A Living Magazine - Day 81 - The Comfort of Routine

As long as the rain held off, sleeping here in Spokane would not be a problem. I even had a couple ideas for spots if it rained, as I awoke. I packed up and headed out the normal way. One of the ever-present trains was going by above me... 

I'd grown to really like having the trains around. The sleeping spot was way below the train bridge, and I'd heard about 5 trains a night drive over it. Another track (the one shown above) crossed over the bridge track, so it is kind of a major crossing point for the region. An awful lot of stuff is rolling through this town in every direction.

I took another look at the bridge column paintings by Thomas Quinn and noticed that they match the land behind them. Really cool...

Here's the painting of the path seen from the little road bench area above the creek, looking east. 

Check it out.

Now we know these birds are Kestrels, from the notice I found the other day. Look at how the painting blends with the bridge behind it...

I call this "land glass" as opposed to "sea glass", for obvious reasons.

And, it does become smoother over time, just like sea glass. 

The day before, I'd cleaned up a bunch of bottles, cans, and food wrappers from this little bench area. someone had smashed a bottle on one of the sculptures, so I swept that off on to the ground. It was hard to imagine that must have happened a hundred time in the past. I don't mind picking up big pieces of trash. but, generally speaking I don't pick up really small things, like cigarette butts and such...

I usually don't pick up clothing or glass either. There was a sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers. If the site had a trash can, I probably would have disposed of everything there. It is a tricky prospect--putting trash can around close to every little park and bench area. someone has to clean and maintain them, and people see them as places to hang out. The most irritating thing is when people hang around a trash can and leave things beside it, rather than in it! I have never understood that...

I keep taking different streets into the downtown area. Today I took Riverside. I had to cross up and over another road. I passed someone's sleeping spot. It was nice too; with a feather pillow, down comforter, etc.--all clean, and abandoned...

I really like this for some reason.

You are the concrete beneath my feet.

I had heard about a pizza place called, Pizza Pipeline, out on Division Avenue that had a lunch special: Three slices of pepperoni pizza and a refillable drink for $5.00 after tax. I headed out there for the daily meal. It was fantastic. The pieces were large. The pizza was a thin, very herb filled crust, lathered in olive oil--not dry. Plenty of pepperoni, cooked just right (I don't like under cooked pizza), and a 20 oz soft drink. With a full belly I walked back down Division, past this jewelry store, with a rotating mirrored diamond... 

Honey, what do you think of the rock I picked out for you?

I memorized the bus routes, since Division is a major artery to the norther part of the city, where Wal-Mart is. It is Bus Route 25, the same one I took back from Wal-Mart a couple days before. The next route toward town was Monroe (Bus Route 24), and so on. With one two hour transfer pass I could go out to Wal-Mart the next day, buy my much needed gel insoles, more wipes and some socks. The Super Center was on Wellesley, which all of the bus route ran to. And Wellesley itself is Bus Route 33. To got out there the next day, I'd simply take 24 to 33, then 33 back to 24, all for $1.50!

When I walked back into town through the park I took a closer look at the Skyride...  

A support holds wheels with a groove on top. The "Sky Cars" are permanently attached to their respective cables; two on one cable and three on the other...

The control tower.

In giant letters, leading to where people get on and off...

OK, OK!

A woman raising awareness about what the Islamic State is doing to girls.

The laptop was still charged to about 60%, so I did most of my post for the day outside at a picnic table in the park. Usually, I get 45 free minutes from the city. But, on this day I was able to pick up an Xfinity hotspot and could save my park minutes. I got it done, and posted, just as the sun was going down. I was very pleased to see another beautiful sunset...

Walking back to the creek, I thought much about what my next travel destination should be. I'd seen it all on Google Maps, the routes I'd need to take if I hiked, as compared to bus or train routes. The train looked like the best bet and would be the least amount of money. I simply had to get over my desire to spend a day in Idaho and/or Montana. There are many states I've only sped over by train. I can't see everything on this journey. Yet, someday I do hope to fill in the gaps by getting back to some of the states I missed. I decided to take Amtrak directly from Spokane to Minnesota. Now that that was settled, I needed to tighten the belt and divert contributions into a ticket fund. All of this passed through my mind as I arrived at the sleeping spot.

The day had a really nice vibe to it. The comfort of having a routine (the walking commute down town every day, the coffee at Starbuck's, being able to work in the park, or head out to Wal-Mart and back for only $1.50, etc...).

I could easily live here in Spokane indefinitely, as long as I could make about $20.00 a day, playing guitar in a band or something. I feel the same way about Salem, Portland and Klamath Falls, Oregon (of the recent places I've been). I'd just sleep outside. Winter would be a different story. All the while, I simply found it such a relaxing and laid-back place. With that, I laid back and relaxed, falling asleep easily under the stars.