June 7, 2023
Day 8: Rexburg to Swan Valley
I felt surprisingly decent in the morning considering how little sleep I got last night. I left the Super 8 motel at 8 AM after a very unsatisfying breakfast. I'm starting earlier than usual to hopefully miss late afternoon rain.
My first stop was 5 blocks east in the downtown area. I wasn't impressed. The downtown area isn't very charming, historic, or attractive.
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The county courthouse resembles the courthouse in my county. Madison county Idaho is the most-Mormon county in the U.S. More than 90% of the county residents are members of the LDS church. This really is the northern capital of the Mormon belt.
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The gradual uphill becomes a steep grade to get from downtown to Brigham Young University-Idaho. The sun was shining brightly but the morning was still cool. I didn't find a photogenic gateway sign to the university. I pedaled a path through most of the campus. Steady uphill.
Brigham Young University-Idaho is both new and old. The original school was called Bannock Stake Academy, founded in 1888. The name changed to Ricks Academy in 1902. In 1923 it converted from a high school to a college. By 1999 Ricks College had grown to become the largest private junior college in the nation. In 2001 it was upgraded to Brigham Young University-Idaho. The university web site says that BYU-I has an enrollment of more than 32,000 students who come from all 50 states and 80 countries.
The university web site doesn't describe the academic specialties but does brag about cheap tuition. BYU-I annual tuition is only $4418, compared to the U.S. average of $10,388 at public universities and $38,185 at private universities. That suggests that the LDS church subsidizes 80% of the costs at BYU-I. There is a tangible financial benefit for tolerating the Honor Code and relentless indoctrination.
School did not appear to be in session. I only saw a few people walking around. Parking lots were mostly empty. I stopped to take a picture of the Spencer W. Kimball Building. I know about that guy. He was a long-term church president who radically transformed the LDS church when he had a revelation in 1977 that God doesn't mind if the church ordains dark-skinned priests.
By coincidence, Spencer W. Kimball had this revelation just days before a new LDS temple opened in Sao Paulo. Brasil doesn't keep precise records of who is black and who isn't black. The rule excluding blacks from the priesthood just wouldn't work there. Fortunately God came to the rescue and revealed that blacks are okay. God was racist when he revealed himself to Joseph Smith, but now he's less racist. The 1977 revelation said blacks should be allowed, but it didn't repudiate theology that white skin is the most delightsome to God.
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My final tourist stop in Rexburg was at the LDS temple adjacent to the BYU-I campus. This temple is relatively new, dedicated in 2008, and is larger than most LDS temples. Rexburg has a huge LDS population and needs many Ordinance rooms for eternal weddings, baptisms of living and dead people, priesthood rites, etc.
I have never been in a LDS temple because non-members are not allowed inside. Non-members are only allowed to tour a temple before the temple is dedicated. A new LDS temple is under construction near me in Eugene, Oregon. I might attend one of the pre-dedication public tours just to see what temples look like inside.
After leaving the temple I went straight downhill on University Avenue to have breakfast #2 at McDonalds. There are no stores or restaurants on today's route and the motel breakfast wasn't very satisfying.
I pedaled south out of Rexburg to re-connect with the Snake river. Steady uphill. The gradient is increasing as the river gets closer to the mountains.
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Today's route follows back roads east of the Snake river for several miles, including 3 miles of gravel roads.
The back road has views of the Snake river but there is a canal between the road and the river.
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This is where the Snake river emerges from a mountain canyon and enters the big valley. It's the first place where it's practical to build canals to divert water to farms. In only 3 miles I passed head gates for 6 large canals. The river is so deep that the canals connect directly to the flowing river. No small reservoir needed to ensure a steady flow of water into the canal. Right now the river level is so high that the canal head gates have to be mostly closed to prevent too much water from entering the canals.
I crossed the river on the Heise bridge which is at the turnoff to Heise hot springs. I hoped to have a quick soak there, but decided that today's progress is too slow to have time for a soak. And it's supposed to rain in the late afternoon. I don't want to be on the road too late today.
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I didn't know that my back road passes 6 canal head gates. After pedaling past canals for a week, I'm glad to get the opportunity to see where and how the canals begin.
Climbing begins in earnest when I turned away from the canals and climbed up to US 26.
The early morning was totally sunny, but clouds rapidly built up during the day. By noon it was mostly cloudy. The temperature peaked at about noon at 70F. It was chilly by late afternoon. I had a southwest tailwind all day. Gentle at first but much stronger in the afternoon.
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I will be on US 26 for most of the remainder of this tour. It's relatively busy but does have a usable paved shoulder. The loud truck and RV traffic was kind of a shock after several days on quiet farm roads.
In one area I pedaled on the wrong side of the highway to enjoy the view of the Snake river below.
I took a long stop at the highway rest area. It has many walking paths. I have been here before in a car. The view seemed better a few years ago. Growing trees are obstructing the view.
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This afternoon I still have views of farms but the farms are no longer connected to irrigation canals. These are "dry" farms that rely on rainfall to grow crops.
The sky became increasingly cloudy as I threaded into the mountains. The weather forecast calls for rain starting at 4 PM.
I planned to take an unpaved 3 mile round trip detour to Fall Creek falls. I had enough time and energy to do that, but decided it would be wise to try to beat the rain instead. It was the correct decision.
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I got a big chuckle seeing a sign that says "No Stopping on Bridge". Of course I stopped on the bridge. Stopping on bridges is one of the unique benefits of traveling by bicycle.
I could see rain ahead. The rain appears to be stationary and I am pedaling towards it.
Light rain started 10 minutes before I arrived in Swan Valley. I was barely wet when I got to my cabin. The rain continued for another 2 hours. I was glad I skipped the hot spring and waterfall and wasn't still on the road.
I arrived at Sleepy J Cabins at 4:40 PM. By then the temperature had dropped to 62F. My cabin is very spacious with a separate living room, bedroom, and kitchen. It was still raining when I pedaled 0.3 miles to the restaurant at 6 PM.
I performed well today considering the sleepless night. Today had more climbing than the previous 4 days but the maximum grade was 4%. I felt reasonably strong. I seem to be recovering from the extreme fatigue that I felt on day 5.
I am still in Idaho but am now on the edge of the Mormon Belt. Swan Valley has an LDS church but is mainly a tourist village. The remainder of the tour will be in the Yellowstone/Grand Tetons "Tourist Belt".
Distance: 47.7 mi.
Average Speed: 7.8 mph
Ascent/Descent: +1793/-1403 ft.
Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 329 miles (529 km)
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