Hello Everyone,
It’s been an interesting week out here in the “Inland Empire” of Washington State. The week started out in deserted ghost towns of the far northeast of the state, took me to the big city of Spokane, led me just across the border into Idaho for a night and finally back towards the center of the state and the enormous Grand Coulee Dam. I’ve passed through a lot of ranch country this week and a handful of railroad-and-grain-elevator towns similar to those found all across the heartland of the country. I caught a lot of live music this week, ate one too many burgers and somehow managed to dodge most of the raindrops in the area. All in all, I’d say it’s been a good week.
When I left you last week, I was way up north on the Canadian border in the cute little town of Oroville. Border towns are always interesting places to be, and Oroville was no different. I was actually really surprised by the number of people of Mexican descent who were there and four of the maybe six restaurants that were open in town were Mexican restaurants. After a long but successful work session at the wonderful little local library while it rained cats and dogs outside, the weather finally cleared and I took a nice long walk around town, stopping for dinner at Rancho Grande. The food was pretty good there, but the one young man who was running the entire front-of-house was awesome. After dinner, I drove just a few minutes north of town for a quick beer at the P&D Pub which is interestingly located in what was once a gas station mini-mart. It was a warm and welcoming place with $4 beers, a cozy fireplace and a very well done conversion. It was a quiet night in a quiet town which is never a bad thing.
Thursday dawned bright and sunny and I got an early jump on the day to take advantage of the sunshine. As you might guess by the name “Oroville”, this area is gold country (“oro” means gold in Spanish). While there was never a boom like what happened in California or Nevada, there were plenty of people who went to Northeast Washington to dip a pan and seek their fortune. My first stop was north and east of Oroville in tiny Molson, Washington. Molson was named after the famous Canadian beer family who funded the operation there for a year in the early days after discovery. Today, Molson is home to a small community of ranchers, but in the 1960s the local historical society wanted to capitalize on the area’s mining past and collected several old period buildings from around Okanogan County. The buildings were carefully moved into town and placed next to the old bank and assayer’s office which were still standing in town from the gold rush days. They created a little ghost town on the site and put a lot of work into making it look and feel authentic. Despite its partially contrived origin, I absolutely loved it there. The buildings were all open and some of them were even furnished and decorated. There was a ton of information to read on the walls and dozens of photos of Molson in its heyday. The town has clearly put a lot of work into the little museum, and I’m sure it brings in enough tourism to make it worthwhile. I was the only one there and it felt like I was back in the old west.
Leaving Molson, I continued on to two other “ghost towns” further east: Chesaw and Bodie. Chesaw is a small town with a couple of cool old buildings in it, including a store and tavern which are still in operation (unfortunately the tavern was closed when I passed through). They apparently hold a 4th of July rodeo in Chesaw every year which sounds like quite an event. I wouldn’t call it a ghost town, but it was a nice little town with some cool old buildings. Bodie, on the other hand, was little more than a firetrap. There is one old house there, which is leaning to the side and probably won’t be standing for much longer, and an assortment of other buildings in various states of decay. Of course without preservation that is what you would expect from hastily thrown together wooden buildings set in a wet and harsh environment. These aren’t dry Nevada desert towns by any stretch. There was a severed and decomposing deer head in one of the buildings, so I assume it’s a gathering spot for local teenagers, but there really isn’t much to Bodie these days. I did find it interesting that Bodie was founded with money from the Wrigley family, of chewing gum and Chicago baseball stadium fame.
From there it was just a short drive on to the pleasant town of Republic in Ferry County. Republic is where the real gold in the area actually was and still is today. Over the last 130 years, miners have pulled over 8 million ounces of gold out of the local mines. Republic is a cute little town with a few hotels and restaurants, but it is mainly a support community for the local mines and ranches. I had a nice wander around town, but the clouds were closing in so I tucked into their little library and got a little closer to being caught up on my photos. Republic has a nice little town park for RVers to stay overnight and it’s just a short block away from Republic Brewing Company, a nice little family-run spot located in the town’s old fire hall. The brewery had a great fresh-hopped beer on tap called Jodie Abides and the people working there were welcoming and friendly. About 7:30pm, the power in the entire town went out and would stay out until after I left the following morning. Thankfully the brewery had a few battery powered backup lights so we could have another beer before they threw us out. The sky was overcast when I left, so it was truly dark out as I walked back to my van. But once I was back inside my van, I had lights and heat and TV and refrigeration and for just that night I felt like the richest guy in town.
Friday morning was sunny and cold in Republic, with the temperature just barely above freezing. The town was pretty much shut down due to the power outage so I just brewed up a hot pot of coffee and skipped on down the road. I cruised up and over Sherman Pass, which, at 5,575’ is the highest pass in Washington that the state maintains year-round, and dropped down the other side into the Columbia River Valley. It was great to see the mighty Columbia again as I crossed over the region’s most important river at Kettle Falls. You may recall that I had crossed the Columbia to enter Washington in the steamy heat of last September. I took a quick drive through downtown Kettle Falls and then continued on to Colville where I stopped to pick up some groceries. There wasn’t much to keep me in Colville, so I turned my headlights towards Spokane and hit the road south. I did make a short detour to see a cool old schoolhouse in Loon Lake and then made a longer stop at the historic site of Spokane House. Spokane House was an old fur trading fort near the confluence of the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers, and the state park has some interesting interpretive signs along the river about life in those days. It was a sunny afternoon and I just enjoyed stretching my legs and getting a nice long walk along the river.
