Day 6: Rest day in Idaho Falls

June 5, 2023

Today is a much needed rest day in Idaho Falls. I got up at 7:30 and had a not very good breakfast. Then I went back to bed from 9 AM to 1 PM. I didn't really sleep, I just rested. Feeling exhausted and miserable.

For most of the afternoon I just sat in the room. I enjoyed the view from my motel room, with a steady parade of people passing by on the path.

My room has many peculiarities relating to the ongoing renovations. There is a desk but no desk chair. I moved the recliner's foot rest to the desk. The room has a worthless metal-framed glass top table with no glass top. The furniture is an odd assortment of beat up items that don't match. Some of the light bulbs are missing. But the view is good, the A/C works, the bed is good, and the bathroom is recently renovated. I never turn on the TV so I don't know how well it works.

At 4 PM I began biking the 3 mile river walk loop. I planned to walk but decided to pedal so it would be less work and so I could see more places.

The river walk is extremely close to my room, but a canal separates the hotels from the river walk. I had to walk a 1/4 mile circle to get to a pedestrian bridge across the canal.

Once across the canal I followed the path north, upstream, clockwise. The lake shore above the falls has relatively spacious parks. I crossed the river at the north end of the loop. From the bridge is a view of a small island in the Snake river.

Snake river looking downstream from the north bridge of the riverwalk loop.

On the east side of the river I went a few blocks off the path to get into the grounds of the LDS temple. I arrived at about 4:30. I walked a big circle around the temple grounds, looking for interesting views of the temple. Before I was finished a man approached me to say that he will be closing the gates in a few minutes. I had to walk a long distance to find my parked bike, then find my way back to the only open gate. I almost got locked in the temple grounds.

The Idaho Falls temple was built from 1939-1945. The exterior was complete when the U.S. entered World War 2. Completion of the interior was delayed for several years because of wartime shortages.

This is the 8th oldest existing LDS temple. For 39 years it was the only temple in Idaho. It's sort of the Mormon Capitol of Idaho.

This is also the first LDS temple to have modern architecture and only one spire. This design is the prototype for all the modern temples proliferating worldwide.

A sign says the architecture is a combination of art deco and mid century modern. To me, the geometric patterns of the ventilation/shade grilles remind me of Moorish architecture.

After escaping the temple grounds I continued on the river walk loop towards downtown. For most of that distance I could see the upper edge of the man-made falls.

Path near the temple. Edge of the falls is visible.

The trail was crowded in the downtown area. Many vendors, Bird scooters, walking families, cycling families. Still perfectly clean. No trash, tents, or homeless people.

Path in the downtown area. Falls is visible.

Then I turned away from the trail to explore the downtown area. Most of the buildings in downtown Idaho Falls were built in the 1900-1920 time period after the irrigation canals were completed. The falls powered Idaho's first hydroelectric power plant beginning in 1900.

Of course downtown Idaho Falls is very clean and tidy. No homeless people or trash blowing around.

Downtown Idaho Falls. Mostly built in the early 20th century.

Idaho Falls seems to be reasonably prosperous. It's the largest city in eastern Idaho. But it does have some notable vacant buildings.

After wandering the streets of downtown I stopped for dinner at Smokin Fins bar and grill. I sat on the patio that faces the public plaza. The temperature was 77F, one of the first summer-like days of the year. Everybody was out enjoying the weather.

I was surprised how many bar and grill type places I saw. Idaho Falls is majority Mormon, but is subject to Idaho's lax liquor laws and seems to earnestly TRY to be cosmopolitan and serve all people. Overall I regard Idaho Falls to be a great place to visit even for militant non-Mormons. It has big town amenities concentrated in a beautiful, clean, compact, user-friendly setting.

I would give a similar rating to Twin Falls and its canyon rim trail which score higher in scenic value but lower in amenities.

I had dinner at Smokin Fins in the plaza that connects downtown to the riverfront. Riverwalk to the left across the road. Bike racks are rare in Idaho. My orange helmet is visible.

After dinner I continued on the river walk loop to the falls. I deliberately timed it to be in the evening for the best sun angle. I saw it yesterday afternoon but the sun angle is even better now. It was crowded with people enjoying the perfect weather.

Idaho Falls from the south bridge of the riverwalk loop.

About 10 motels are lined up on the west side of the riverwalk. The most expensive motels are at the south end with views of the falls. My motel is farther north with a great temple view but no view of the falls.

The path is very noisy alongside the falls. Stout flood-proof fence.

I read the interpretive signs put up by Idaho Falls Power. One sign describes the Teton Dam flood that occurred exactly 47 years ago today. June 5, 1976. The Wikipedia article about Teton dam is very fascinating. The dam failed when the reservoir was initially filling. The dam was never rebuilt because the site was completely unsuitable for a dam. The bedrock is highly fractured Basalt and Rhyolite from ancient shield volcano eruptions. Catastrophic failure was inevitable. It's a cautionary tale about what can happen when politicians and bureaucrats run roughshod over scientists. A brand new 200 million dollar dam disintegrated, causing 2 billion dollars in damage.

Many people were still out when I finished the loop and went back to the motel room. I greatly enjoyed my slow 5 mile excursion around the loop, temple, downtown, and falls.

Path alongside the lake above the falls.

After sunset I went back to the path to take a twilight photo of the temple. It was a good way to end the day. I could also enjoy the brightly illuminated temple from my motel room.

In the evening I wanted a snack and found that Le Ritz hotel had nothing. Only a vending machine that didn't work. There are no convenience stores nearby. So I went next door to Hilton Garden Inn which had a well equipped convenience store in the lobby.

I felt much better in the evening than I did in the morning. But still tired. Fortunately tomorrow's route is short and flat.

I decided that it wouldn't be wise for me to do a 26 day tour. The last time I did such a long tour was 5 years ago and the route was much flatter. I didn't cancel reservations yet, but I decided that I should cut the tour in half and end in Jackson, Wyoming. The 26 day High Desert Rivers tour will become a 13 day Snake River tour.

Distance: 5.4 mi.
Average Speed: 5.6 mph
Ascent/Descent: +53/-53 ft.

Today's ride: 6 miles (10 km)
Total: 243 miles (391 km)

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George Hall"The 26 day High Desert Rivers tour will become a 13 day Snake River tour." You are wise to listen to your body and be flexible with your touring plans. And you still have a week to change your mind or fine tune your plans more.
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