Sky Ride offers new lift at Western Idaho Fair

BOISE, Idaho (CBS 2) — There are plenty of ways to go fast and furious at the Western Idaho Fair but the Sky Ride offers a different approach, leisurely lifting people over the fair at a mile and a half an hour so they can check out all the action from above.

"It's just kind of laid back, you take your time, and enjoy the view," said Bob Batista, Expo Idaho director. "It's not the Zipper by any means, but it's fun and comfortable. It'll be opening up on Friday, Channel 2 Day."

Sky Ride, which skiers and snowboarders will say looks just like a chairlift, is 1,300 feet long with 74 cars and padded seats (so don't worry about burning your bottom in the heat).

Its nickname is the Fair in the Air but it's not all that's new this year.

"We've got several different dog acts this year, this community loves dogs," said Batista. "Splash Dogs is one, and the Fido Five Hundred is back again."

So there will be new rides, more animals and fresh acts but the same old fun.

The hard work now is getting everything set up in these blistering temperatures.

"Everybody is doing this in shifts," Batista said. "They start early in the morning when it's cool. At 2 pm, they're out for siesta and back in the evening when it cools down."

Now if you miss a ride on the Sky Ride this year at the fair, don't worry: it'll be here for 30 years.

That's right.

Thirty years, that's what the lease calls for. So you can start planning now.

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