Staying Awhile in the Evergreen State-Spokane

Runners, a cluster sculpture along Riverfront Park, Spokane

Finally, I have almost cleared this blog of all backlog; almost a thousand pictures and sixty stories of every place we have visited in North America has been posted (from June of 2009 up to the time we returned to Washington from Alaska in mid-September this year). Now I write of everyday adventures in this, our home state where we are currently taking care of some medical/dental concerns, complying with steps towards my naturalization, and visiting with family and friends during the holidays before we move on to a short tour of the Philippines and parts of South East Asia early next year.



Spokane Falls, as seen from the Sky Bridge

 We begin with Spokane, the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region and the third largest in the American portion of the Pacific Northwest, behind Seattle, and Portland, Oregon. The city is located on the Spokane River in Eastern Washington, 110 miles south of the Canadian border and just approximately 20 miles from the Washington-Idaho border. So it was easy for my daughter Claudine and her family to drive down from Calgary in Alberta, Canada (10 hours) for a reunion with Bill and me and my other daughter Trisha and her family who live in Seattle (5 hours).



the entry to Expo '74 at Riverfront Park

 This is great to know for all fathers: Father's Day celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 20, 2010. A Spokane woman, Sonora Smart Dodd, is often referred to as the "Mother of Father's Day." 16 years old when her mother died in 1898, she and five younger brothers were raised by her father. In 1909 she heard a Mother's Day sermon at Central United Methodist Church. This inspired her to propose that fathers receive equal recognition. With the assistance of Rev Dr. Conrad Bluhm, her pastor, she took the idea to the Spokane YMCA which, along with the Ministerial Alliance, endorsed and helped it spread.

the 1906 carousel at the Riverfront Park



the marbled lobby floor at the Square

 Spokane hosted the first environmentally themed World's Fair in Expo '74, becoming the smallest city yet to host one. This event transformed its downtown and the fairgrounds became the 100-acre Riverfront Park which is now the city’s pride. My friend Fides and husband Benjie from the Philippines who now make Seattle their home spent Saturday of a weekend there with us. The following day was spent in the neighboring city of Coeur d’Alene which lies directly east of Spokane County in Kootenai County, Idaho. Their population is over 600,000 and they are expected to be combined by 2013.

the giant red wagon at Riverfront Park



the netted cityscape

 At the Park are a giant red wagon and other children’s playthings, a bridge that runs through the river, a Clock Tower, a carousel that dates back to 1906, a netted cityscape under which are children’s rides, an intriguing cluster sculpture of runners on the sidewalk (depicting the famous annual Daffodil Run), and a Sky Ride that took you to the famous Spokane Falls. Just across is the Riverfront Park Square, a shopping mall with an interesting sidelight: a marbled lobby floor map of the Pacific Northwest’s lakes and rivers. The Spokane area alone has 76 lakes and numerous rivers for various water sports and great camping.



the Bing Crosby Home, housing his memorabilia at Gonzaga

 We also went to the Gonzaga University campus (sports fans should know why the university has become, maybe not an Ivy Leaguer, but a reputable academic institution.  We were surprised to find the Bing Crosby House there (he is its most famous alumnus). And the church stood elegantly on the beautiful campus in autumn.  That was where we chose to hear mass and we were awed at the individual healing sessions each family group in attendance received. Our bonds as friends were certainly strengthened and our faith renewed

the start of the world's longest boardwalk



the 14th hole, men's tee, women's tee box, island hole, and ferry station  

 In Coeur d’Alene, we found the world’s longest boardwalk which surrounded a hotel and its marina of water toys for the big boys. The city is also known for the world’s only floating golf course. The 14th hole of the Coeur d’Alene Golf and Country Club Resort is a small island on the Coeur d’Alene Lake. You tee off from the shore if you are a man and from a nearer tee box if you are a woman. The distance from these vary day to day and one only gets 2 shots after which you are ferried on a small boat to the island hole to finish with a 2-stroke penalty. Challenging all golfers!

