Day 1: St. George to Hurricane

May 8, 2022

The day started at a casino/motel in Mesquite, Nevada on I-15, 40 miles southwest of St. George. I drove to the Enterprise Rent a Car property on the north side of St. George. The office is closed on weekends, so I parked the car and dropped the keys in a drop box. Simple.

The bike tour started at the Enterprise Rent a Car lot about 10 blocks east of downtown St. George. I didn't start until 10:30 because of the drive and the time zone change crossing into Utah. I pedaled west to downtown to see the Pioneer Washington County Courthouse and Brigham Young's winter home. Then the St. George Tabernacle and the St. George Temple. All very close together.

Washington County Pioneer Courthouse was constructed from 1866 to 1876.

Brigham Young's winter home was constructed from 1869 to 1873. It was Brigham Young's winter home until his death in 1877.

St. George Tabernacle was constructed from 1873 to 1876. Designed by Miles Romney, an ancestor of Mitt Romney.

St. George Temple, oldest existing LDS Temple, constructed from 1872 to 1877. The grounds are closed because restoration is ongoing.

Top of St. George Temple. The rear still has scaffolding but most of the exterior restoration is complete.

Two downtown intersections were barricaded because of roundabout construction, and some street blocks were barricaded because of the St. George IronMan triathlon which started this morning. Downtown St. George was far more full of people than usual on a Sunday morning.

Huge corral of expensive bikes waiting for the cycling stage of the triathlon.

From downtown St. George I pedaled 3 miles south across town to the Virgin river trail. I followed the trail 8 miles upstream, from central St. George to a rural area. The trail was busy at first. Many cyclists, electric scooters, and moms pushing strollers designed for one infant and one toddler. Far more young parents and young children than I am accustomed to seeing. More couples and fewer solo cyclists and walkers than I am accustomed to seeing.

In central St. George the Virgin River trail is mostly below clifftop homes.

This dam on the Virgin river provides good swimming opportunities.

The Virgin river trail is perfectly clean. No trash anywhere. No broken glass. No cigarette butts. I appreciate that. The streets of St. George were also almost perfectly clean.

The Virgin River trail has two long boardwalks.

The east end of the trail has more red rock and fewer users.

At the end of the trail I wanted to pedal south on dirt roads to get to make a big loop around red rock cliffs. Unfortunately the first several miles of my planned dirt road route isn't actually a road. The first part is a OHV area that is just loose sand. Beyond that is a 2 mile long construction project that will eventually be 2100 homes.

Getting around the big hills to the rideable dirt road was no longer an option. And today is so windy that riding a long red dirt road might be very unpleasant. Instead, I reluctantly pedaled UT 7 to Hurricane. It's Sunday so there were no trucks. But there was a lot of recreational traffic. UT 7 is a 2-lane expressway with the other half of a 4-lane expressway graded, but not built. It has a lot of long 6 percent grades.

I like this red outcropping that seemingly pops up out of nowhere.

Red sand blown onto the road below. High wind and blowing sand degraded visibility.

A few places had sand drifting across the road. Mostly moving close to the ground, but sometimes swirling much higher.

Fancy overpass built for a nonexistent crossroad where St. George wants to build thousands of new houses.

Tonight's destination is old town Hurricane but I pedaled 1.5 miles beyond it to see the St. George river canyon from the La Verkin bridge. It has a good view in both directions.

Virgin river canyon looking upstream towards Zion National Park.

Virgin river canyon looking downstream towards St. George and the Pacific ocean.

It was uphill all the way from the bridge back to downtown Hurricane.

How many Mormons does it take to clean up debris on Sunday?

The city of Hurricane was founded in 1906 when the Hurricane Canal was completed to supply irrigation water diverted from the Virgin river.

Tonight's home is Hurricane Hideaway Lodge which is just north of Pioneer Park in the old town area. Directly behind my motel room is a small cabin that is part of Pioneer Park. It was built in 1906 and is the oldest house in Hurricane (they pronounce it HURRI-kun).

Pioneer Park in Hurricane. Utah is obsessed with pioneer history.

This tiny 1906 cabin in Pioneer Park is the oldest house in Hurricane.

Today had a high temperature of 80F/27C. Yesterday the temperature was 93F/34C when I drove through Las Vegas. The wind was very strong in the afternoon, probably 20-30 mph from the southwest. A cool front is passing through. The wind will die down soon but the temperature will be much cooler for several days.

I foolishly started without any food. I was famished when I arrived in Hurricane because I passed exactly zero convenience stores and restaurants along my route. Even if I did, they would probably be closed on Sunday. Convenience stores are quite rare in Mormon country because they mostly sell things that Mormons don't buy such as tobacco, coffee, and beer. Restaurants are somewhat rare because Mormon culture favors family home-cooked meals.

Hurricane Hideaway Lodge has 8 rooms and no on-site office. I was given the door code by text message. All the restaurants in the downtown area were closed. Dinner came from the Maverik convenience store 2 blocks away. Fortunately Hurricane is big enough to have a convenience store. It's a sprawling and fast growing town that is essentially a suburb of St. George.

Distance: 39.5 mi. (63 km)
Ascent/Descent: +2119/-1508 ft. (+646/-460 m)
Average Speed: 8.9 mph (14.2 km/h)
Miles 0-31 on the route map

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 40 miles (64 km)

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Kelly IniguezInteresting comment about the lack of convenience stores in Utah and the reasons why. I will have to pay attention this summer.
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2 years ago

Charmaine RuppoltAck - no restaurants or convenience stores along your ride - - not a good thing, especially when it's hot. I always carry "emergency rations" in my bags when touring...just in case! :)
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1 year ago