(NOTE: View a larger picture by clicking on the photo(s) above.)
The last time we talked we were getting ready to head to Spokane, Washington. Our trip began on the Interstate system, then diverged to U.S. Highway 395 going North for about 100 miles before connecting with I-90 going East into Spokane. Actually, we were going some 12 miles North of Spokane to our campground in an area called Mead.
We were wondering about the U.S. highway, if it were going to be two-lane, rough going or some four-lane. It turned out to be a very nice, mostly four-lane, road. It was hard to tell the difference between this road and the Interstate. The only problem was finding a rest area for those needed stops. However, we have solved this “facility” problem by towing our own “Porta-Potty.” We put some water in our fresh water tank and use our on-board pump system. All we really need is a wide enough space to pullover and open the trailer. We don’t travel with much water in the tank to save on weight. The tank holds 85 gallons. Each gallon of water weights 8.5 pounds. That is a lot of weight. I’ll leave it to you to do the math.
We did, however, find a Rest Area on I-90 at which we stopped. The elevation was about 2,000 feet and the temperature was 37 degrees. Just as we stopped, the snow started flying and the temperature dropped to 34 by the time we pulled out of the Rest Area. We were hoping this was not going to affect our travel. As it turned out, the snow stopped about five miles up the road.
This was on Sunday (April 20). We found our Campground and set up housekeeping for awhile. Of course, the camp office was closed and no one around. We saw a notice on the information board that we had been assigned site number 53. We pulled into that site and found that it was very narrow with trees on either side, too close to get our three slides out. Regardless of the assignment, we decided to find another spot that would fit us better. We did, but it was also tight.
Our whole purpose of going to Spokane was to visit with a cousin of Carolyn’s. Unfortunately, she was not feeling well. She has some unknown problem with leg swelling. She had planned outings and adventures around the area, but alas, that was now out. Besides, it snowed off and on for the days we were there. The best we could do was to adventure to downtown Spokane and have a lobster dinner at a seafood restaurant overlooking the Spokane Falls.
The first picture above is a view of downtown. The brick building with the slim tower in the center of the picture is the newspaper office of the only daily paper in Spokane, The Spokesman-Review. The second picture is of our view of the Falls from the restaurant. The Third picture shows a view of the suspension bridge across the Spokane River in Riverside Park, next to the restaurant. The whole area here was host to the World’s Fair in 1974.
The city was settled in 1871 as "Spokan Falls" (without an 'e' at the end), drawing on the Native American tribe known as the Spokane, which means "Children of the Sun.” The city's name is often mispronounced "Spo-CANE", while the correct pronunciation is "Spo-CAN". Spokane's official nickname is the 'Lilac City', named after the flowers that have flourished since their introduction to the area in the early 20th century.
Spokane Falls was a gathering place for the area's indigenous people due to the abundance of salmon in the Spokane River. The first European settlement at Spokane Falls was a fur trading post operated by the British North West Company and, later, the Hudson's Bay Company. Known as "Spokane House", or just "Spokane", and located just below Spokane Falls, it was in operation from 1810-1826. Camp Spokane was established by the U.S. Army at a location 56 miles northwest of Spokane on October 21, 1880 to protect the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway, and to secure the location for U.S. settlement. By 1881, the Northern Pacific Railway was completed at this point, bringing European settlement. The city of Spokan Falls (without an 'e'; the 'e' was added in 1883) was officially incorporated on November 29, 1881. In 1891, the name was changed to Spokane.
Spokane County borders Idaho on the East and Canada on the North. It seems that we have stopped in a number of border counties in our travels north-west. Idaho-Utah, Idaho-Oregon, Oregon-Washington, and now, Montana-Wyoming (more about this in a moment). Just across the Idaho border from Spokane is the City of Coeur d’Alene. It is situated on a large lake and a seems to be a popular resort area. We only passed through it on our way to Montana. The last picture is of Lake Coeur d’Alene.
As we got ready to move on to Montana, we wondered about the conditions we would find in the high passes over the mountain ranges. We were concerned about two in particular, July Fourth Pass out of Coeur d’Alene and Lookout Pass on the Idaho-Montana border. Just the past Monday, the road was closed to traffic due to weather. The day we left Spokane it was not snowing and fortunately the roads were dry over the passes, although snow lined the roads.
We made it into a place called Anaconda, Montana and pulled into our campground. Again, no one was around to check us in. Eventually, a worker showed up and said they were not really opened yet for the season. He said to just find a spot and put $20 per night “in the box” It was extremely cold. The “worker” said it had snowed six inches that morning. We set up for the night with only 30 amp instead of our usual 50 amp service. We unhooked our water line this time, because it surely was going to freeze. We had planned two nights here, but right away, we decided one night was all we would stay. More snow was predicted.
We took off the next morning (April 25) for a place called Livingston, Montana. This was to be our jumping off place for Yellowstone National Park, which was 52 miles South in Wyoming. The drive was only 124 miles, but it was snowing off-and-on most of the way.
We pulled into our campground, and this time found someone in the office. We were assigned our spot, which had everything….50 amp, cable, WiFi, etc. Our site was the last one in the row next to the showers and restrooms. The turn was a little tight, the trailer wheels bogged down in loose mud that was a newly prepared sewer line. It took us a little while to get the trailer situated properly in the muddy ground and loose gravel. We got set up and it began snowing. It snowed off and on all that day and overnight.
As I said, the purpose of stopping here was to visit Yellowstone. The weather is not good. I called the Yellowstone “hotline” and was told that the North Entrance was open and the roads to “Old Faithful” were passable, but only with snow tires. Of course, we don’t have snow tires. I will check again tonight to see if the roads are open. We’ll see. So far, no more snow today……yet!
So here we sit. Nothing to do but blog. Perhaps this will change. Perhaps not. We’ll let you know later if we ever get to Yellowstone. It would be a shame to be this close, after traveling this distance, and still miss it. But, what is a body to do? Weather!!!
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