The title of this post is borrowed from the city of Spokane's motto. I have to agree with the sentiment - Spokane was a fun city. Spokane calls itself the Inland Northwest - they're on the east side of the mountains, but it felt much like the cities of the Pacific Northwest that I've enjoyed so much. There were mountains on the horizon, a crashing river ran through town and the smell of evergreens was everywhere.
While much of the company traveled from Eugene to Spokane by bus (a 10 hour proposition) I opted to fly. It was a two segment trip & for the first half (Eugene to Seattle) we traveled on what came to be known, affectionately, as the "clown bus in the sky". The clown bus was painted to celebrate Horizon Air's 25th anniversary and made quite an impression. It was also one of the most pleasant flights I've been on in a long time. The flight attendants were pleasant, the plane had two doors for entrance and egress and they served Vernor's in-flight. Heaven in the sky!
DVZ, Ken & Roy pose in front of the "clown bus in the sky"
Spokane sits astride the eponymous Spokane River at the site of big series of waterfalls. It was the host-city of the Expo '74 ("Celebrating Tomorrow's Fresh New Environment") resulting in many of the structures (including the INB Performing Arts Center that played host to Spamalot) that make up Riverfront Park. The riverfront was a beautiful place to be: it featured a carousel, skyride over the falls, IMAX movie theatre, several food vendors, some cool public art and miles of walking trails.
The largest of the Spokane Falls as seen from downstream
Some smaller falls just upstream around Canada Island (once home to the Canadian pavilions, it has since been renamed in honor of our neighbor to the north)
This giant red wagon sits in Riverfront Park near the theatre. Entitled "The Childhood Express" and created by Ken Spiering, this artwork was created in honor of Washington's centenary in 1989 and is interactive: the wagon's handle is a slide!
The INB Performing Arts Center (formerly known as the Opera House) was built as part of the Expo '74. The backstage space was large and accommodating, the crew was top notch, but, once again, the theatre was short on dressing room space. Since things went well at load-in, the big event of the day on Tuesday was watching the building across the street get torn down. When we came to work, there was a 3 story building there, by dinner time, only the facade remained. The workers used a crane, a backhoe and a bobcat to do most of the work while we all watched (and speculated on their next moves) from across the street.
Mark, Ken and David enjoy the demolition
The INB PAC on the Spokane River - the windows wrap around 3 sides of the building making it feel a part of its surroundings.
Of course, Spokane is home to Gonzaga University. Perhaps Gonzaga's most famous alum (though he holds only an honorary degree - he dropped out in his final year) is the immortal Bing Crosby. Bong was a big supporter of the university and donated the funds to build Gonzaga's library. The library has since been outgrown and converted to a student center, but still bears his name and is home to the "Crosbyana Room" which displays all manner of things Crosby-related (including the Oscar he received for Going My Way. I visited the campus and the room with the biggest Crosby fan I know, Ben Whitely. Ben is a card-carrying member of the Bing Crosby fan club!
Ben with the statue of Bing outside the Crosby Student Center - Bing's signature pipe is often stolen as a prank by Gonzaga students
The Student Center showed a sense of humor about its namesake...
Thursday night, a large contingent of the Spamily turned out to shoot at one another. Lenny set up a very successful laser tag outing after the show. Roughly 30 of us scampered about a retrofitted warehouse firing our laser rifles, ducking, dodging and laughing. We were recounting our stories of bravery and foolishness all the way home.
Between rounds of tag, our host lead us in a wild game of pass the hula-hoop - it was more fun to watch and laugh than play!
On Friday, Karl and I went on a fly fishing expedition. Karl's been talking about learning to fly fish for a while, so when I read that there was an outfitter nearby, we went for it. We trekked a half an hour east to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for our adventure on the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River. Our guide provided all the equipment and the taught us the basics. We had a nice time, but didn't get many bites (the river was running high, fast and quite cold from the snow melt in the mountains). I caught the only fish of the trip: a 7" Cutthroat Trout who wiggled away before we could snap a photo. (You'll just have to trust that this isn't a "one that got away" tale...) In any event, the scenery and the experience were something special.
Karl casting - he looks just like Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It doesn't he?
A patented "arm out photo" on the Coeur d'Alene River
I had a couple of great meals at a restaurant called "Mizuna" near the river in Spokane. They featured Northwest ingredients in unique combinations. On Monday evening I dined with DVZ and enjoyed it so much that I returned for an after-show Sunday meal with Ben Davis, Gurr and John O'Hurley. On both occasions, the meal was delightful and varied.
I crossed off two more roadfood joints during the week to bring my total to an even 50: Frank's Diner and Hudson's Hamburgers. Frank's is in a converted 1906 railroad observation car. They serve up the usual, tasty diner fare in special surroundings. At Hudson's (in Coeur d'Alene) the surroundings are decidedly downscale, it's the hamburgers that are the attraction - they had best be, since there's almost nothing else on the menu (not even french fries). Hudson's has been pounding out patties and grilling them up for very satisfied customers for more than a century and it was easy to taste why there's often a line out the door.
I shared the best sort of meal (a meal with friends) between shows on Saturday at Anthony's at Spokane Falls. Anne (subbing in hair for the vacationing Mitchell), Roy, Suzanne, Lenny, Jason & I ate outdoors overlooking the beautiful falls.
A few more photos from the natural beauty department - both of them under the heading VFMHRW:
There were amazing clouds all week in Spokane. Whether it was sunny or stormy, the clouds were always doing interesting things.
I awoke early on Friday to get ready for the fly fishing trip & this was the sky that greeted me.
The more time I spend in the Northwestern part of our country, the more I dig it. Spokane was a charming city with a great downtown. I look forward to the next time I find myself in that part of the world.
JV
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