Basin spreads out in glorious sage and grass covered rangeland, forest groves dotting and capping the hills. You can access 70633 northwest out of Lower Stanley or at the intersection of Highway 21 and the Stanley Lake Road turnoff. READ MORE

For the first time in Trailing of the Sheep Festival history, the Sheepdog Trials will feature an International Judge. Fiona McMillan, from southwest Scotland, has been organizing sheepdog trials, including Nationals and Internationals, for 30 years in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States, and is widely respected throughout the stock dog community. READ MORE

In the hills around Idaho City in the mid-2000’s, two high school sweethearts – Mathew Cain and Rebekah Alseth – rode horses, hunted, and fished together, and contemplated their future, their love for each other, for horses, and the outdoors. It wasn’t until Mathew fortuitously met the owner of Stanley’s Mystic Saddle Ranch, Jeff Bitton, over in Challis, that he learned he could actually ride horses and hunt for a living. READ MORE

Freedom won’t be the only thing ringing this Fourth of July holiday when the inaugural Baldy Bluebird Festival settles in at River Run Plaza delivering epic reverberations all the way to Baldy’s sunset blush. RJK Entertainment and Sun Valley Resort present two jam-packed evenings of powerful live music with harmonies, vibes, and guitar twangs that’ll bring the Idaho stars down in firework fashion. READ MORE

Rosin up the bow, the Sawtooths are set to vibrate with the sweet sounds of the best-kept music festival secret in one of the greatest live music towns in the country. It’s time for the Sawtooth Valley Gathering in Stanley, Idaho. This beloved event boasts four days and nights of Folk Rock, Roots, Americana, Bluegrass, and more, and if you’re a fan of Pixie and the Party Grass Boys, then, “We’ll be singing, my friend, howlin’ to the moon ‘til the end – stand on a mountain top with me, dance, dance, darlin,’ just be free!” READ MORE

Marrying in the Idaho mountains evokes a special kind of enchantment. Add the setting of iconic and historic Sun Valley Resort, and a destination wedding here brings the majesty and romance of high-altitude ambiance right up the aisle. The Resort’s four-season setting offers eight spectacular indoor and outdoor venues for weddings and gatherings of all sizes. READ MORE

Redfish Lake Lodge swells with history’s echo and our collective memories, each visit to this beautiful high alpine haven, a straddle of the past and present. For over a century, the iconic rustic lodge and cabins have maintained their lakeside charm and nostalgia through generations of families and visitors. READ MORE

Stanley’s winters demand hardy souls. Come February, either you’ve jumped ship or been shaped and forged by the beast that it is. When you’ve made it through to the other side of long nights, sub-zero temperatures, seized engine blocks, and road closures by avalanche, you might be stronger and more resilient, but also a little wacky.  Enter Winterfest – a community celebration that winter in the central Idaho mountains has turned the corner to see the light of longer days. READ MORE

At 14, Carole McClellan walked into the iconic Twin Falls store, The Leatherman – it was the early ‘70’s – immediately enticed by a $120 leather blazer she couldn’t afford. So, she decided to make her own with a Betsy Johnson pattern, using split cowhide she’d found at Koppel’s Browzeville, a nearby surplus store. When she brought the jacket back into the Leatherman to inquire if the owner, Micky Joelson, could set snaps, he was so impressed by the talent, he offered her an apprenticeship. Her deerskin bib shirts became one of their best sellers. Never underestimate the influence of 4-H on a Magic Valley farm girl. Says McClellan, “Every good farm girl learned to cook and sew.” READ MORE

There’s no better New Year’s resolution than to purpose regular escapes to the Sawtooth Valley for soul- and self-care, for solitude or sled shredding. While you’re at the plush powder and miles of groomed trails, plan to stay for a meal. While many businesses in Stanley hibernate through the long cold winter, two restaurants offer delightful choices before or après anything. READ MORE

If you spent your summer traveling around the west, the country, or even across the pond, fall is now calling from the Sawtooth Valley and mountains, to what might just be the perfect time of year for a little respite during the beautiful exchange of seasons. It’s the perfect time of year to have everything much to yourself, like area hot springs, the Milky Way, and lake front beaches. It’s the perfect time to hike and photograph the hombre color run of photosynthesis as the days get shorter and colder. It’s the perfect time for exploring ghost town remains and following dirt roads nowhere. Any way you look at it, exploring this crown jewel of central Idaho in late fall is the best of all. READ MORE

