Day 19 – Spokane, WA
We got off to kind of a slow start this morning, with everyone sleeping in a little later than usual, a late, but short, walk with Don around the RV Park, the need for some interior and exterior cleaning, and a last minute search for the camera, which had been sort of misfiled. We finally got underway on our first excursion around Spokane a little before noon, and headed in toward the center of the city. Our first impressions were, “Wow, this place is big!” I, personally, had no preconceived notions regarding the size of this city, but I could see that the place was went on and on from our location, into the central city, and way beyond. I think that Geri and Don were expecting a northwestern version of Ventura; boy, were they surprised!


We were heading for Riverfront Park, the site of the 1974 World’s Fair, but found ourselves in an industrial area that seemed to have no boundaries. Don turned the navigation over to Garmie, who got us turned around and headed properly. In ten or fifteen minutes, we were pulling into a parking place in the Park, near the Spokane River. We had been cruising through intermittent rain storms since we got into the City center, and the rain was still coming down as we trudged down toward the river. We found a good location to view the upper falls, and Don got the camera out to get a shot of them. His response to the camera’s response to his request to take a picture is not entirely repeatable, but it boiled down to the fact that the batteries in the camera were depleted, and there would be no photos until they were changed. He told us that he had replacement batteries in the truck, and chugged off through the rain to get them. He returned to where Geri and I were standing under a shelter, and told us the good news; the camera was working again. He took a few photos, then told us the bad news; he had inadvertently locked the keys in the truck. We had experienced this once before, in Las Vegas, and Don had saved the day by reaching through the little window between my private compartment and the cab of the truck and getting the keys. So, we made our way back to the truck, Geri borrowed a small broom with a long enough handle from the parking lot attendant, and Don was able to herd the keys to a point where he could successfully retrieve them. We were all relieved about that, and I made the point that it was a good idea to keep that window open at all times for such emergencies, and for me to communicate with them when I had needs.

Upper Falls, Spokane River

Just touring in the rain!

Lower Falls, Spokane River

That problem solved, we wandered down the edge of the park until we reached a location where we could see the lower falls of the river, which were quite spectacular. A few more photos, and we headed back to the truck for a tour of downtown Spokane. We all agreed that it was a very attractive area, with many older, but well maintained, buildings from the 1920’s and 30’s, with a few modern types here and there. Unfortunately, they are presently involved in the reconstruction of one of their main thoroughfares through the area, resulting in traffic jams and the inability to get to some areas. I’m sure it will be great when they finish the work, but right now it’s a mess.


We had heard that the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist was worthy of a visit, so we drove to the south end of the city and found it, with Garmie’s help. Since it’s not a Dog Church, I wasn’t allowed in, but Geri and Don told me that it was very beautiful and impressive. They said that the first part of the Cathedral had been built during the 1920’s, and that it had been added to over the years, until it now had the appearance of a major English Cathedral. They said the stained glass windows were quite beautiful, and took some pictures of them. I was tempted to remind them that Dog was closer to God than Human was, but I refrained from a cheap shot.

                                                           Saint John's Cathedral

Stained glass window, Saint Johns

We did some more touring of Spokane’s southern regions, then headed back up north to our Park. Don cooked up some chicken, Geri took me for a nice walk, and we all enjoyed dinner and some nice plates. A bit of blogging and TV, and so to bed. See you tomorrow!