the two cabins on the right where my family stayed

grandsons trick-or-treating ar the RV

But the highlight of our stay in Spokane was our campground, K/M Ponderosa Falls, one of the best maintained campgrounds we have ever been to. That was where we had an early Halloween reunion with my two daughters and their families. My grandchildren had many merry days at the heated indoor pool, the video arcade, the playground, the 18-hole mini-golf course, the dining area with all the games and a huge TV, the little carousel, the pool and billiard tables, dart board, and all-day free popcorn! The 2 families rotated cooking and dishwashing duties. I gave the little boys bright orange cloth pumpkin lanterns to Trick-or-Treat around the 2 cabins and our RV.

the indoor heated pool with my grandsons!

pool, pingpong, and card tables

This is what this cruising lifestyle is all about: great sights to look at, wonderful campgrounds to live in, and loved family and friends to visit with! Next week it will be about Beachwood, Washington and neighboring Vancouver where we had more visits with family and friends. The following week we will talk about Monroe and neighboring Bellevue and Seattle where we spent Thanksgiving and my birthday celebrations, and, last, Chehalis in southern Washington with neighboring state capital, Olympia, where we will spend the Yuletide Season. Literally, what more can one ask for???

the family dining area!

 

the 18-hole mini golf course!





Exploring the Southwest, Part 2

We were supposed to proceed to Nogales in Arizona for our Mexican extravaganza (and a scheduled family reunion in Mazatlan) but we decided to first visit the only living sibling of my late mother in San Diego. On the way we found GEMS: a desert recreational area in Ocotillo Wells, the apple town of Julian, and Ramona Canyon RV Resort in California and the Casa Grande Ruins, the Saguaro National Park, and Tombstone in Arizona on the way back east.  Then we decided to join Thousand Trails. 

 First we chanced upon a huge ATV rally with ‘toys for the big boys’ jam packed in a desert made colorful by the event. The Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area is more than 80,000 acres of magnificent desert open for off-highway exploration and recreation.  The northwestern boundary connects with the half-million acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, open to highway-legal vehicles. Asking Bill if this is one thing he would like to do, he said, ‘No, that’s not my sort of thing.’

Then we happily stumbled upon Julian, an unincorporated community east of San Diego, population: 1,621. Although Julian's picturesque setting attracts tourists, recreationalists and antique lovers, the town is most famous for its apple crop. The variety grown locally is considered less sweet than most traditional types, but pies and cider made from the fruit have garnered great popularity for nearly 100 years. And we were there at the heart of the Apple Festival! So, we lined up for some great apple pie!

Local shops can keep you for hours (my fave sweater I got there for only $8!). But what we cannot forget is the Old Julian Cemetery where we found the only parking space left.  As we were about to leave, Bill accidentally hooked the rear bumper onto the arch post at the gate.  But along came Daniel Lewis, secretary for the cemetery’s association. He literally and single-handedly extricated Star (and us) from the dilemma.  His book, Last Known Address, about the cemetery’s history, is now a prized possession.

At nightfall we arrived at the Ramona Canyon RV Resort.  And In the chilly October night, we treated ourselves to an outdoor steaming spa.  The next morning, after a horseshoe battle fought and won by Bill, we went to the karaoke event at the Clubhouse and, of course, I poured my heart out in several songs! The next day, as we were about to leave, several of us got together for a farewell potluck and our hook into the RV cruising lifestyle was forever sealed!

We never did go around San Diego. We visited Tia Juana, the only living sibling of my mother, almost 90, her devoted son Polly, Ate Tesing, her daughter, and Kuya Ute, her husband. It is always nice to visit family but we had to go to Menifee where we were to sign up for a 3-year Thousand Trails membership. It was like graduating from the daily search for the best deal in campgrounds.  Now we can plan better ahead, have more choices, and be finally at Phase 2 of the RV Cruising Lifestyle! 

Back to the journey to Nogales, our first stop was Casa Grande Ruins in Coolidge, Arizona. The national monument was constructed by the ancient people of the Hohokam period, who farmed the Gila Valley in the early 13th century. "Casa Grande" is Spanish for "big house" referring to the remains of a four story structure that has managed to survive the extreme weather conditions for about seven centuries. It now has a distinctive modern, thereby controversial, roof covering built in 1932 for protection.

