May 16, 2022
Day 9: Ephraim to Payson
It already felt warm when I got on the road at 9:25. That's a nice change. Today will be long but relatively flat.
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I made several photo stops on the way out of Ephraim.
The Carnegie Library was a nice treat. It's well preserved, still used as a library.
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Downtown Ephraim is sleepy. No major stores. No bank. Theatre closed.
I pedaled out of Ephraim on US 89. A couple miles north of town I veered left onto UT 132. Both roads are quite busy. Cycling was more pleasant for about 4 uphill miles coming into Moroni on Feed Mill road.
Moroni (long I) is a small town and appears to be struggling. I stopped for an early lunch at a Mexican restaurant that had huge signs on the doors saying "Drugs and Alcohol strictly prohibited on the premises". I wonder why that was needed in a sleepy Mormon town? Troublesome migrant workers? The restaurant doesn't even serve tea-they are consistent about the no drugs policy.
Moroni is an angel that is reported to have visited Joseph Smith multiple times in the 1820's in New York. Moroni was the guardian of the golden plates that Joseph Smith translated into the Book of Mormon. A gold statue of Moroni is on top of LDS temples.
The angel Moroni is very important to Mormons. But the town of Moroni is not an important town.
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Almost everything in Moroni is more than 100 years old. The town has been struggling for a long time.
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After Moroni UT 132 climbs steadily to get around the southern flank of the Wasatch mountains. 1-2% grade, climbing 750 feet to a 6337 foot summit. Easy, even with a headwind. The headwind helps keep me cool.
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After the summit is a 1100 foot descent to Nephi (long E, long I). Also only 1-2% grade. It was easy for animal-powered wagons to cross between the Sanpete valley and Utah valley.
The temperature was 84F when I got to Nephi. I pedaled through downtown looking for an ice cream shop, but there was none. A couple miles later I got a milk shake from a local burger shop on the edge of town.
The town of Nephi is named after a revered figure in the Mormon historical narrative. Nephi and his brother Laman were Israelites, sons of Lehi. The narrative states that a few years after Jesus Christ was crucified, God commanded the family to build a ship and sail to the Promised Land. The narrative states that they landed in North America, prospered, and multiplied. But after Lehi died there was a civil war between followers of Nephi and followers of Laman. Nephi's followers are described as the godly tribe and Laman's followers are described as the evil tribe. The narrative says that the Lamanites killed all 230,000 of the Nephites, and that God's punishment to the Lamanites was to give them dark skin. The Mormon historical narrative says that today's dark-skinned indigenous peoples are descendants of the evil Lamanites.
Never mind that science has proven conclusively that Indigenous North Americans have east Asian DNA and no middle-eastern DNA. Never mind that archaeologists have found no relics in North America left behind by ancient Hebrew tribes. And never mind that the Mormon historical narrative is extremely racist. The narrative about Nephites and Lamanites was the justification for the LDS church banning dark-skinned people from the priesthood until 1978, when LDS leader/prophet Spencer W. Kimball had a revelation that God is no longer racist.
For most of Mormon history scholars believed that Joseph Smith originated the "black ban", but recent scholarship indicates that it was started by his successor Brigham Young who was also the first LDS prophet to publicly endorse polygamy. Joseph Smith was a "closet" polygamist who secretly married 47 teenage girls. But he publicly denied it and viciously attacked critics who correctly accused him of polygamy. Polygamy didn't become official LDS doctrine until 8 years after Joseph Smith was murdered.
North of Nephi my route is very close to I-15. It's part rural and part fringe suburban, with the usual entitled, impatient drivers. The last 2 hours of today's ride was suburban style traffic. I'm approaching the Salt Lake City/Provo metro area. Fortunately there were no rumble strips.
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Coming into Payson I had my first good views of the Wasatch range. I will pedal the entire length of the Wasatch range.
In Payson I detoured a few blocks off the highway to see the Payson Temple. Only one gate was open. The front of the temple was in the shade. The temple was deserted. The huge parking lot was empty.
Architecturally, the Payson Temple doesn't really stand out. It's sort of the standard design for the newest LDS temples.
One thing I like about Payson Temple is that every side looks somewhat different.
Payson is the third temple on my tour route. The first half of the tour takes me to only 3 temples. The second half of the tour will take me to 10 temples.
I will stay 2 nights at Quality Inn in Payson. More expensive than most Quality Inns, but also much nicer, with a good breakfast and indoor pool. The motel apologized in case I might be offended, but recommended Wee Blu Inn Bar and Grill for dinner. I had a good dinner with the sinners.
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The evening was surprisingly warm. Almost like summer, but I know it won't last long. Another cold front is coming.
Today was very long. I'm ready for a rest day.
Distance: 68.7 mi. (110 km)
Average Speed: 10.5 mph (16k)
Ascent/Descent: 1765/-45 ft. (+538/-776 m)
Miles 284-345 on the route map
Today's ride: 69 miles (111 km)
Total: 390 miles (628 km)
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2 years ago