I was at Spokane House for a little over an hour and then continued on into downtown Spokane. I’ve been to Spokane at least a dozen times but never really had the opportunity to explore it. The sun is setting around 4:20pm in Spokane these days, so I decided to walk around downtown before it got dark. The whole city is built around the Spokane River and the tremendous waterfalls located there. The Riverfront Park has several cool bridges which cross the river and provide epic views of the different falls and I really enjoyed a long walk around in the crisp evening air. Once the sun went down I headed out to the gym for a workout and a much-needed shower. Clean and refreshed I decided to give a local fast-food restaurant a try. I almost never eat fast-food, but when I see a local chain I always want to see what it’s all about. Sometimes it is really great, like Pal’s in eastern Tennessee or Blake’s in New Mexico, and sometimes it is awful which was the case with Zip’s here in Spokane. The lady working there was really sweet and I told her I’d never been to Zip’s before and asked her what I should order. She told me to get a Papa Joe which is a burger with ham on it. First of all, my combo meal came to $13 which is criminally expensive for what I got. This was a tiny 1/8 pound patty with a slim slice of ham and cheese and was completely slathered in mayo. She recommended I try their tartar sauce with my fries because apparently they are famous for that, too (ordering tartar sauce with your fries is apparently a very Spokane thing to do). The tartar sauce was pretty ordinary as well, but they did have “fry sauce” which is more of a Utah specialty, and that was actually pretty good. The whole thing was just a disaster from start to finish and I will not be returning to Zip’s ever again. Ever.
From there I headed downtown and wandered around for a while, stopping in here and there for a beer. I eventually wandered into a place called the Monterey Café, which was a special kind of place. It was definitely a dive, but a popular one and it was pretty packed inside. There were people from all walks of life in the Monterey that night from college coeds in cute little dresses to scary looking dudes with face tattoos to Canadians in their hockey jerseys, young and old, black and white. The beers were cheap and everyone was having a good time on a Friday night. I rarely stumble into a place like that, but when I do I recognize that it’s its own kind of special and I like to savor it a little bit. Leaving downtown I stopped for a quick beer at The Brown Derby, a classic old Spokane haunt and then another old-school bar called the Moezy In for a nightcap. It was a fun night out in Spokane and I even managed to clear the taste of tartar sauce out of my mouth.
I had a really enjoyable day on Saturday. I hit the gym and the library in the morning to get some things done and then went out to the Finch Arboretum in the afternoon for a stroll. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day and the trees out there were gorgeous. All the different fall colors are popping right now and it was just a beautiful place to walk and get some fresh air. I wasn’t the only one with that idea and there were plenty of families wandering around with professional photographers getting family portraits taken with the colorful leaves. They were all so cute in their matching outfits and made the place feel wholesome and fun. Leaving the Arboretum, I headed back into town and had lunch at a place called Mary Lou’s Milk Bottle which is located in a building shaped like, well, a giant milk bottle. It’s a cute little lunch and dinner spot and was quite popular on a Saturday afternoon. I got a burger and a milkshake and both were excellent. The staff was really hustling and the place was humming along and for as busy as it was, I was in and out in about half an hour. From there it was back downtown for an afternoon show at the Spokane Comedy Club. The headliner was a local man named Michael Glatzmaier who had an interesting story. He told us that he had some serious learning disabilities and that when he was young he picked up a guitar and when he was picking the guitar it helped him speak clearly and more confidently. He said his brother would take him to downtown Spokane and they would sit on a bench and Michael would play and make up songs about whoever walked past. And that was basically his act – playing his guitar and making up songs based on prompts written by the audience. Knowing all of that, it was a genuine and enjoyable show. My general opinion on improv isn’t very high as I think comedy is an art and a difficult one and takes talent, practice and timing to get right. But Michael was very likable and the show was free so I walked away pretty happy. From there I went down the road to a nice little music club called Zola for an acoustic set by Justyn Priest which was also really good. A day with some nature, some comedy and some live music is always a good one in my book.
