Spokane, Washington....Hub of the Inland Empire, located in Eastern Washington, twenty + miles from the Idaho state line about 100 miles south of the Canadian border. Many positive things can be said of Spokane, but for Mrs D and me, it’s our hometown. Both of us have family still living there (Mrs D’s Dad and Sis and my Mom and brother). Won’t be dwelling on much family stuff, but maybe a picture or two which made our visit memorable.
A large picnic in the park was held which gave us a chance to visit with friends and relatives on Sunday afternoon. Lotsa food and great fellowship.
One of the things Mrs D planned was to have pictures taken at Sears with her Dad and siblings. That event filled up our Monday morning. After the pictures were taken, we had some time to kill before viewing the results, so we headed over to nearby Franklin Park. Parking near the playground equipment, it provide a perfect background for some photos of all the "kids."
In front we have a WWII US Navy Submariner Veteran
A Navy Wife – Vietnam Era
A Navy Veteran – Vietnam Era
An Air Force Veteran
It looked like so much fun, Mrs D and I raced down the circle slide…
For us, no trip to Spokane is complete without a trip to Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane along the banks of the Spokane River, a tributary to the Columbia River. Built on the site of the World’s Fair in 1974, it is a favorite gathering place for young and old alike. This clock-tower is from the old Great Northern Railroad Station and was left intact for the fair. The clock-tower actually stands plumb, but your photographer messed up. The structure on the left is from the US Pavilion from the World’s Fair and the supporting tower, by design, does not stand plumb. Originally, the steel cables which you see, supported a heavy vinyl tent. Winds and winter snows damaged the tent, and the City Fathers had all the vinyl removed. An ice-skating rink was later added to the floor area of the US Pavilion.
Riverfront Park – Spokane, WA.... "What shall we do next?" Was the question of the moment. "Let’s go horseback riding!" It took a while, but I was finally able to control my steed…
This carousel originally was housed at Natatorium Park, an amusement park in Spokane until the park closed in the sixties. The carousel was removed, piece by piece and placed in storage. After the World’s Fair, it was re-assembled in the carousel building on the fair site.
Spokane is also the host of Bloomsday. Bloomsday is an annual race held in May. It attracts runners worldwide and hosts upwards of 50,000 participants annually. A local artist placed these iron sculptures along the SW corner of Riverfront Park, which also serves as the finish line for the race. Mrs. D and sis decide to take another lap and score another finish – sorry, no t-shirt this time. Come back for next year’s race to get the t-shirt.
A couple more sites around town and we’ll be moving on. Found this monument on the grounds of the Spokane Arena…
And a few blocks to the northwest, the Spokane County Court House building…(pictured is the courthouse tower, aka "The Castle")
We decide our departure date will be in the afternoon on Wednesday after good-byes all around. Gotta get home to bail the dogs out of the kennel. We follow the same route until we get back to to Biggs Junction, OR. We continue westward to Portland, then south to the state highway to the Oregon Coast. We arrive in Newport at 0dark thirty. Not much to see of the Pacific Ocean at that hour, but the wind and sound of the surf tell us we’ve reached the ocean. We take a break at one of the many state parks along US 101 for a few hours awaiting sunrise and our journey continues south for a rendezvous with 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub in Bandon, OR. We stop at a few beaches along the way to take in the fresh sea air and a little beach-combing. The wind blows pretty strong all along the Oregon Coast and cold wind is not our favorite climate.
Several sites along the way prompt stops for pictures of panoramic views, lighthouses and The Dunes. At one spot near Florence, OR, I pull over to get a picture of a distant lighthouse. On the cliff’s edge, I look down and see about 50 sea lions sprawled about on the rocks below. A little further south we come upon the Sea Lion Caves, a famous tourist attraction. We’ve done the tour in years past, interesting, but the aroma is overpowering in the cave. We continue our journey since the facility has not opened yet for the day –too early.
I give Tonk a call once we arrive in Florence and we make arrangements where, when and how to meet once we arrive in Bandon. A lot of road construction all along 101 slows our progress along with a few more beach stops. Finally, about 10 minutes north of Bandon, I give Tonk another ring and we’re all set to meet at the Station Restaurant for lunch. Some pics of that meeting were posted previously, but I’ll post ‘em again here because it was definitely one of the highlights of our vacation trip. Tonk shared with us tons of information regarding his service with the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Quite a fantastic story he has to tell which goes right along with the fact that he’s a pretty fantastic guy. He and I, along with JimRob proudly served in the US Navy during the Vietnam era at roughly the same time. We may have unknowingly crossed paths at that time – who knows?
After lunch, Tonk leads us down to the jetty for a photo op. We part company with hugs and a feeling of gratitude having finally met after all these years being FR FRiends. I would encourage anyone traveling US 101 through Oregon to contact Tonk via FR mail to arrange a meeting with a great individual.
We continue south and eventually cross the Oregon/California border in the late afternoon. We stop at a couple more beaches once we hit California, and remarkably, there is very little wind blowing. This affords us the opportunity to spend a bit more time on the beach gathering small pieces of driftwood and a few intact seashells. We stop for some gourmet dining at McDonald’s and a fuel stop in Eureka, CA. For the frugal-minded traveler, a word of advice… buy your fuel in Oregon. Once we crossed into California, the price JUMPED 32 cents per gallon all along the 101 corridor. Ouch!
Decision time. Do we continue along the California Coast or head inland to I-5? It will soon be dark and we won’t be able to see and enjoy the coast route so we pull out the map and find a cross-over highway to I-5. We select highway 36. It’s a 139 mile trek over the mountains, through beautiful redwood forest, little or no towns in-between and tight curves and switchbacks the entire length. We’ve never traveled this highway before, and probably never will again, but it was an interesting ride. Little to no traffic whatsoever. Night was falling, and with that, the deer were coming out to feed. We must have seen at least 30 deer along the way – 3 bucks, 5 fawns and the rest does. With no traffic to contend with or worry about, we stopped at several deer sightings to snap a few pictures. Poor lighting conditions meant low quality pictures, but here’s a before and after shot after running the picture through and enhancement program on the ‘puter. You all have, I’m sure, heard the phrase "deer in the headlights? " Well here’s a couple sets of eyes on the original pic followed by the enhanced version. Kinda Cool.
We left Bambi and Bambette behind as well as Rocky Raccoon as we made our connection to I-5 in Red Bluff and the final few hours of travel south to home and a good night’s sleep.
Hope y’all enjoyed the trip. You may now unfasten your seatbelts, return the seatback to the full upright position. We’ll rendezvous again next year – same drivers and maybe some route changes. It’s a great country to see up close, especially if you stop along the way to visit friends, take in the scenery and just have fun. Thanks for coming along with us.
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