Erwin was the first one up because he thought it was 7 or 8ish, but found out it was 5 am and the sun was already way above the horizon! He went back to bed!
Again, the sky is blue with no clouds. It was already 74 degrees around 6:30 am. Could that mean another hot day today?
After eating breakfast and checking to be sure everything is in its place we left Davenport, WA at 7:25 am. We turned right on Highway 2 toward Spokane, WA, which was about 30 miles away.
There were a few attractions that we wanted to see while visiting Spokane, WA. First stop was to visit Manito Park and Botanical Gardens on S. Grand Blvd. It is a 90 acre public park with abortetum, gardens and conservatory and is open to the public. It was established in 1904. There are five major garden areas, but we visited only two of them: Japanese Garden and Lilac Garden.
Mirror Pond
Next stop was to visit the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on W. Riverside Ave. It is the home of a large parish congregation. Inside the cathedral there is a canvas Labyrinth that is in the North Transept of the church. There is an instruction of how you should walk for mediation, peacefulness and well-being. If you have followed our 2014 journey you will probably know that we check out cathedrals and churches not because we are religious, but because we wanted to see the Gothic architecture, stained windows, rose windows, statues, etc. Mostly for photography purposes.
The church did not allow flash photography, so this was the best shot Edith could get of Erwin walking the Labyrinth
Sundial
From the church we went to Banner of Service 9/11 Memorial that is on E. Lincoln Road, at the Fire Station #18. The sculpture was made by Hazen Audel and Robert Sevilla-Naudon in 2006. It is a tribute to the firemen who served and helped on September 11, 2001.
The weather started to get hotter and hotter as the day dragged on, but we wanted to visit some more attractions.
We decided to park the Jeep in a garaged public parking that was directly across from Riverfront Park. We went inside the shopping mall that is above the parking garage, walked across to find something to eat for lunch.
Shopping Mall
Edith had read one review on a restaurant called Red Robin and suggested that we try their hamburgers. We ordered blue cheese burgers (split in half) and a small tower of onion rings. Edith forgot to take pictures of the lunch we had. It was very delicious!
Now it was time to go out for a walk. We went past some unusual statues/scuptures throughout the district. There were several people playing musical instruments at almost every corner. However, most were already closing up for the day.
Run, Erwin, Run...(He blends in well?)
We meandered among the 100 acre of Riverfront Park and it is right in the heart of downtown Spokane and along the Spokane River. The Park was created for Expo 1974, a World's Fair event. It has Skyride (it was closed, open only on weekends), IMAX theatre, waterfalls, bike paths, train tour, many more.
Splash Park
Spokane Waterfalls
Even though it was a hot day someone decided to put up a hammock and enjoy the day
Giant Radio Flyer Wagon It was built in 1990 and contains 26 tons of steel and concrete. 12' High and 27' Long
Erwin having his 2nd childhood moment
Great Northern Railroad Depot Clocktower in the background
The Garbage Eating Goat It was built in 1974 for the Fair and has been "eating" garbage for 41 years
We wanted to continue exploring the park, but it got hotter and hotter and we were almost dehydrated. "Time to stop and get going" we said to ourselves.
On way back to I-90 to go to Coeur d'Alene we made one last stop to get a picture of the roadside attraction in Spokane: Milk Bottle Building #1 (there is another one, but we could not find #2). It belonged to the former Benewah Dairy Company that was built in 1930.
Now on I-90 going East - the next stop was going to be at Coeur d'Alene (CDA) downtown, but while enroute Edith checked www.tripadvisior for information on attractions in CDA. One thing caught her eyes and she wanted Erwin to call ahead to see if we can go on a tour to visit 7 Stars Alpaca Ranch (www.sevenstarsalpacaranch.com). The lady on the other end said that we could come visit it if we get there before 4 pm, which we did.
What we did not know was that the ranch was way way out in the country and to get there we would have to drive our LH on this narrow, twisty dirt road for about 5 miles! Scary yeah, but we made it!
We were first greeted by Andy, then his wife Sonia came by.
Cooling off the Alpacas by spraying water on their bellies and legs! They do not like water on their heads or back!
After the tour was over Sonia led us to the gift shop store that her husband Andy just finished building. It is a beautiful store and displays different things that are made with alpaca fur; such as socks, caps, shawls, blankets, etc. On the table there is a guest book to sign and next to it is a plate of pumpkin muffins that she just baked. They were so delicious!
Because it was so late going out back on that harrowing road we asked if we could dry camp at the ranch for a fee. Plus it was a beautiful location and scenery was awesome!
Even though Edith could see the Milky Way it was not dark enough to get the colors
Two hours after the first photo was taken
Miles driven: LH - 223 Jeep - 68
Today's route: A: Davenport, WA B:Spokane, WA C: Coeur d'Alene, ID
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