Rock ‘n’ roll recording artists and globe-trotting journeymen Devon Allman and Donavon Frankenreiter are hoping to make history in 2023. The friends have teamed up for the See It All American Tour to attempt to set the official world record for the fastest time to play a concert in each of the fifty states. The current record is fifty in fifty days set in 2003. The concept is simple, but the execution will be brutal as Allman and Frankenreiter seek to complete the challenge in forty-nine days. To commemorate this unique adventure, the two multi-talented artists released a collaborative soundtrack EP, Rollers, featuring the singles “Calling All You Riders” and “See It All.” SVMoA brings the tour to Ketchum for its Idaho concert – the forty-fourth in the fifty lineup. READ MORE

For 140+ years, the Smiley Creek area in the Sawtooth Valley has been a rest stop for travelers between Ketchum and beyond Stanley, including prospectors during the mining boom days of Sawtooth City, on Beaver Creek, and Vienna, on Smiley Creek, and the ensuing migration of trappers, sheep herders, homesteaders, and ranchers. The 21^st century hasn’t changed anything. Known for its iconic black bear statue and huckleberry milkshakes, Smiley Creek Lodge still offers travelers, recreationists, and locals a welcome respite. An area named after its original prospector – Levi Smiley, who found paydirt in the sands of a stream and established successful mining claims here in the 1870’s – the oasis lives up to its happy moniker providing year-round recreational offerings and opportunities for lodging, food, gas, souvenirs, good beer, and relaxation. What’s not to smile about? READ MORE

Sawtooth Valley summers are short, but equally long on exhilaration and rejuvenation. Waste your time here wisely – under dark skies searching for the Milky Way, in streets dancing, down rivers rafting, in long soaks at hot springs, in wildflower meadows, ghost towns, and galleries, on guest ranches and sunset lake cruises. It’s all here and more. READ MORE

In iconic and scenic Quigley Canyon, Quigley Farm has taken root as a neighborhood development committed to building a unique community blending for profit and nonprofit institutions to produce sustainable economic, social, and environmental benefits. Developer Dave Hennessy, Sage School Head, Harry Weekes, and Summit Creek Capital Managing Partner, Duncan Morton, formed a venture to develop the project as a different way to create a community focused on the guiding principles of agriculture, education, and wellness.  And progress in this self-sustaining community is beginning to bloom. READ MORE

Who says designer coffee, brunching, rosé, and free-range food have no place in a backcountry winter expedition?  Embrace the pretentious upper-class air and high-altitude attitude, as the fare will never taste better than that prepared around a wood stove in a glowing hut at the base of imposing peaks, a lavender flooded sky and the corralled camaraderie of friends and family lighting up the space. And not a single freeze-dried package of food in site.

Almost a dozen yurts and huts are tucked away in the mountain ranges surrounding the Wood River Valley for opportunities to adventure and explore in the high alpine wilderness. A hearty meal fuels the fun of such a backcountry excursion. If you are planning a do-it-yourself yurt trip there’s no reason hearty can’t be decadent or sophisticated. READ MORE

You can still find gold in Sunbeam, Idaho. It’s in the heart and soul of a village that has staked its claim on the value of community and connections. Along Highway 75, twelve miles east of Stanley at the confluence of the Main Salmon River and the Yankee Fork, is a pocket of magic named after the area’s historic Sunbeam mine complex. It’s most notable for the remains of the Sunbeam Dam built in 1910, but also home to a quaint log cabin café, White Otter Outdoor Adventures, and a summer hive of activity preserving this historical landmark within the SNRA. Here, you can stop in and get filled up in more ways than one, from scrumptious farm-to-table delights, the sound of a river running free, a sunset glow on Idaho mountains, and the connective touch of beautiful souls pouring their lives and friendship into people that pass their way. READ MORE

