POST 653: 06/09/12: ROTHDRUM, IDAHO - MILLWOOD - SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

Rain continues to fall without intermission.

Walked West on Highway 53 toward the border of Idaho / Washington State, returning after 5 hours, having turned back within one mile of the border, 10 miles distant.



New Fire Station for the City of Rothdrum, Idaho.


...built on land donated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.

Matter of interest: in mid 1800's, the US Government granted the new railroad companies wide swaths of land on which to lay their steel tracks. Today, the railroads still own much of that deeded land.



Highway 53 as it passes through the city of Rothdrum.

There is a "down town", but I did not venture there.


We are now in the relative "flat lands" bordering the Western Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

Quite a difference in creeks and rivers...the raging torrents are now behind us.



On my return to Rothdrum after the first leg of the day - about 18 miles -, I came upon these festivities going on in the City Park of Rothdrum.


A stream of crystal clear water flows through the center of the park. The waters appear to be stocked with "legal" trout.

Today, open fishing was happening for the youngsters, complete with fishing poles and bait...and with no little help from the grown-ups.


This young lady, who was fishing as I watched, caught that nice size trout...it had swallowed her hook, but Dad finally got it free.

What a fantastic treat for the kids. Everybody was fully concentrating on fishing.


More local information about my comments on the great flood of 10,000 years ago.

In addition to the grand daddy of all floods through the Columbia Basin, apparently a number of smaller floods also occurred as the ice retreated.

I have heard some estimates placed the thickness of the ice covering parts of Washington State to be up to 5 miles thick. Seems a bit much, but who am I to say 'taint so...


Returning to SPIA, we drove to the suburb of Spokane, Washington...to the village of Millwood, Washington.

This non-descript Cafe caught my eye as I was looking for a place to park SPIA so I could walk on into Spokane...and, am I very glad I stopped. Went inside to ask permission to park, but ended up savoring the finest breakfast of my entire walk.

Owner Terry, his Niece, Susan, and Hostess Cha Cha, hovered over me as I waded through two delicious - over 6 inch diameter each - pork cutlets, a massive serving of tender light home fries, two fluffy scrambled eggs, coffee, and Rye Toast.

We talked "walking" for over 1/2 hour...then they refused to accept my $$..., Susan making me promise I would stop again in the near future.


One of the largest Grain Elevators I have seen...on the fringe of down town Spokane, Washington.






This is Trent Avenue...the old time - before Freeways - main road entering Spokane from Idaho. I walked this avenue from Terry's Cafe, all the way to down town Spokane...here seen a bit to the left of the underpass.

I turned back to Terry's after about 7 miles, arriving just as the last employee was locking up for the night...too late to say "Thank You" for allowing SPIA to park, and too late to ask for photographs for our blog.

We then drove on I-90 Freeway through Spokane, turning onto US 2 about a mile West of town. We have stopped for the night at WAL-MART in the suburb of Airway Heights, adjacent to the Spokane International Airport.

As I walk West on US 2 in the morning, rain is again forecast, accompanied by stiff winds out of the South west at 25 mph.

Today, I used my new "waterproof" boots. I had some reservation about their suitability for walking, but have been pleasantly surprised. They seem comfortable, warm, and yes, waterproof. Hopefully my long standing waterproof footwear problem may have been resolved.

We are 80 miles from Grand Coulee Dam, which we should reach in three days; i.e., Tuesday.

The region we are about to enter will be quite different from any we have walked in the past couple years.

Having lived my teen years in the Columbia Basin, I will have some background information to share in the next few days.

Th;e map below covers about 40% - the Eastern 40% - of Washington State. It is on a rather large scale, and is best read after click click to enlarge it.


Spokane, Washington - where we are for tonight - is about 1 inch from the right hand border.