June 3, 2023
Day 4: American Falls to Blackfoot
Today is another long day and I'm starting the day feeling fatigued. Fortunately the terrain is now much flatter. I got away from the Airbnb at 8:30 but then stopped at the cafe downtown. Finally away from the town of American Falls at 9:30 under brilliant blue sky.
Just outside of town ID 39 crosses American Falls dam. The northbound 2 lanes are at the top of the dam. The southbound 2 lanes are lower.
Total height of the concrete dam is 94 feet but it looks like the river is only about 60 feet below the road on top of the dam.
The original American Falls on the Snake river was a series of 6-15 foot tall basalt cliffs that dropped a total of 50 feet over a short distance. The modern dam appears to be built on top of the lava dam.
The town of American Falls was platted in the 1880's adjacent to the natural lava dam that made local irrigation extremely easy. In 1923 the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation seized 3/4 of the town, not without a fight. That area is now either under water or under the dam.
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The dam is not super tall but it creates a huge reservoir because the surrounding terrain is relatively flat. The reservoir can provide some flood control but the main purpose is a stable water supply for the Gravity canal and various other irrigation canals.
I stopped to enjoy the view at the picnic area next to the dam. While there a woman approached me and asked if I know where is American Falls, the waterfall. I said that the surrounding hills make me think the falls is now under the dam. Then she said "I did a Google image search for American Falls and saw pictures of an amazing waterfall. It looks like Niagara Falls!"
I laughed and told her that American Falls is the name of the U.S. portion of Niagara Falls. It has the same name but is nowhere near here.
For the first few miles leaving American Falls, my only option is the state highway ID 39. My plan was to go east on farm roads when they became available. But I stayed on ID 39 because it has low traffic and a wide shoulder with extremely smooth, fast pavement. The traffic lanes had a layer of chip-seal and the farm roads are all chip-seal. I was probably 2 mph faster on the smooth old pavement. Plus, I want to see the farm town of Aberdeen. It's the only real town on today's route.
The city limit sign says population 1994. Aberdeen is quite remote because it's on the opposite side of the reservoir from Pocatello. It's the only real town on this side of the reservoir. The town seems to be doing well.
Of course Aberdeen has a big LDS church. I also saw an abandoned church that probably wasn't LDS. I was stunned to see broken windows-the only broken windows I saw on the entire tour.
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Aberdeen added welcome variety to a day of pedaling through farms. It was too early for lunch, though. There were no services later in the day. The temperature peaked at about 70F when I was in Aberdeen. Building clouds caused the temperature to be in the 60's all afternoon.
In Aberdeen I turned off of ID 39 and followed farm roads for the remainder of the day. Traffic was very light. The pavement is slow chip-seal, but the terrain is nearly flat.
I followed farm roads that go closest to the reservoir. I wanted to take a scenery and rest stop when I got close to the water, but there were too many insects near the water. The wind is relatively calm today. So I only stopped to take pictures.
Early in the afternoon my gentle south tailwind shifted to a gentle north headwind. Clouds started building. I could sometimes see rain in the mountains but there was no rain in the valley. I enjoyed the wide open valley views.
I passed miles and miles of irrigated farms but saw no houses, no driveways, no mailboxes. Almost no traffic. It was great cycling except for the newly acquired headwind.
I also got a flat tire. The only flat of the tour. An unexpected delay caused by a nearly invisible wire.
I had my final views of the reservoir near the little village of Springfield. This is the upper reaches of the reservoir where it's not very wide or deep.
Springfield is nearly a ghost town. Maybe 10 houses occupied. It has a lakeside bar but no other businesses.
North of Springfield I crossed the Snake river on a dilapidated old bridge. It's nice to see a flowing river again.
My back roads route into Blackfoot is great for cycling. Flat terrain, no traffic, great irrigated farm scenes. All the traffic is on I-15.
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I was in irrigated farms all the way to the city of Blackfoot. I never saw any signs about the Indian reservation. It must be on the other side of town.
I didn't miss any turns or take any detours, but today ended up being 5 miles longer than expected. The long distance, afternoon headwind, and flat tire made this a very long day. I arrived in Blackfoot at 6:45 PM.
Today had no steep grades, so I was able to pedal lightly all day. It was less strenuous than the previous 3 days but still very long. I'm very fatigued and in need of a rest day, but still have another short flat travel day before the scheduled rest day in Idaho Falls.
Tonight's home is Best Western Blackfoot. Dinner at Tommy Vaughn's Grill a block away.
Distance: 58.9 mi.
Average Speed: 8.8 mph
Ascent/Descent: +652/-581 ft.
Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 202 miles (325 km)
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West of the Cascade range the normal pattern is cloudy mornings and sunny afternoons. The inland northwest and northern Rocky mountains have the opposite pattern. Sunny mornings and cloudy afternoons.
1 year ago