Frenchman's Ben(d) - Oo-la-la!

Oh, what to do today?  A Google search led to directions to Frenchman's Bend Hot Springs, just 8 miles outside Ketchum in the Sawtooth National Forest.  We wondered if the hot springs would be crowded and would it be hard to find?  No worries!  A big sign welcomed us as long as we followed the rules (see above).   Here's a picture of the empty pools, but we found them occupied by a nice young family.

We were warmly welcomed by Heidi and Alex and ther two and a half year old twins, Hazel and Claire. 

After we settled in the pool, Heidi asked Ben about his chest scar and told us that Hazel also had open heart surgery.  Hazel declined to show off her scar, but Heidi told us how they knew she had a heart defect while the twins were in utero and about the incredible doctors they had, the success of Hazel's surgery and so on.  Like Ben, Hazel was a model patient and out of the hospital in 6 days.  They are Californians who dreamt of moving to Ketchum and finally were able to do so.  They say there is no where better to raise a family, so SLO - we have some big competition!

Heidi snapped this picture of us - the water was perfect - the pool on the far right had hot spots, but the larger one was just right.  The river water, however, was icy!

When it was time to go, Hazel and Claire just took off down the road.  Mom and Dad said they do that all the time, on their own twin adventures.

Heidi also told us about the ski fence on Warm Springs Road - we sailed right past without even noticing on the way in, but on the way out, we had to stop for a gander.

Remember that I mentioned the YMCA had a 130 foot slide?  This was our reward after taking the Yoga Stretch class again.  We took a few turns on the slide and went into the hot pool after a turn in the "river".  

That's Ben's arm sticking up - I could not take the picture fast enough to get his expression, but you get the idea!

Last night was our dinner party with Kathy and Betty from SLO, out on our deck, eating on the red picnic table with our great view of Mount Baldy.  We had a classic dinner of Copper River salmon, corn on the cob and of course, the raspberry rhubarb pie from the pie ladies.  We had such a great time sharing stories, hearing about families, and past Sun Valley adventures.  We failed to take a picture last night, so we got one today:

Though not twins, these two could be imagined heading down the road together, adventure awaiting.

We also got to visit with old friend Chuck Jones and his mom, Ann.

Ann is another Sun Valley lover, coming here regularly since before 1980.  Ann told us about how she would drive the 900 miles from La Jolla to Sun Valley by leaving at 3 AM and driving her Jaguar with a heavy foot. One time she got 2 speeding tickets in one day, one in California and one in Nevada.  Another time she got off with a warning from someone she remembers well - Nevada Patrolman Simon who told her,  "Lafmdy, don't drive that fast in MY territory". Chastened, she took it easy, for a while, at least.

We can really see why people are in a hurry to get here...