Ever since college, when she began stoking an insatiable desire to develop a six-pack of abs, Emily Knowles put bodybuilding on her bucket-list. When she started working in the fitness industry, she began training with a science-based approach. “I wanted to embark on a body transformation journey to see how developed I could get when everything came together perfectly but naturally – with nutrition, sleep recovery, and training,” says Knowles. Her first competition in 2004 was a National Gym Association (NGA) show in Boise. “There was one category and no bling,” she says. “I was hooked on the entire process and end result.” READ MORE

When the Sawtooth Valley Gathering descends on Stanley in summer, surrounded by three magnificent mountain ranges, set on a plateau at the foot of the Sawtooths, the ensuing symbolic vortex creates a sweet spot on the earth where the energy will leave you feeling a little Sawtooth Mountain high for the rest of the season. This beloved event, one of the best-kept music festival secrets, boasts four days and nights of live music reverberating off jagged peaks and blazing sunsets. Sawtooth Valley Pioneer Park becomes a glowing encampment of vendor lights and center stage as dusk descends on late-night shows. Swirl together the intoxicating mix of a star-filled Idaho night and the scent of alpine forest, and it doesn’t get any more potent than that. READ MORE

When Allison Jadallah had the opportunity to buy The Manor House Bridal store, she landed in the “space” she had been carrying around in her heart since she was a young girl. Now, instead of collected magazine pages, she shares her heart for couture wedding gowns in her own boutique. When she learned in 2022 that The Manor House was going to close, she knew it was a retail culture and clientele she could cater to well, and one she had been drawn to most of her life. For a girl who used to harass high-end NYC wedding planners to hire her, now at 30, it was just the challenge and full-circle destiny she’d been dreaming of. READ MORE

On the morning of his 12^th birthday, Colson Rinella set out at dawn on his bicycle toward a gulch near his home in the mountains, his bow mounted on an attached rack he’d built. He was given orders to be back to his home school co-op science class by 11:00am that morning.  “Unless he had a deer down,” said his mother, Aby. “Then I would write him an excuse.”

Colson Rinella was born into a culture of hunting – traditions and practices passionately bestowed from one generation of his family to the next, encompassing much of their everyday lives. Last year, Colson’s eleventh, will long be remembered as the one he shouldered the mantle of that hunting legacy. He harvested a 6×6 elk, 5×5 muley, pronghorn, wild turkey, and a black bear. It was a year that proved harder than he could imagine, but more rewarding than he could have hoped. And it all began when his father, Jesse, gifted him his own bull elk tag. READ MORE.

Passion gets messy. Especially if it’s been smoldering, collecting energy through the years, eventually igniting a soul. That is the ardor behind the flame of encaustic artist, Jodie Stejer, who, five years ago, began fervently pursuing the medium, realizing she says, “that it’s been the greatest discovery of my true self so far.” For an artist who loves simplicity, organization, and a super clean studio, the torch – with a mind of its own – has compelled her to be more messy, edgy, and abstract, and learn to go with the flow and passion of the flame. “I’ve always loved fire – a bonfire, a fireplace in the home,” says Stejer. “It’s probably the number one reason I was really drawn to encaustic painting, that and its organic nature of beeswax and resin.” READ MORE

‘Family-friendly’ has defined Soldier Mountain Ski Area since its humble beginnings in 1947, when friends Bob Frostenson and Hurry Durall, founded the Fairfield, Idaho, ski area while visiting Sun Valley to watch the Olympic Team Tryouts. Since then, it’s had a handful of different owners, experienced drought and plenty, and survived a destructive wildfire in 2020, but the lifts are still humming along at this iconic, historic ski area. Clearly, this little gem in Idaho is here to stay. READ MORE

Carl E.J. Eliason’s 1927 “motor toboggan” patent, stands out as the forerunner of the modern snow mobile, a wooden toboggan fitted with two skis, steered by ropes, and pushed along by a steel-cleated track powered by an outboard motor. While not the first snow vehicle to be designed, his was the first to be both mass-produced and reliable for the rider, forever changing how we do winter recreationally and functionally, especially in the mountains. Fast forward to today’s new era of sleds creating wilderness experiences like never before. These are not your  grandfather’s snow machines – they’re lighter weight, and have more power and the latest technology for an engineered ride of effortless control, comfort, and convenience. READ MORE

