from the editor // insight
road trip Take a road trip and find your inner Western spirit, pick a Western festival from around the state (page 38) or follow our seasonal rodeo coverage this summer online with blogs and photos at sunvalleymag.com.
his issue of Sun Valley Magazine is dedicated to the Western spirit, which means a whole lot more than just donning a Stetson, some spurs and a pair of cowboy boots. It’s a way of life and a state of being, especially here in Idaho. Based upon the men and women featured on these pages of our special Old West / New West issue, it also represents a deep knowledge of your true self, of what you are made of and where you can take yourself, even if that direction is at times an unknown. Sometimes the track leads you right back home, which was the case with local Bellevue boy and high-flying extreme snowmobiler and X-Game veteran Isaac Sherbine (page 72). After years spent harnessing the raw power of competitive snowmobiling, Isaac focused his pioneering spirit on another vein running deep in his blood and returned home to help on the multi-generational Sherbine ranch in Bellevue. And like our featured cover story on actor, filmmaker and producer Clint Eastwood (read our interview on page 76), who is the onscreen embodiment of a determined, yet unfettered and certainly unapologetic version of the Old West, we found that the spirit of the West carries no pretense. It doesn’t sugar coat the truth and it doesn’t hide behind it either. It is genuine, original, unencumbered. These are men and women who speak their minds and follow their dreams, no matter what course that may take. They are men like David Stoecklein (page 77) working passionately to capture a piece of what the West represents on film. Men like Galen Hanselman (page 74), who flies fearlessly into backcountry airstrips, charting a course on his way for those who will follow, or women like Haillie Taylor (page 71), a top rodeo competitor who is dedicated to her sport and way of life. In searching for individuals and events to feature on the pages of this special issue we discovered Idahoans like legendary folk singer Rosalie Sorrels (page 30), who made an international impact and yet happily returned home to live in the cabin her father built in the mountains of Idaho. What is the embodiment of the Western spirit? It seems to be a state of mind. An independence that isn’t so much demanded, as it is just quietly followed on its own. Sometimes, as in the case of many covered on these pages—and so many more that we just didn’t have room to include—it is the epitome of a pioneering spirit. These are forerunners, with a willingness to pick up the tools of the trade and boldly go where no others have gone before. Gem State resident and Red Bull athlete Miles Daisher (The High-Flying Adventures of Idahoan Miles Daisher, page 84) is perhaps the perfect embodiment of our concept of the New West, as he pushes the frontier of B.A.S.E. jumping, wingsuit flying and sky-yaking, creating a new dialogue for the sport in the process. In the end, the spirit of the West is much more than an image, an ensemble or a thought. It is the willingness to take action on the impulse toward self-determination and the resolve to stay true to it throughout. So here is our tribute to all things Western—old and new, each authentic. We tip our hats to you and kick up our heels in celebration—thank you for keeping that spirit alive.
Laurie Sammis publisher
18 sunvalleymag.com | Summer 2013
/ editor in chief
laurie sammis : five b studios
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