Sunday was all about music but I started my day with a fantastic breakfast at Frank’s Diner. Frank’s is a classic old train car diner that’s been serving up delicious meals since 1931 and is a definite local favorite. The gentleman sitting next to me at the counter told me I had to get an order of crispy deviled eggs which sounded intriguing and were absolutely fabulous (the whites are panko crusted and fried and then the yolk mixture is added and it’s topped with thick cut bacon). I don’t think I’ve ever had an appetizer for breakfast before, but I would definitely order them again. For my meal, I had a breakfast scramble and hash browns to go with it and the hash browns were topped with grilled onions and gravy and the whole thing was really good. I will definitely be back to Frank’s on my next stop through Spokane. My belly full, I headed just east of town to Spokane Community College which was hosting their 30th annual Fall Folk Festival. The schedule was packed and I enjoyed all of the different musicians I saw perform. My favorites were definitely Hank Cramer, a Vietnam Veteran (so definitely in his 70s) with the wide repertoire of someone who has been performing for decades, and a guitar/cello/upright bass trio called Chris Baron and Two Secrets who were folksy but modern and very talented all around. I also enjoyed the spontaneous jam sessions in the lounge and the many artists and craftspeople who were there selling their work. It was an all-around wonderful day. When it wound up around 5, I stopped into the Maryhill Tasting Room for a glass of wine and a nice acoustic set. Then I went just up the road to Hamilton Studios, an interesting music venue inside an old Catholic school auditorium. That night was a performance by an artist named Valerie Jeanne who was creating a video submission to work on a cruise ship – which really should have been a red flag. While Valerie was a decent singer and her supporting band was excellent, I paid $25 to basically hear a cover band doing tired old country music “favorites” that would appeal to a cruise ship crowd. I was definitely the youngest person in the audience and I wasn’t really even sure if anyone in the room was awake they were so quiet and lifeless. It was a cool venue but really not worth what I spent on it. All of that was done and dusted by 8pm which was a lot for one day, so I took the opportunity for an early night and a long night’s sleep.
I got up Monday and hit the library for a while and then popped just over the border into Idaho to visit my friend Cameron in Coeur d’Alene. Cameron and I trained together to be tour guides way back in April of 2000. He has since left the industry and become quite a successful investment banker, gotten married, bought a house and raised a daughter. He’s a genuinely good guy and his sense of humor and mine line up really well so we always have a playful good time when we get together. I pulled my van in next to his house for the night and hung out with his family for a while before we headed into town. We went to a great little sports bar called Capone’s to catch up, watch some Monday Night Football and have a few beers and some dinner. We had a lot of laughs and a really good night.
Yesterday morning we had some breakfast and chatted over coffee for a while as he had the day off of work for Veterans’ Day. He had plans with his daughter, so I said goodbye and headed down to the lake for a stroll in the morning light. I hung out there for a while and then got some gas (which is much cheaper in Idaho than in Washington) and headed back to Spokane. I had planned on going to the local history and culture museum, but it was sadly closed for the holiday. Instead, I took a drive around the Brown’s Addition neighborhood to admire some lavish Victorian homes and then made my way back downtown. I had a lovely stroll through the historic area, checking out some old buildings and statues. On my way back to my van, I popped into the historic Davenport Hotel to have a look around. I had recently heard someone refer to the Davenport as one of the nicest hotels in the country, and I thought they must be exaggerating, but it was a really beautiful place. The main lobby was gorgeous and reminded me a lot of the Peabody in Memphis with its central fountain (no ducks though) and its cute little cocktail bar. But it was the ballrooms which really blew me away as they were very elegantly appointed and I’m sure are very popular for weddings, balls and proms. I had a nice little meander through the hotel to take some photos and soak up the history. From there I went just east of downtown to try another storied Spokane institution, Dick’s Hamburgers, which has been serving “burgers by the bagful” since 1965. Dick’s was fantastic (especially compared to Zip’s), and I can see why it is so beloved. I did hear someone order tartar sauce with their fries, but I just stuck with ketchup. From there I stopped for a quick drink at the little Park Inn which is not only the oldest bar and restaurant in Spokane, but perhaps in all of eastern Washington. It was a cute little place for a beer, but I was tired so I wasn’t there long. I took off to the little Quest casino just west of town for the night.
I had a busy morning this morning as I have so many little things that I need to catch up on. I made a bunch of phone calls and ran a bunch of errands and felt like I made some headway on my list, but the days are short so I got moving as soon as I could. I made a nice little stop at Fort Spokane which was built in 1880 to protect settlers from the Indians of the newly designated Colville Indian Reservation. It turned out that the military spent more time protecting the Reservation from greedy prospectors and squatters than the other way around. It was an active fort between 1880 and 1898 when it was decommissioned and turned into an Indian Boarding School. The Indian Boarding School era was pretty horrific as these Indian children were taken from their families when they were as young as 5 with the idea of assimilating them into white culture. The intent at the time was often good, but in retrospect they are pretty hard to imagine. Fort Spokane is now a part of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, and there are a handful of old buildings there and some good signage to learn about the area’s history. From there I made my way on to Grand Coulee, which is the site of our country’s biggest dam. I have been here before, many years ago, but didn’t get to tour the dam which I hope to do tomorrow morning.
And that’s about it for this week. During the coming week, I will continue through the central part of the state and hit up some cool little towns like Chelan, Leavenworth and Roslyn. I hope to get some decent weather to do some hiking in the mountains and then will loop south and start heading back towards the southeast corner of the state. I won’t be in Washington too much longer, but I will definitely still be here at this time next week. I hope you’ll check back in and see what I get up to this week as there are definitely some interesting and beautiful sights ahead. Have a great week out there, stay warm, and thank you, as always, for reading.
-Mike