Day 10: Rest day in Alpine

June 9, 2023

I got up at 8 and ate at the gun fetish cafe next door. I remember that place from 2013. It's the only place open for breakfast.

Back at the motel room I did a few chores, then took a 2 hour nap before having a late lunch from the Taco bus next to the motel.

At 2:30 I pedaled away from the motel for an excursion up the Grey's river. The Forest Road starts across US 89 from the motel. The 7 mile round trip is half unpaved.

Forest Road crossing Grey's river looking upstream.

The Grey's river is essentially unknown. It has a big flow, especially this time of year when snow is melting in the Wind River range. I took a spur road down to the river bank to see an area of rapids. It looks like it would be fun to paddle.

My motel is named 3 Rivers Motel. The Snake river flows into Alpine from the northeast. The Grey's river flows into Alpine from the southeast. The Salt river flows into Alpine from the south.

The Grey's river excursion was very green. The grass is still green. The ground is still damp. Fortunately there were no mosquitoes. They will probably hatch very soon.

Forest Road crossing Grey's river looking downstream, returning to Alpine.

I enjoyed my little excursion up the Grey's river. The hills were a bit of work, but not too much. Temperature was about 70F. Perfect. As usual the morning was sunny and the afternoon was increasingly cloudy.

Most of the traffic on the road was people towing ATV trailers. Riding ATVs and motorcycles on trails seems to be the main recreational activity. I also saw 2 vans towing raft trailers. No other cyclists, but several motorcycles.

Back in Alpine I wandered around the tiny town to take pictures. The city park is very nice. It's June 9 and the trees are still flowering. That's life at 5633 feet elevation.

Alpine isn't really much of a tourist town. The main tourist place is the large riverside RV park. My motel is small and is not really marketed to tourists. The owner keeps his NO VACANCY sign lit most of the time and rents mostly to construction workers and travelers like myself who don't have extremely high standards. It has no air conditioning.

South of Alpine is an area called Star Valley which has hundreds of luxury homes on large lots. The houses are incredibly expensive but cheaper than houses across the mountains in Jackson Hole. Here the houses cost $2 million. In Jackson Hole the houses cost $6 million.

Bank of Jackson Hole has a fancy building, of course.

US 89 goes through the middle of Alpine. The speed limit is 25 mph but traffic actually goes faster. I never needed a flag to cross the road but there might be times of day when it is needed.

Alpine is a Wyoming town, not a Mormon town. The only church in town is Baptist. It has 2 saloons and Melvin Brewing just out of town. The Bull Moose Saloon appears to be the biggest saloon. It caters to tourists.

The largest saloon in Alpine has a small tourist motel attached.

I had dinner at the bar in the smaller Grey's River Cove Saloon and Grill which is part of the RV Park. It caters more to locals and long term visitors. I ordered a bison burger to celebrate my arrival in the Cowboy State. It was decent.

I had dinner at the RV Park's restaurant/saloon.

Dinner was a bison burger, onion rings, and 2 Melvin Brewing IPA.

I had a 1 hour nap after dinner. Maybe I'm finally caught up after the sleepless night in Rexburg. In the evening I pedaled to the supermarket to buy groceries for tomorrow. On the way I looked at the Union Pacific caboose that has been repurposed as the RV park office.

The RV park's office is in this old caboose.

I stopped on the bridge to look at the Snake river in the evening sort-of sun. I will go into the canyon tomorrow morning with the low sun in my face. Now is as good as it gets.

Sunset view of the Snake river and mouth of Grey's river. Tomorrow morning I will be looking into the sun.

It was a good rest day. I enjoyed the short Grey's river excursion and wandering around the tiny town. I also enjoyed the actual lazy resting. I feel much better than I did during my rest day in Idaho Falls. I have recovered from the fatigue caused by steep grades and long distances during days 1-3.

Light rain for a short time in the evening. 3rd consecutive evening to have rain. The sky has been cloudy most of the time since I started threading into the Rocky mountains. June weather is still unstable in this region. July and August have fewer clouds, less rain.

Distance: 8.2 mi.
Average Speed: 7.1 mph
Ascent/Descent: +306/-306 ft.

Today's ride: 8 miles (13 km)
Total: 370 miles (595 km)

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