Early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day, 1975, three Michigan ski bum friends left Heber City, Utah, where they’d stayed the night, having traveled from Steamboat Springs the day before. They were bound for Lake Tahoe. Then someone mentioned they forgot to get coffee. And breakfast. Fortunately, for this story, the next exit was Park City, where a parking lot attendant would alter the course of their lives. READ MORE

Miley Roofing has a 30-year reputation for providing a wide array of roofing services with competence, reliability, and professionalism, for as many years of community-minded involvement, and for being just a great place to work. The company’s success has always relied heavily on the strength of its employees. The old adage is true here, a company is only as good as its people. These people are good, dedicated, and skilled. Some have been with Miley Roofing for over twenty years, largely in part because of the leadership of founder and former owner, Scott Miley. It’s a reputation that continues to draw new workers – completely through word of mouth – even in a climate of labor shortages. When Scott began contemplating an exit strategy several years ago, he patiently waited for someone to come along with the heart to carry on this legacy and reputation. He found it in Troy Quesnel, the current owner as of last April. READ MORE

The history of Stanley and the Sawtooth Valley is rich in pioneering stories that first began in the early 1800’s, but as late as 1972, a story of trailblazing proportions began to write itself when a modern-day pioneer, Marie Osborn, set about changing the availability – or lack thereof – of emergency medical care in this rugged remote region. Last October saw the Salmon River Clinic and Stanley Ambulance turn 50 years old thanks to the extraordinary efforts of this one woman. READ MORE

It’s the time of respite and peace in the mountains, a quiet dance between the fall and winter, as one trades its coat of color for the barren beauty of the hibernal. In the valley of the Sawtooths, there’s a bite in the tranquil air and the sound of the piercing elk bugle. READ MORE

You can make yourself right at home at Omega Media Solutions’ Experience Center in Bend. Here, in a beautifully designed home exhibit, you can immerse your senses experiencing today’s smart lighting control and powered window shade revolution. It might just blow your mind. Omega specializes in comfortable living utilizing lighting control and window shades, and business has exploded utilizing products by Lutron, a brand of connected lighting, shades, and hand-crafted controls that elevate everyday life. READ MORE

The “spirit” of Central Oregon emanates out of raw scenic beauty, year-round recreational opportunity, history, climate, prosperity, inspiration, and people who love all things Deschutes. A Bend-based property management company – Home Fridays – has reigned in this all-encompassing ethos and coined “Deschutes Spirit” to define their capacity to care about the management and safe keeping of your second home. It’s an extension of gratitude for client, staff, and community. READ MORE

Fall is a spectacular season to visit Stanley and surrounds. Leaves begin rustling towards their eventual fiery foliage lighting up the mountainsides and riverbanks, beckoning all to the same recreational fun as summer. The sensual delights of crisp sharp air, chimney and campfire smoke, and dusty pine bring on the nostalgia of the changing season you can see and feel, especially when the temperatures dip, making for frosty mornings. September in Stanley also means it’s time for the 45^th Annual Fireman’s Ball firing it up at Mountain Village Resort’s Velvet Falls Dance Hall, Saturday, September 17 at 8pm. All the proceeds from this fabulous fundraising event go to the Sawtooth Valley Rural Fire Department and the Stanley Ambulance volunteers. Both entities are run by volunteers, providing fire protection and emergency response services to the local Stanley community, as well as the influx of seasonal visitors. It is one of the area’s most important agencies for keeping people safe and protected. READ MORE

The Sawtooth Mountains are still ringing with the music of summer, the stars are still dancing across the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, and if you haven’t yet climbed over the summit for some cool nights in Stanley/Sawtooth country, wait no longer. Finish summer well with an escape north. There’s still time to hike, bike, camp, and kayak – just for starters.  There’s still time for homemade cinnamon rolls, street dances, hot springs soaking, teasin’ flies, beach lounging, and adventuring. Even ten minutes out of Stanley proper can find you in completely different worlds from ghost towns to mining dredge sites to rustic lakeside resorts. READ MORE

Summer in the Sawtooths is heady stuff. So little time, so much to imbibe. In every nook and cranny, the welcome mat is out, and Stanley opens the door to fun on the river, the peaks and trails, at the lakes and beach, in the streets, eateries and dance hall, and under the stars. READ MORE

