Day 14: Bountiful to Brigham City

May 21, 2022

Today is a long and interesting day. I hoped to get an early start but didn't get on the road until 9:50. It was 50F and totally sunny, temperature rising.

The first half of today's ride is mostly on the Denver & Rio Grande Western rail trail. It's very flat and straight, but has many grade level crossings of busy multi-lane roads.

The art theme appears to be Rock Stars. I didn't see a Donny Osmond rock. He's a little bit rock and roll.

Every road crossing has labyrinth gates on both sides of the road. It obviously keeps motorists from driving on the trail. It also prevents distracted cyclists from pedaling onto a busy road without stopping to look. But it also requires cyclists to make a sharp S-turn when starting to cross the road, and another sharp S-turn on the opposite side of the road. If you hurry to cross a 4-lane road in a small gap in traffic, you then have to panic brake to negotiate the gates on the opposite side of the road. With my recumbent it was difficult to do the S-turns without bumping into a gate or going off the edge of the pavement afterwards. I am certain that cyclists routinely get minor injuries when negotiating the gates. But it prevents them from getting killed on the road.

Labyrinth gate on both sides of every road crossing.

I stopped to admire the biggest model railroad I've ever seen. It's about 5 acres. The track gauge is about 12 inches. The setup has trestles, a tunnel, and even a miniature LDS Temple.

The trail has occasional mountain views. But mostly it just goes through endless suburbia. I didn't ride all of the trail. I'm not sure how far north it goes.

The name Denver & Rio Grande Western trail is long and cumbersome. The trail is also informally known as the Golden Spoke trail because it's only a few miles east of Golden Spike National Monument, where the first transcontinental railroad was completed.

I turned off the rail trail in Ogden because I have another temple to see. Coming into Ogden I pedaled 3 miles on the Greenway trail along the Weber river. River on the right, industrial and commercial properties on the left. I remember seeing the Weber river in 2013 on the opposite side of the Wasatch Range.

There is surely an interesting story about what prompted the lower sign.

The trail helps me avoid a few traffic lights and see much more of the Weber river.

Coming into downtown Ogden I had a good view of the historic Union Pacific freight depot. I imagine it was very busy for most of Ogden's history.

Ogden's historic Union Pacific freight yard. Weber State University in the distance.

Downtown Ogden looks nice. It's smaller than Salt Lake City but more Mormon. Very clean and tidy for a city of 88,000.

I don't know what is sold at Missionary Stores besides Mormon underwear. White shirts? Black pants and shoes? Bicycles?

My main destination in downtown Ogden is the Ogden Temple. It was dedicated in 1972, the first new temple in Utah since the Salt Lake City temple in 1893.

Ogden Temple traditional design, completed in 2014.

Ogden Temple is the only LDS temple that I know of that was completely redesigned on the outside. The original Ogden temple was one of two round modern LDS temples that opened in 1972. The design was so unpopular that the church spent a fortune to completely rebuild the exterior. Underground parking was also added. Surprisingly, the interior design changed very little during the renovation.

Original modern design of Ogden Temple from 1972-2010.

After the Ogden Temple I continued north on US 89 through seemingly endless sprawl in Ogden and North Ogden.

First old brick Mormon house I've seen in days.

I pedaled from Ogden to Brigham City on busy US 89. It has a good paved shoulder. North of Ogden the Wasatch Range starts to fade away.

The Wasatch Range is getting smaller as I travel north.

Tonight's destination is Brigham City. I have driven I-15 past the Brigham City exit a few times, but had never been into the town. It's amazing, with a Tabernacle, Temple, Courthouse, and a very charming downtown area.

On the south side of downtown the Tabernacle and Temple face each other on opposite sides of Main Street.

1876 Box Elder Tabernacle in Brigham City.

Awesome masonry at Box Elder Tabernacle.

Brigham City Temple is fairly new but the architecture resembles the 19th century LDS temples, with multiple spires and many windows. I think it looks great. It's big!

Brigham City Temple was dedicated in 2012. The design resembles the oldest temples.

Brigham City Temple. Two spires is somewhat rare.

Downtown Brigham City was a pleasant surprise. The overhead sign adds considerably to the charm.

Downtown Brigham City was a delightful surprise.

Brigham City is the county seat of Box Elder county. Population 14,000. It's close to I-15, a one hour drive north of Salt Lake City. But it's a farm town, not a suburb.

Brigham City Municipal Building and Box Elder County Courthouse.

The overhead sign adds to the charm of downtown Brigham City.

Tonight's home is Hampton Inn on the north side of downtown Brigham City. I arrived just before 7 PM. It was a long day with many stops. Finally my lodging is close enough to the historic buildings to see them during the twilight hours. I was tired, but very motivated to walk around downtown after sunset.

Construction foiled my plan to see the Salt Lake Temple lit up at night. Tonight is my first chance to see a temple at night.

Rear of Brigham City Temple. Front of Tabernacle in the distance.

I didn't know about the tabernacle until I got here. It was a surprise. I also didn't know about the tabernacle in St. George. My advance research focused on temples only. Historic tabernacles weren't on my radar screen, even though I saw one in 2013 in Randolph, Utah.

The sky had lost its color by the time I got back to the courthouse near the motel. There's only so many minutes in the magic hour.

Brigham City might be the best surprise of the tour. I didn't expect it to be so interesting.

Today had a high temperature of 63F. Much warmer than yesterday but still below normal. The morning was sunny but the afternoon was mostly cloudy as usual. The clouds dissipated in the evening as usual. The northwest headwind was mild, never a nuisance.

Distance: 55.1 mi. (88.2 km)
Average Speed: 9.7 mph (15.5 km/h)
Ascent/Descent: +1257/-1085 ft. (+383/-331 m)
Miles 466-517 on the route map

Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 583 miles (938 km)

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