STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

It’s not uncommon for youngsters to bring stick horses to Ketchum’s Wagon Days Parade.

One-and-a-half-year-old Sloane Allen brought a stick dinosaur, a treasure she found in the Gold Mine thrift store.

“Girls love their dinos!” laughed her mother Paige Allen.

A member of the Northern Shoshoni tribe that once fished and hunted in the Wood River Valley rides past The Elephant’s Perch, the former home of Horace Lewis, who owned the Lewis Fast Freight Line.

Paige Allen grew up in the Wood River Valley but now lives in Salt Lake City. But she brings her family every year to the Wagon Days Parade.

“We love the horses,” said Paige. “Even though we live in Utah, this is home.”

“I think this parade is one of the coolest traditions—it has a small town feel with the beauty of the surrounding mountains,” said her husband Sam Allen.

And it didn’t hurt that there was plenty of eye candy for children from Paul Blair skating down the street as he juggled hula hoops to members of the Sun Valley Suns hockey team schussing down the street on skates to collect doo-dads dropped by the horses.

The Americanas make their way down Sun Valley Road.

Even Ketchum firefighters elicited the attention of youngsters as they collected money to fight muscular dystrophy in their fire boots.

The Allens were shocked this year to learn of the Wapiti Fire threatening Stanley. Even though the 94,685-acre fire, which grew by 2,000 acres on Saturday, is the nation’s top priority, it has received little publicity outside of the Wood River Valley, Boise and Twin Falls.

Smoke from the fire settled in the Wood River Valley on Thursday, blanketing Sun Valley with the worst air quality it’s seen all summer as the air quality index climbed above 200. City officials monitored the smoke with the idea that they might have to cancel the parade, said Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw.

Organizers did cancel the Queen’s Stage Race--the first day of bike rides for Rebecca’s Private Idaho. But the air quality index registered in the 100s on Friday with the smoke clearing out in the afternoon, allowing the bicyclists to compete in Friday’s Summit Time Trial up Dollarhide Summit.  By parade time on Saturday it was 69, which is considered acceptable.

Grand Marshals Julie and Will Caldwell and their grandchildren wave to people lining the road.

Rebecca’s Private Idaho Baked Potato, French Fry and Tater Tot races start at 8 a.m. today at Festival Meadow. An expo, concert and awards ceremony open to the public will follow from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Former circus performer Paul Blair juggles three hula hoops as he skates down the road.