Mountain living in downtown Hailey just got a little more sophisticated. Under Carbonate’s gaze and a stone’s throw from the Big Wood River, the 410 River Street development rises, one of the newest townhome projects under construction centrally located not only in Hailey, but in the Wood River Valley, between the top of Baldy and the silky streams of Silver Creek, between symphonies and rodeos. With modern architectural lines and minimalist design, 410 RVR is an imaginative and intentional solution for adding urban housing to the market, within walking distance of fine dining, retail, office space, cultural events, and endless hiking and biking trails. READ MORE

Stanley is a secret no longer. Word of mountain magic like this tends to get out, and that’s what it’s all about – getting out and enjoying summer in Stanley/Sawtooth country. Up here you’ll find the classic west infused with high altitude attitude, where history whispers on the wind, and the streets are still dirt, but the welcome is hearty and first class. You can’t hurry through here. Plan to stay and play for a while. There’s much to take in at the feet of the majestic Sawtooth peaks. Bring your mountain bike, fly rod, hiking boots, camping gear, paddle board, kayak or raft. Don’t forget an appetite – for the legendary meals and live music. Stanley has something for everyone from festivals to fundraisers, from magic to memories. READ MORE

One thing that never changes is the changing of our seasons and the relentless assault from the elements on the most vulnerable part of our homes, the roof. Locally owned Miley Roofing has been combating sun and storm for thirty years with a wide array of roofing services to meet the need, consistently providing competence, reliability, and professionalism in the process. READ MORE

Functional, innovative, contemporary design continues to be the primary emphasis at Williams Partners Architects in Sun Valley. They’ve been at the forefront of defining the “Sun Valley Style” since winning a design award for their first project completed in 1994. But their design style is certainly not limited to a mountain aesthetic. Says Founder and architect, Jeff Williams, “Our style, if there is one, is hard to define precisely because our homes are a response to different clients and the property they choose, whether in or out of the Wood River Valley. We try to let the style of our work develop as a response to the specific site and translate what we understand to be the clients’ needs and the conditions, such as context and budget, rather than with any preconceived notion of style.” READ MORE

Renovate Park City (RPC) majors in the minor details. They specialize in home remodels, major renovations, and large additions in the greater Park City, Utah area, and now offer new builds under their new sister company, Passive by Design – residential construction focusing on environmentally conscious and energy efficient designs. READ MORE

Two hundred years ago, Thomas Hornor built the first powered elevator he called “the Ascending Room,” a crude elevator used to lift tourists to a platform for a panoramic view of London, never realizing how literal his title would be, given today’s luxury residential elevators.  A+ Elevators & Lifts (A+) knows a thing or two about the marvel elevator mechanism, having risen to the head of the class as one of the fastest growing and well-managed elevator sales and service companies in the Western United States, distinguishing themselves from large manufacturers by creating customized, luxury, people-moving, literal rooms. READ MORE

Along the way to becoming a Builder and General Contractor, Chris Christianson realized that communication was the key element for success in the industry. He also discovered about himself a keen eye for detail and design, and an innate ability to meld materials, texture, and elements with imagination, creativity, and most importantly, a client’s vision. With over a century of experience on his team, the rest constructs into place. READ MORE

They say a man’s homeland is wherever he prospers. True that for the talented husband and wife team of Custom Home Designer, Joey Shaw, and Landscape Designer, Becky Shaw, the “home” and “land” of Homeland Design, two of Bend’s most talented professionals who built their business from scratch thirteen years ago. With 50 years combined experience, the duo offers a unique approach to custom home design in Central Oregon, a complete design team whose homes are designed for the landscape and whose landscapes are designed for the home. READ MORE

If you’ve been hibernating, now is the time to get out and trek on up to the Sawtooth Valley to breathe in the magnificence of the spring thaw. The Vitamin D is always plentiful in Stanley, and the best yet – it’s too early for mosquitoes. Though March hangs on to the snow piles and the nights are still frigid, the equinox signals the grand elegance of mountain high regeneration. Winter begins to dispel under the warmth of longer days meaning longer play. Nature stirs with migrating birds and frolicking ungulates. READ MORE

In the North American residential marketplace, metal roofs are very much in style. The popular material allows for flexible, functional design and affords great curb appeal with more bold color choices. Add in sustained value, durability under nature’s worst, and energy-efficient performance and it’s a great fashion statement for a long-term investment. READ MORE

