A Living Magazine - Day 73 - The Spokane Language

I woke up and had that weird feeling of not knowing where I was, then remembered. It was overcast, almost looked like rain was heading in. The sleeping spot had worked well, except that there were three small boulders embedded in the sand that I could not remove, having to lie on my sides, curled around them. But it wasn't bad.

Now came the damn steep hill climb again. I walked back up the path until I got to the diagonal section leading up the hill. That wasn't too bad. But, when I reached the next section, I was slipping all over the place trying to climb it, side-footed. It was slow progress until I realized that if I simply stepped off and used the tufts of grass along the side of the path, like steps I wouldn't slip. Worked like a charm. It was still steep but I kept my balance until I reach the top, about 40 feet up. There was a leveled out area with another 20 foot path running at a more comfortable angle all the way to the road. I was tuckered out, but otherwise fully awake now. 

I walked downtown on my newest commuter route, taking pictures for the rest of the day. The Spokane Public Library was only eight blocks away, along with Riverside Park, which I had not visited yet but had viewed on Google Earth.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these 84 pictures should be able to do most of my talking for the day. Spokane is photogenic. It has a complex waterway system, with walker and biker bridges galore. This meant I was able to take quite a few shots around the park area. One thing I was noticing was that cities each have a "language" that their culture speaks. This is particularly apparent to me in the art and architecture. This city certainly had its own language. Art, from graffiti tags, to full-blown wall murals, to civil structures like bridges and parks, were bursting with uniqueness. And there was art all over the place (as you will see in these next two days). Seems the population itself is like an art colony.

Please enjoy these, and feel free to download them and use them in your own projects (please just attribute in some way)...

Mr. Porcupine - the critter I'd heard the night before. I'd say nearly 30 pounds.

Morning moon.

Sunrise over Third Street.

Under the bridge on Lincoln Street.

Giant wall mural of John Lennon.

Spokane Post Office.

View from the end of Lincoln Street.

Cable Cars.

The Spokane Public Library.

Spokane City Hall.

A neat sculpture, but a bit impractical for a sidewalk.

Setting up for a "Pig Out in the Park Festival", with food vendors.

Stage.

Fountain near the park.

'Scuse me... Have you seen an ATM around?

Willow on a pond.

Riverfront Park Clock Tower.

Some guy photobombing my shot.

Bridge to Canada Island.

Every city seems to have had a "great fire".

Big IMAX Theater.

Better get out the big socket set for this one--the nuts were 12 inches wide.

Holly blue berries.

Totem pole.

I love the color of this clock tower. A really well-kept building.

An oxidizing piece of city art.

I left this horizontal, for Frank.

Patterns, form and duration.

Steam Plant Square Brewing.

Outstanding wall art throughout the city. This was under a bridge across Lincoln.

For Sheryl and Dave.

Too bad some of these were defaced.

For Ellen (and her goldfish).

No idea?

I needed to check in at McDonald's one more time. Funds were getting low. I decided the next step is going to be getting to Minnesota as soon as I can. 

Having said that, IF I could raise enough money for a train from Montana, I would consider walking across that tip of Idaho into Montana (it's about 50 miles), as one last long distance hike before being back in the Midwest again.  

I stood across from McDonald's and waited for the walk light to change while I contemplated these things, taking pictures of the church at the corner...

I worked on the pictures for this post until about 8:30 pm; way later than I'd planned. It was really dark out, and I had a steep hill to ski down. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I knew of no other way down--yet.

I semi-hurried out into the night and down Third Street, then on the Sunset Boulevard, passing two guys outside the liquor store. One of them said, "Hey, buddy!"

Since I was the only hey-able buddy walking by, I felt obligated to an unenthusiastic, "Hey...what' up?" back.

"We've got some beer, come on over and hang out!"

I told them I was all set and continued on.

When I reached the concrete barricade, I saw another guy slowly - and, folks, I DO mean slowly - walking his bike up the hill, right where I needed to scoot around the barricade. I stopped and pretended to check my watch, then again, and again, and again... until he got his ass out of the way.

I took out my LED flashlight, but it was dim and in need of batteries. I'd been finding it on sometimes when I opened my pack, something in the pocket having repeatedly clicked the switch while shuffling around. It worked well enough to get me on to the first 20 foot trail, but that was pretty much it. From there on, I had to just use the ambient light around me to see the steep part of the hill leading down to the creek. Fuck.... I sighed to myself.

It took a while to find the same place I'd climbed up that morning, but I found it. A little bit at a time, I stepped sideways, turning from side to side for that 40 feet, until I finally slid on to the last diagonal path, which was lighter in color, easier to follow. I was very careful and I didn't trip or anything. It was easier without a flashlight, as my eyes got used to the darkness.

I walked for what seemed like a long time, peering to my left, trying to spot what I'd seen during the daylight. There came the gentle bend in the path, and I noticed that the apartments way up above on the hill were lined up exactly as I'd remembered, sitting in the spot the night before. Sure enough, there below me was the screen across the rocks, forming a stairway down to the open area.

I was tempted to tarp-down there, but it really was just too open. So, I negotiated the small rough path back to the spot from the night before, and went through the routine of laying things out. I'd made it back there by 9:30. That was great--plenty of time to sleep. I did fall asleep easily. Dreams had been more regular when I slept longer. Going to sleep early was always a good thing.