Come mid-October the mountain towns of Ketchum and Hailey, Idaho are the setting for The Trailing of the Sheep Festival. In keeping with the century-old tradition, sheepherders move their flocks from summer pastures in the mountains north of the resort towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley, south through the Wood River Valley to winter desert grazing areas.

The Festival celebrates this tradition with a weekend of activities devoted to the rich heritage of sheep ranching in Southern Idaho. In the early 1900s, the Wood River Valley was second only to Sydney, Australia as a sheep center. This year's event runs from Oct. 10 to 12, and includes the sheep parade down Main Street Ketchum past restaurants, boutique shops, coffeehouses and hotels. Traffic halts on city streets and State Highway 75 to allow the 1,700 sheep to complete their annual trek. Residents and visitors come to watch and "trail" (walk) behind the sheep herding them through the fall afternoon reliving the slower pace of a bygone era. This year's event honors Peruvian contributions to sheep herding.