As solid and unyielding as the granite they build on are the core tenets deep within the foundation of Schlauch-Bottcher Construction (SBC) – dedication, skill, excellence, commitment, and honesty – all of which drive the process of each building project through individuals dedicated to these principles. From the office to a jobsite at 9,400’ in southwest Montana’s rugged landscape, SBC demonstrates an established culture of trust and shared values, a solid team grounded with an outstanding reputation building custom luxury dream homes in Big Sky Country. READ MORE

The Wood River Valley boasts of historic boomtown days – mining, sheepherding, tourism, agriculture – each sharing a commonality of innovating, ambitious individuals. These days, entrepreneurship booms big and millennials crowd the headlines. Case in point, Hempitecture. READ MORE

No one hibernates in the height of winter in Stanley. In fact, the colder it gets the cooler they get ‘cause the cold never bothers them anyway!  First up in fun for February is the Stanley Skating Club’s 5^th Annual Draw Pond Hockey Tournament at the Stanley Ice Rink, February 4-6.  Teams based on experience levels will be drawn on Friday, February 4, during the four stops of the event’s pub crawl starting at 6:30 pm. READ MORE

If holiday withdrawals have set in or big city life south of Galena has you would up tight, then head for the winter-white quiet of the Sawtooth Valley for a refresh of the spirit. Winter is up and running at the Mountain Village Resort. At the entrance to Stanley, the resort has long been a welcoming outpost for high altitude comfort and charm, and owners Russell and Mandy Clark are passionate about service in this place they call home. Mountain Village Resort is the perfect haven and basecamp for all the adventures of the winter type with a 61-room lodge, suite-style log cabins, a mercantile, gas and service station, RV park, restaurant, events and music. And of course, the hot springs. READ MORE

Hydronic Specialist, Pete Savage, of Salt Lake City-based All Hours Plumbing, should have been a rocket scientist. When others in the industry told him to run the other way and not look back on a non-functioning, complicated, ineffective, over-engineered heating/cooling system in a 12,000 sq. ft. house that quite possibly only an aerospace engineer could figure out, he jumped in with both feet to tackle the problem head-on.  But we’re getting ahead of the story. READ MORE

As much as we enjoy our glorious winters, we also long for the light and new life of spring, and nothing signals that better than the symbol for rebirth and hope, the sunny daffodil.  With resiliency and zeal, it emerges year after year, having weathered winter storms, bringing cheerful yellow goodness to our lives. On Mother’s Day weekend, May 7-8, 2022, weather trends permitting, 30,000 dazzling daffodils will usher in a celebration of Community, Life, and Renewal with the 1st annual Wood River Valley Daffodil Festival at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden.  READ MORE

For premium concierge service handling estate and fine furniture installation, delivery, and storage, look no further than the new Flathead Valley company so named. Installation Delivery Storage, IDS, is an excellent resource for logistics and seamless execution of any size project, whether you’re building a new home, transporting precious cargo cross-country, need turn-key setup and organization, or storage during a remodel. IDS provides a safe, secure, and on-demand storage facility to hold and protect the integrity of your valued items. The company has extensive experience working with interior designers and realtors in private residences and showrooms, providing state-of-the-art installations and using only the highest quality materials. READ MORE

Revel Real Estate brings an almost holistic approach to one of the most impactful and memorable purchases people will ever make. The Whitefish-based independent brokerage focuses on recreational properties for corresponding lifestyles, and revel in providing clients with a high-level concierge experience that is completely Montana memorable.  Founding Broker, Kelly Laabs, wanted to create a real estate firm that would focus on three principals – a team approach, exceptional customer service, and a true community give-back to support the places where we live, work, and play. READ MORE

There’s a renaissance afoot with the red-hot trend of plaster, which has quietly crept back in to the design world, replacing paint, wallpaper and even brick surfaces. Although used for millennia, in our current climate of conscious eco-friendly trends, the use of plaster and clay is exploding. Green practices aside, it’s breathtakingly beautiful on walls, breathable, better at insulating, fireproofing and soundproofing, and is mold and mildew resistant. You’ll be reluctant to hang your artwork. READ MORE