On the way to our campground in St. David, Arizona, we drove through the Saguaro National Park. The two sections of the park conserve fine tracts of the Sonoran Desert where the saguaro cactus thrives.  The St. David RV Resort is beautiful with its own lake and pool and there was a crafts sale and other activities.  But what we liked the most was the short trip to Tombstone, a former silver-mining boomtown most remembered for being the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

The most famous graveyard of the Old West is Boot Hill where various victims of violence and disease in Tombstone's early years, including those from the O.K. Corral gunfight were buried. Saloon ladies on Allen Street in which the gunfight occurred in 1881 is also preserved. Bill found his sexy lady (with my permission!). However, since much of this street fight occurred in Tombstone's Fremont Street, daily reenactments are also viewable! So I also found my Wyatt Earp!

According to Guinness, the world's largest rosebush was planted in Tombstone in 1885 and still flourishes today. This Lady Banksia rose now covers 8,000 sq ft of the roof on an inn, and has a 12 ft circumference trunk. Unfortunately, the rose bush was not in bloom when we were there. No wonder Tombstone receives approximately 450,000 tourist visitors each year and is a National Heritage Site.  Gems abound wherever we go but our 2009 Thanksgiving Holiday beckons!

 So off we headed for Nogales, what we believe is the better point of entry to sunny Mexico!

Exploring the Southwest

From the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles, we reached the city of Palm Springs where ''snowbirders' were already congregating for the winter. Located in the Coachella Valley desert region, it is sheltered by the San Bernardinos to the north, the Santa Rosas to the south, the San Jacintos to the west and the Little San Bernardinos to the east. This unique geography gives the city its hot, dry climate, with 354 days of sunshine and only 5.23 inches of annual rainfall. The coolest days in winter are in the lower 70s °F and the nights fall to the lower 40s °F. No wonder.

The City of Palm Springs' best-known mayor was Sonny Bono and though celebrities still make it a place of regular retreat, many others like Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage have also become as popular. Bill and I were treated to our first deluxe campground with hot tubs, pools, recreation rooms and lots of activities. Towering date palm trees dwarfed our little Star. On a Saturday potluck dinner and disco night, we found our first buddies on the road. So we decided to buy into this lifestyle and bought into the Thousand Trails+ system with over 300 in North America!

This is a place to come back to...in fact, maybe even settle in later!. The world's largest rotating aerial tramcars in the Aerial Tramway, climbs to more than 8,000 feet, with a 30 degree decline in temperature, a 360 degree view of the valley, and a top-notch restaurant at the top, a most welcome treat in summer! The Palm Springs Follies stage-show features performers that are over the age of 55 (I knew can still be a star!). Every Thursday evening downtown is transformed into a Village Fest on famous Palm Canyon Drive. Vino 'scootered' us through streets named after Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, and the like!

And only a few miles east is Joshua Tree National Park, named for the Joshua tree forests native to the area. Covering a land area of 789,745 acres the park is, in fact, two deserts, each a separate ecosystem supporting diverse life, both vastly different from life we know!. The higher, drier, and slightly cooler Mojave Desert is home to the Joshua tree (the biggest one we found stood at 50 ft!) and hills of bare rock, formed a million years ago, of quartz monzonite, a very rough type of granite (because there is no snow or ice to polish it like in Yosemite), are very popular with rock climbers. 
 

Below 3,000 feet, the Colorado Desert features habitats of such dense cactus that form natural gardens. The California Fan Palm, only native to the state, occurs naturally in five spectacular oases in the park, areas where water occurs naturally year round, supporting many forms of wildlife. The southern lookout point at Keys View offers breathtaking views of the Coachella Valley and Salton Sea. We dry-camped at one of the nine park campgrounds. Unlike Palm Springs though, this is definitely not one that we will consider to settle in, but it was exhilarating at dusk and specially at dawn.

South of the park is the Salton Sea, a saline rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault. Like Death Valley, it is below sea level, at 226 ft. The sea is fed by three rivers, as well as toxic pesticide laced agricultural runoff drainage systems and creeks from nearby farms..Covering about 376 sqmi, it is the largest in California. But it should really be called the Dying Sea. It was certainly sad to see multitudes of dead fish on the expanse of beaches. In just two weeks, we had moved from a city of upscale living, to lonely desert life, to a sea of death. 
 

