The air quality has improved so dramatically in Holden’s vicinity that he isn’t fighting his new dietary restrictions anymore. He’s more or less resigned himself to his new fate. This morning he woke up and said, “I know this doesn’t really work to my advantage to say, but it is pretty nice not to fart all the time.” Even he can’t argue with the results.

The transition was less painful at breakfast today, too, because the restaurant offered to make him some French toast out of gluten-free bread. It was close enough to pancakes to make him feel like he wasn’t being deprived of anything. I am breathing a sigh of relief because I didn’t want this to become a daily fight at every meal time.

We passed a dairy farm outside Idaho Falls that had a big sign “See Pigs Here!” We turned around and went back to check it out.

They had a neat little area off to the side of the dairy barn with two piglets, a couple of calves, some goats, sheep, and chickens. Josie was, as they say, in hog heaven. The piglets were young enough their food bowl was filled with milk and they were very friendly. They both raced over to the front of the pen for pets and scratches. One of them sneezed ick all over Josie’s pants, which totally made her day.

On the road between Idaho Falls and Arco (read: the middle of nowhere) is the EBR-1 (Experimental Breeder Reactor 1) — the world’s first nuclear power plant. It was way more cool than you might imagine.

Isabella’s and my first stop was the ladies room, which contained a big cabinet over the toilet filled with dozens of free tampons and maxi pads. I was thinking, “what exactly does this place do to women?”

It was called a “breeder” reactor because uranium-235 (which is highly fissionable) strikes uranium-238 (non-fissionable) which then absorbs extra neutrons and turns into plutonium-239. Plutonium-239 is a good reactor fuel. “Thus, EBR-1 was a breeder because it ‘bred’ more plutonium-239 atoms than the uranium atoms it consumed.” The plant was incredibly safe, but never became a popular energy choice because of perceived danger and potential long-term environmental damage. Badly designed plants (Chernobyl and Three Mile Island) freaked people out.

The kids’ big take-away from this tour was, “Oh, so this is like where Homer works.” (Their eyes glazed over when I started reading about uranium-235 and plutonium-239. “Nooooo, not educational! It’s summer vacation!”)

Experimental Breeder Reactor – 1 – the world’s first Nuclear power plant. Electricity was first generated in 1951 at the (at the time) highly secret and remote location. Shortly afterwards, the nearby town of Arco was the first city to receive its power via the steam driven turbines in this building.
The building is now de-commissioned, de-radiated and opened up as a very neat (and still very remote) museum. Everything is pretty much left as it was when it was shut down in 1964.

Holden doing his best Homer Simpson Sector 7-G Technical Supervisor/ Supervising Technician imitation.

From there on to the Craters of the Moon National Preserve.  There are about 1100 sq. miles of lava fields to play on, in and around – all are recent arrivals (geologically) bubbling up from 2000-15000 years ago.

Josie and her little bottom struggling to climb back up one of the hills. Everybody was covered in black dust and the car really needs a good vacuuming now.

It was very windy and very steep on some of the lava rock hills. The girls were leaning forward and “flying” down the steep descents.

Sun Valley Lodge is where Ernest Hemingway stayed in 1939, in room 206, to finish writing For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Sun Valley Lodge

Hemingway is not my cup of tea. I was forced to slog through several of his works in high school and college, and it just never clicked. His favorite topics include war, bull fighting, and screwing women; topics that I find range from boring or downright distasteful. (Adam:  Throw in drinking and smoking and I call that a life well lived.)  Suffice it to say, I am not Ernest Hemingway’s intended audience. He is, however, one of Adam’s favorite authors of all time. Sun Valley Lodge is for Adam is what The Stanley was for me.

The Lodge is one of the nicest hotels we’ve ever stayed in, and we were on the “losers” 3rd floor. The swanky people get rooms on the 2nd floor which looks like it could quite easily accommodate Queen Elizabeth.

They have a year-round outdoor ice rink for all your summer ice skating needs, and a heated outdoor pool for all your winter outdoor swimming needs. Someone comes by your room at bedtime with little boxes of imported chocolates, all wrapped up in gold ribbons.

Room 206, where Hemingway stayed, is a suite at the end of the hall on the 2nd floor. I don’t know how one gets that room (or if it is available at all.) Staying in that room would be really cool if it could be managed. Hemingway’s publicist invested in Sun Valley and is the person who got Hemingway to go there, hoping that his celebrity status would lure other folks out. (It worked.) We’re guessing Hemingway got everything free.

Hemingway loved Sun Valley so much that he and his fourth wife bought a house there. Hemingway only lived in it about three years before he killed himself. He’d been suffering depression and sought help by the best doctors at the time — and the newest, best treatment happened to be electro-shock therapy. In short, his brain was thoroughly addled and his friends pointed out to him that he was going crazy. Knowing that he was losing his mind, he decided to go out on his own terms while he still had the wits necessary to do it.

He is buried in the Ketchum Cemetery. We visited his grave. It’s a beautiful burial site, right under some big trees and alongside his wife, Mary. People leave coins and bottles of absinth on his gravestone.

Adam: I wanted to visit Ernest Hemingway’s grave at the Ketchum cemetery. As a tribute, I left one of the Chinese 1 Yuan coins that ended up in my change basket from some transaction in Yellowstone. (By the way, we were often the only Occidentals within 100 mile radius there..) The coin is about quarter sized and I had spent several days trying to sneak it back into circulation (car wash, candy machine) without success. Now, it rests with Ernest. Holden is adding to the penny stack.

Overall, we were so impressed with Sun Valley that we’re fantasizing about saving up and making a week-long vacation out in sometime in the future. From what we understand, going in the summer is more affordable than winter because it’s primarily a ski resort. It’s definitely a “save up for it” destination, though.

Downtown Ketchum, the adjoining town to Sun Valley