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work,” said the great philosopher, Aristotle. For Cody Hawes, the owner of Simply Fabricated, it’s a maxim that rings true every day. His passion and never-met-a-challenge-he-didn’t-like attitude have grown his imagination, creativity, confidence and subsequently, his company to be a leading choice for custom metal fabrication and aesthetic architecture in the Central Oregon area. For Hawes, creating a masterpiece out of a pile of raw steel is an incredibly satisfying feeling. Located in Bend, SimFab provides central Oregon’s contractors and home owners with quality steel fabrication and metal workmanship ranging from structural steel to stunning metal architecture. READ MORE

Landscape Architecture subtly beautifies and artfully engineers the valuable common spaces of society, integrating natural space and ecosystems with humans and their infrastructure. Bend-based Szabo Landscape Architecture believes creating outdoor spaces for people to enjoy, socialize, and recreate in is essential to building a healthy community. With technical ability, creativity and broad experience, they bring timeless contextual design into every project while highlighting the unique social, environmental, and aesthetic qualities of the site, be it a large-scale commercial or retail development, natural or culturally significant landscape, or an intimate residential outdoor room. READ MORE

Timely and urgent are conversations about humans and their activity in wilderness.  Who would have predicted the unprecedented impact a pandemic would have on wilderness by way of human recreation and interaction? And what of communities like ours who sit at the very edge of that soul-nourishing expanse, and depend upon that interaction to thrive? Sun Valley Museum of Art’s (SVMoA) BIG IDEA project and exhibition, Untrammeled: At Wilderness’ Edge, spurred in part by the 2015 designation of the Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness, considers the tension created by our desire to protect and maintain untamable places and our need to be invigorated by what they offer. READ MORE

In July, the Central Oregon Builders Association, COBA, released their Tour of Homes ‘21 Award Winners, with Kellcon Homes sweeping eight of nine categories in the $2.59K – $2.7K top value range. Rob Kelleher, owner of Kellcon, was overwhelmingly humbled and surprised, as it was the company’s first complete residential build, and the first ground up for Kelleher as lead designer. READ MORE

Compass Real Estate, a brick and mortar, plus online brokerage that connects and facilitates sales and purchases on its technology suite platform, has found its way to the Valley, via their Seattle brokerage. Founded in 2012, in New York, Compass built the first modern real estate platform, pairing the industry’s top talent with best-in-class technology – they have a dedicated app for agents – to make the search and sell experience intelligent and seamless. The company, which specializes in high-end luxury homes in premier markets, went public in April of this year. With almost 21,000 agents nationwide, Compass is now the number one independent real estate brokerage firm in the nation. READ MORE

The Wood River Valley has as big of an appetite for outdoor play and robust adventure as it does for the rich flavor of cultural arts.  Both can involve the spectacular, the breath-taking and jaw-dropping, leaving you ravenous for second helpings.  With Ballet Sun Valley’s festival offering this month, prepare to be thoroughly satiated, and debating the next morning over coffee which was the bigger thrill – contemporary ballet or your bike ride off the top of Baldy. It promises to be pretty heady stuff. READ MORE

The 1962 TV cartoon sitcom, “The Jetsons,” seems like eons ago, but it awakened our imaginations to automation and computerization in a world yet to come. We’ve now arrived. Technological advancements and innovation keep propelling smart technology, and one of the largest and fastest growing markets is home automation, or Smart Home Technology – it began with the invention of the Thermostat – which allows you to control almost every aspect of your home through the Internet of Things (IoT). Entertainment, security, utilities, and communication rank high for consumers. READ MORE

The Valley’s revered Mountain Humane has pressed on past the pandemic, and as of June 1, re-opened their animal campus to visitors. Since 1972, this institution has survived and thrived, continuing to make an enormous impact on the Wood River Valley connecting people and pets through their educational programs, neuter and spay clinics, animal training, and special events. One such event happens next month as the organization presents Brandon McMillan, Celebrity Dog Trainer, Emmy Award Winner, and seven-season host of CBS’ Lucky Dog Show, at the Argyros Performing Arts Center on Sunday, August 29, at 6:00pm.  With this exciting, family-friendly event, Mountain Humane hopes to enliven and educate the community in tandem with their vision and innovative, industry-leading services for animal welfare. READ MORE

