Memories of Spokane

It's time to get back to normal here at the Three Cats Ranch.  I still haven't unpacked anything, although there isn't much unpacking to do from a three-day trip.  Kitties have been petted.  We had a lot of purring to catch up on.  Mike and I wonder if kitties will explode from the build up of purrs if they are left alone for too long.  They don't seem any worse for wear since being left alone over the long weekend.  Matthew checked in on them on Saturday.  Gracie was a bit wild-eyed when we first got home, probably from being mauled by Smitty more than is usually allowed.  She was annoyed by him more than anything else.  No fur out of place and no cuts or bruises.  All seems to be well, although she is definitely put out by the whole thing.

So today I need to go to the post office, the grocery store, and clean up the disaster area that passes for home around here.  I'm not sure how it got to be such a mess when we weren't even here.  So what am I doing to get all of that accomplished?  I'm sitting here writing a blog post, of course.  Everything goes better once the words are out of my head.

So here's what I had to show you from Spokane.  It has an interesting history.  If you click on that link I've given you to the Wikipedia article, you can read more about it.  In brief, it began as a trading post in 1810, but growth really took off in 1883 after the discovery of gold in nearby Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  The city grew unabated until a huge fire broke out in 1889 that destroyed 32 blocks of the commercial district.  Today, it is the 2nd largest city in Washington (behind Seattle).  It is a charming place, and well worth a visit if you find yourself in the area.  We have driven through many times, but this is the first time we've ever spent much time there.

We decided to walk along Riverfront Park and see Spokane Falls.  It was a great way to spend a beautiful afternoon.  The weather on our trip was good, and we did not get rained on, but it was threatening nonetheless.  It made for a beautiful blue sky with puffy white clouds.  Everything was in bloom along the water front.  These wild roses were beautifully fragrant.

We believe this is honeysuckle in the next image, and it too was wonderfully fragrant.

Here is a picture of the lower part of the falls.

I don't know the significance of Willey Willey Rock, but there you go.  Anything that deserves a plaque deserves a picture.

Updated to say that at Dana's urging, I Googled "Willie Willey" to find out the story.  What a hoot!  Check it out right here.

This is historic Monroe Bridge, considered an icon of the city.  It was built in 1911 and a ten-year restoration project was completed in 2005.

It is always thrilling to stand this close to a roaring waterfall, and this one was no slouch.

The intrepid videographer.  He enjoys a noisy waterfall almost as much as he enjoys car racing.

When we initially crossed this suspension foot bridge, we didn't see the other side on the left of the image.

We ended up going back and crossing from the left side so that we could see the whole thing.  It is constructed of stout cables, and it does not rock like some suspension bridges do.

There were a couple of these locks locked onto the upright supports...a testament to undying love.  I couldn't help but wonder if K + A had stood the test of time.

It was late in the day and the sun was behind us, so our shadow selves made several appearances.

Look at the pretty adornments on the City Hall building.

We passed through a grassy portion of the park and saw this bronze sculpture of runners.  Notice in the middle of the image, there is a runner in a wheelchair and one of the runners is wearing a coat.

Also, I liked this runner with his child far behind the pack.

We visited a great quilt shop here in Spokane, but I'll tell you about that in a separate post.  I have one more day of travel adventures to tell you about.  When we left Spokane, we drove to Coeur d'Alene and headed south down the Idaho side of The Palouse where it looks a little different.  Along the way we visited two more quilt shops, and so I still have a couple of things to show you.  

For now, I need to get off the computer and get busy.  When the week starts on Tuesday, I start out feeling behind.