June 2, 2023
Day 3: Burley to American Falls
The thrill is gone. I'm now in a wide farm valley. No more Snake river canyon.
I got up at 8 and on the road at 9:30 when the temperature was above 50F.
On my way out of Burley I wandered around downtown for a few minutes. It looks very sleepy, not as prosperous at Twin Falls.
Burley is a very Mormon town. It doesn't have a LDS temple but one is in the planning stages.
I passed a golf country club going east from downtown, so there must be a few wealthy people. Just east of the golf club I crossed the wide Snake river on a surprisingly low bridge. The river level must be well regulated by upstream dams.
I stayed near the river for about 20 miles going east from Burley. I was surprised how many McMansion homes are built on the country roads near the river. The farm areas were more populated than I expected.
Traffic was quite light, though. I'm mostly on farm roads, seldom need to get on a main highway. Traffic is mostly farm trucks. No big rigs, no impatient commuters. It was pleasant cycling.
I crossed many canals of varying sizes. The photo below shows a medium sized canal. Some canals are smaller and the main Gravity canal is larger. Most canals have an access road on at least one side. Farmers need to inspect and adjust the floodgates regularly.
Later I crossed the Snake river on still another long and surprisingly low bridge. The river is huge, but apparently controlled enough that the bridge doesn't need to be very high. The flow is quite high now. There is still massive snow melt. In September the flow would be much smaller.
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I had in mind to ride 4 miles on the Gravity Canal access road, but I pedaled only 1/4 mile and turned around to return to pavement. The gravel was getting gradually more loose and washboarded. I'm glad I gave up on the gravel because this turned out to be a very long day.
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I stopped on a bridge that crosses the Gravity Canal. Starlings that live under the bridge flew aggressively around me, encouraging me to go away. I've seen that many times before.
The Gravity canal begins at American Falls reservoir which I will see tomorrow. It's the main irrigation source for the region between Burley and American Falls. All of the Snake river irrigation canals are gravity flow. I don't know why this one is called Gravity canal.
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A saw a lot of trucks driving by with a green leafy crop bulging out the open top. I'm pretty sure it was alfalfa being delivered to feedlots. I think the field below is recently harvested alfalfa. I presume that they can get another crop in a month or two if they keep irrigating.
I saw a lot of Latino farm workers, truck drivers, and construction workers. The Latino workers seem to live completely different lives than the Mormon farm owners, but both groups depend on each other.
I pedaled 10 miles on the access road that parallels I-86. I saw exactly zero cars on the access road. The Snake river is somewhere on the other side of I-86 but I could almost never see it.
This area is above the irrigation plumbing system. It was nice to see genuine high desert. The most common plant is a large type of sagebrush that grows 3-5 feet tall.
I also pedaled 4 flat, easy, uneventful miles on the shoulder of I-86 where there was no other road.
I turned into Register Rock Historical Park. It's a beautifully landscaped park with a covered picnic area that protects Register Rock. This oasis was a resting place for Oregon Trail emigrants preparing to cross the Snake river. Many emigrants carved their name and date on this rock. Pioneer graffiti.
Register Rock was pretty much the only special attraction on today's ride. Today was more of a "just ride" day than a tourist day.
Today is a bit warmer than yesterday. High of 73F, mostly cloudy. Still a reliable west tailwind. Good weather for a long bike ride.
Near American Falls I finally had some distant views of the Snake river. I was surprised how few river views I had in the afternoon considering how close I was to the river.
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American Falls doesn't have a motel, so tonight's home is an AirBnb. I'm renting an entire house for about the same price as last night's Hampton Inn. The owners are a recently married Mormon couple who move to the basement when the house is rented. They got "eternal" married in the Pocatello LDS temple a month before I visited it last year. I mentioned my route, and that last year I pedaled to 13 temples from St. George to Pocatello. They seemed kind of surprised that I could travel so long in the Mormon Belt and not be converted.
I arrived at 6 PM and promptly went to dinner at the Mexican restaurant 1 block away from the Airbnb. I never did have lunch. There were no services on today's route. I was glad I didn't have to ride an extra 4 miles for dinner like yesterday.
Today's scenery is less spectacular than the canyon I saw yesterday but it's still good cycling. I enjoy the rustic farm scenes and occasional views of distant mountains, and know that the scenery will be more spectacular in the days ahead.
Today was longer than I prefer but the tailwind was helpful. Free camping would be easy in this area, with access to water from a canal. The route has rolling hills but no steep grades like the previous two days.
Distance: 63.0 mi.
Average Speed: 9.9 mph
Ascent/Descent: +1633/-1323 ft.
Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 143 miles (230 km)
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