Carole King Is a Natural Woman in Idaho

SELLER: Carole King
LOCATION: Stanley, Idaho
PRICE: $19,000,000
SIZE: 128 acres
DESCRIPTION: ...This ranch features absolute solitude, spectacular mountain views and extensive live water running through and adjacent to it. Significant geothermal resources provide water for two natural "hot pools" and heated building including the main lodge. The ranch compound consists of a beautifully restored 7,337 sq. ft. log lodge, owner's residence on the creek, caretakers home, professional recording studio, several guest cabins and equestrian facilities. Accessible by road year-round, this ranch is only 1.25 hours north of Sun Valley, Idaho, and lies within the most spectacular mountain country in the West.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Thanks the efforts of Belinda Beaverman, who kindly sent us a link to a brief blurb in Architectural Digest, Your Mama has learned that Grammy winning singer/songwriter and Earth Momma activist extraordinaire Carole King has put her scenic and spectacular 128-acre Idaho spread on the market for a not very folksy price tag of $19,000,000.

The last time Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter saw the gorgeously frizzy haired Miz King was at the US Open where she sang and pounded the pie-ana while Anna Wintour bobbed her perfectly bobbed bob to the music and The Donald and Melania squinted down from their private box stuffed full of khaki-panted sycophants. But that's a different story for a different day.

Anyhoo, according to an interview with PBS in early 2007, Miz King has lived in the beautiful boondocks of the Idaho outback for 30 years and she works tirelessly to protect and preserve the rugged and open spaces of the wild, wild west from all the moe-rons on dirt bikes and ATVs who think nothing of shredding the pristine wilderness in the interest of good motorized fun.

Miz King may call the Idaho wilderness home, but her big ranch outside of Stanley, Idaho, is nothing less than a dee-luxe and amenity laden oasis of civilized living plunked down into the harsh heart of the craggy mountains of the Salmon-Challis National Forest, which the property listing proclaims lies within the boundaries of the 756,000 acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

The uber-rural compound is dotted with several impeccably maintained buildings including a sprawling 7,337 square foot log lodge with 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a separate recording studio with a guest apartment, as well as Miz King's personal 2 bedroom residence that overlooks Warm Springs Creek. Additionally there is a caretaker's house and eight charming and historic log cabins, including one that sits up on the scrubby hillside and offers magnificent views of the surrounding lands and a sort of solitude and isolation that would scare the bejeezis right out of many city dwellers, Your Mama included.

The interiors of the buildings appear to be all done up in a kind of log cabin chic, which isn't exactly the sort of decor Your Mama wants to call home, but we do think Miz King and her team of nice gay decorators have managed to successfully merge the rustic and the luxurious in an appropriate manner that is casual, comfortable and suitable for a ridiculously rich country bumpkin to feel cosseted and secure.

As far as Your Mama is concerned the choicest feature of this property are without doubt the two natural "hot pools" where Miz King and her guests can skinny dip in the winter time. Good times, children, good times.

Miz King's extremely expensive Western wonderland is certainly not suitable for the average Idahoan who could never afford the blistering $19,000,000 price tag. Your Mama imagines this property might appeal to a deep pocketed city sophisticate who has a deep desire to get in touch with his or her inner Grizzly Adams but wants to bring a butler and a personal chef along to smooth out the rough edges of the wilderness adventure. Or perhaps another very successful musician who thrives in isolation when making beautiful music will drop a huge wad to be able to carry on Miz King's hinterland legacy.