The Salton Sea was created in 1905, when heavy rainfall and snowmelt caused the Colorado River to swell. The resulting flood poured down the canals and breached a dike. Over a period of two years two newly created rivers sporadically carried the entire volume of the Colorado River into the Salton Sink. This basin was formed for 3 million years as the Colorado River built its delta in southwestern US, creating a massive dam, excluding the area. Depending on the balance between inflow and evaporative loss, the Sink has long been alternately a fresh water lake and a dry desert basin, 
 

The Southern Pacific Railroad attempted to stop the flooding but the effort was not fast enough and a massive waterfall was created. It rose to a height of 80 feet before the breach was finally stopped. As the basin filled, the town of Salton, a Railroad siding and some Indian land were submerged. The sudden influx of water and the lack of drainage resulted in the Salton Sea of today. But by the 1925s, the Salton Sea developed into a tourist attraction, because of its water recreation and the waterfowl that flock to the area.

Called a "crown jewel of avian biodiversity”, over 400 species have been documented. The Sea even supports 30% of the remaining population of the American white pelican and is a major resting stop on the Pacific Flyway. With relatively high inflow salinity and lack of an outlet, the Sea's salinity has increased by approximately 1% per year. Currently, at 44 parts per 1000, it is saltier than the Pacific! Many species of fish are no longer able to reproduce or survive in the Sea as the runoffs have resulted in elevated bacterial levels and large algal blooms, major food sources for migrating and wading birds!

The Salton Sea is definitely not a place for us to settle in but we thought, 'It was good to be able to see the miracle that, unfortunately, will probably not last.'. This segment of our cruising lifestyle was truly learning about different conditions that support life!' And that is what traveling is all about!

Next Stops: Julian, Ramona, and San Diego, California plus Casa Grande, St. David, and Arizona

Driving Down the West Coast: Solvang, Santa Barbara, Malibu, and LA

Once the euphoria of Big Sur and the colony of elephant seals subsided, we drove along the looooong California coast to savor its famous beaches! First, the magical town of Solvang, then upscale Santa Barbara, on to sunny Malibu, and then, finally, we turned into cosmopolitan Los Angeles.

One of our friends told us not to miss Solvang, the little Dutch America. So we went and found just what she described...a town with windmills on top of buildings, the museum dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen, lots of specialty outlets such as the Olive House, and little wine shops with joyful staff, great free food, and good jazz.

Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the US West Coast is Santa Barbara, lying between the steeply-rising Sta. Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara's climate is often described as mediterranean, and the city is sometimes referred to as the "American Riviera."

Our campground, however, a little way off the coastal city into the wilderness areas of Los Padres, beyond Santa Ynez. Huge oak trees that dwarfed our Star and three other RVs were the only ones in the vast acreage! When we went into town, we took Star because I could not ride Vino for longer than 15 minutes. So, we had to pay double parking fees!

I thought the shopping on State Street, the trendy main street of the city, can beat Rodeo Drive. And the Mission at Santa Barbara was truly one of the first (founded 1716). The wharf also looked so coooool! The following day we transferred to a state park along the coast just past the city and nestled quietly into the night with a beautiful California sunset to begin it.

And, soon after our start the following day, came 17 miles of scenic coastal drive on famous Malibu Beach. The beach homes are huge, some dramatically hanging off cliffs and some artistically jutting over the water. Then there was Malibu Pier, the historic landmark adjacent to Surfrider Beach, known for its three-point break that offers rides of 300 yards or more. And, even in that chilly October afternoon, the surfers were there!

Finally, we reached Los Angeles with its coral trees lining its boulevards. And how could we miss Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, the Scientology Center, the Kodak Theater, and the Grauman's Chinese Theater which opened in May 1927 with its red carpet and cement walk filled with signatures and palm prints of stars like Olivia de Havilland and Donald Duck?

Bill got to have his photo taken with Marilyn Monroe while I felt like I was another star on the Walk of Fame, a series of sidewalks on about 15 block segments of Hollywood Blvd. and 3 on Vine St., a permanent monument to great achievements in the entertainment industry. More than 2,400 stars are embedded at 6-foot intervals over a combined 1.7 miles.

Later, we dropped by Universal Studios and then took our own photo version of the Hollywood sign on the Hill! Despite all our excitement, the city did not make it to our select list of where we will settle after our RV cruising lifestyle is over. We couldn't afford it! So, we proceeded to our next stops: San Diego, Julian, and Ramona in southern California.