Spokane
Spokane is the second largest
city in the state of Washington. It is
in a transition area between the barren landscape of the Columbia Basin in
one direction, and the forests to the east; to the south are lush prairies. Spokane became an important
rail and shipping center because of its location between mining and farming
areas. Our campground is to the north of
the city. The campground has a vegetable garden and we were invited to pick
whatever we wanted. So, after setting up
and resting a short while, we went and picked green beans, zucchini, a few
cherry tomatoes, an onion and a squash that we had with dinner.
Frank's
The next morning we headed in
to the city for breakfast at Frank’s Diner and it is a place we would recommend
to anyone who likes to eat good food and good-sized portions. It was rated the #1 restaurant in Spokane by
Yelp and Trip Advisor out of 770 restaurants.
The restaurant was a former dining car for the railroad president. While waiting in line we started talking with
a young couple (the Bennett’s) in their mid-30s who are also rving. They are on the road for 6 months looking for
a new place to call home, after getting tired of the Los Angeles rat race. Luckily they came just before we did so we
all got seated at the same time at the counter and could continue our
conversation sitting next to each other.
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| The Bennett's |
Our first stop after breakfast was The
Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes. Once
we got there we found there was a service taking place, so we decided not to go
in the sanctuary, only took pictures outside.
We wish we could have gotten a tour to learn about the Cathedral.
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist was our next
stop. As we entered we were approached
by Rick who was giving the tours today.
His wife was there with their cat Oscar and they had their part in the
tour we found out later!
It is one of the few examples of classic Gothic
architecture in the new world. Its
detail includes the French influence.
There are only eighteen cathedrals of this style in the United States. The structure is solid masonry with exterior
stone quarried near Tacoma, WA; the interior is sandstone from Idaho, and the
limestone is from Indiana. Construction
began in 1925 and was completed in 1929.
There are three chapels in the Cathedral commemorating the three
congregations which united to form the Cathedral parish; St. Peter’s Chapel,
St. James’ Chapel, and the largest is All Saints’ Chapel, commemorating the
first Cathedral in Spokane. In the
sanctuary of the Cathedral is the official chair of the Bishop. It is the presence of this chair that makes
this church a Cathedral. The stained
glass windows are absolutely gorgeous and were created by a Boston company and
a Philadelphia company. There is a great
Rose Window at one end, and others depict figures from the Bible such as Abraham and
Moses; the Old Testament windows on one side of the sanctuary and the New
Testament on the other. The Cathedral
organ has 4,112 pipes and one of the keys on it plays a bell in the
carillon. The carillon consists of 49
cast bells, the largest weighs 5,000 pounds, the smallest weighs 17
pounds. The total weight, including the
steel structure which supports it is more than 20 tons! There are many beautiful arches, and they
serve a purpose, not only adding beauty..……they hold up the weight of the
windows, walls and ceilings. The full seating capacity is about 1,000.
Manito Park
The Spokane Nishinomiya Garden in Manito Park was our next stop where we walked around and marveled at the way the Japanese trim trees and bushes to make them look so nice. There was a Koi pond with huge Koi in it and one lone duck on a rock. We walked over the bridge and to a small water fall which was all very relaxing and enjoyable.
County Court House
The next morning while driving through downtown Spokane
we saw a very interesting looking building and decided to check it out. To us
it looked like something that belongs in Disney Land or Disney World but it was
the county courthouse. It had many
towers and was VERY ornate. It had lots
of big trees on the grounds and flowers were planted also. It was built in the 1890s. We found it rather different that that type of
a design would be chosen for a new public building. It was a magnificent example of the French
Renaissance style of architecture.
Riverfront Park
Our
main goal today was to visit Riverfront Park, and it wasn’t easy to find
because of construction, one way streets, and no signs! Walking
to the park we entered on a bridge that crosses the upper waterfalls of the
Spokane River. There is a power plant
which probably derives power from the water.
There were quite a few small, pretty falls. This is a city park that charges no
admission, but if you wish to go on any of the rides there is a charge. There was a Ferris wheel, and a carousel. We found a table in the shade and enjoyed our picnic
lunch. It was by the Spokane River that
had ducks and Canadian geese swimming.
Again, beautiful flower arrangements all over.
We continued walking around
the park seeing more waterfalls. It was another very hot day and the sky-tram they usually
run over the falls was not operating. Because
of the 100 degree heat the cars get too
hot. What a shame
for those people who mainly came for that.
It is the most popular thing in the park.
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