At the end of Lewis Street in Ketchum’s industrial area, the NomadicVan.Life shop rocks with the entrepreneurial spirit of a generation moving and shaking their own world and community, with a desire to not only survive here, but thrive. Enter Gardner Cord and Ron Arnold, aka Mr. G and Rondo, savvy millennial business partners “gettin’ ‘er done,” as they like to say; carving out a niche in a mountain resort town, where to make it, requires firing on all cylinders. READ MORE

If you’ve decided to wed in the magnificent Idaho mountains, Sun Valley Resort offers venue options that will sweep you off your feet, from high altitude happily-ever-after to creek-side dancing-the-night-away. This full-service resort offers it all, allowing for simplified planning for the wedding event of your dreams. A highly trained team of professionals will help you plan the perfect celebration indoors or out, in any season, offering spectacular facilities and amenities, diverse recreation and activities, and exceptional culinary and service. READ MORE

The sun has long set on the sleepy sage and beige of ‘90’s interior design. Hard to believe that was three decades ago. When a Texas client was ready to breathe new life into that tired, dated look of their Sun Peak vacation home, Blackdog Builders went to work to transform the interior into the trendy modern of a new decade and a new century. The renovation objective was to bring about a new timeless design in a major way, the motivation being that the home would eventually become the family’s full-time residence. READ MORE

The Owners of Design Collective West are a force on the design playing field, a cohesion of innovative architecture, highly creative interior design, and exceptional business acumen. And as everyone knows in the world of sports – say football, for example – a team’s cohesion strengthens, builds and unifies, enabling a higher rate of success. Meet the husband-and-wife team of Michele and James Wheeler. It’s a power-house partnership of Michele as architect, creative lead and interior designer, and James (former college football player) as manager of the firm’s non-design-oriented facets, including finance, operations, and logistics. READ MORE

With 2020 in the rear-view mirror, never has a home base been more important to our happiness and wellbeing, our emotional stability in the face of adversity, our sense of security in a time of uncertainty. Here in our valley, a permanent home can be elusive to some in the face of an affordable housing crisis, but whether temporary, borrowed, rented or owned, all would agree our home base here in the mountains is our “base camp” – a term which Dictionary.com defines as “a main encampment providing supplies, shelter, and communications for persons engaged in wide-ranging activities, as exploring, reconnaissance, hunting, or mountain climbing.” Indeed. Defining exactly how we do life here, a work-play balance where you can make choices to step away for an hour or three, to ski, hike, bike, or fish. READ MORE

For the owner of Sister, the ties to family and friends run deep, binding together kindred hearts, minds, and creative expression. Her philosophy is that whether you’re related, or you’re one in a relational cooperative of creatives, sisterhood is a special connection all women share. It doesn’t take one long upon entering the shop and meeting Annette Frehling to discover how that thought permeates her entire world. READ MORE

The old cliché of the visiting ski bum who landed here, then figured out how to make a living, is long gone.  Today, there’s a generational shift in those leaving their mark. Young professionals come here with college completed, a lifestyle approach, and a career mindset, all centered around an outdoor playground. They’re participating in leadership throughout their communities, adding new insight and perspective, and supporting non-profits, making a difference in the lives and businesses of the Wood River Valley.  READ MORE

Balls aren’t the only thing being “racked up” in the billiards room at the Jerome Senior Center. So are laps around the pool table by a red Jazzy Power Chair. It’s why Gerald Ostler makes sure he’s got a fully charged battery each morning before he leaves his house for the Center. Not only does he need to get there to and from his house, but there’s a whole lot of pool to play each day. READ MORE

From Silver Creek to Galena, iconic images define the Wood River Valley, and many hang as art on our walls, prompting conversation of events, locations, or culture. This November, conversation should be abuzz when a novel take on iconic images and scenes – local and universal – debuts in town with a 2021 photo calendar titled Valley Girls, featuring local women business owners. The 12-month collection of eclectic wall art is a visual delight of photography and design talents produced by Goldwhip, a creative joint venture between local business owners Esther Williams, an event planner, and Halsey Pierce, a photographer, highlighting the first of their creative endeavors together. READ MORE