USA PACIFIC NORTH WEST 3

BOB AND MARY'S TRAVELS 2015

USA PACIFIC NORTH WEST 3

PORTLAND - VANCOUVER - COLUMBIA RIVER CRUISE - SPOKANE

16th September to 30th September

 

 

 

We began our time in Portland with a walk up Morrison Street where the Rose Hotel is situated and walked up as far as 5th Ave. A lovely tree lined street with light rail running west. First thing that struck us was the lack of vehicles and people around the streets - certainly wasn't bustling even though it was the middle of the day! Retraced our steps and went into the Rock Bottom Brewery and Restaurant - was busy there. Had a light lunch and sampled some of their IPA's.

Walked a little more around the area, bought breakfast supplies and then back to hotel for rest. Dinner at Dragonwell Bistro (Chinese) on Yamhill St.

Slower start today - rained overnight and early morning - cleared by 9.30am when we headed out. Walked across road to Riverside Walk alongside the Willamette River and headed south. Lots of bridges of different ages and designs. Walked by River Place - hotel, apartments and lots of restaurants and cafes by the river.

 

 

Decided to travel on the tram to get some views over the city and found that it is used for transport between riverside sites and the main buildings of Oregon Health & Science University and Shriners Hospital. Had a very nice coffee and sat and looked at the views before returning down to the river.

 

 

 

 

We then caught a street car that does a loop through the University, Downtown, Pearl Districts and over the river to east side and past the Convention Centre over the river again back to west side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of streetcar in pedestrian safety mirror!

 

 

We did one and half loops before getting off at Alder & 5th to get a good idea of the layout of Portland. 

 

 

 

Lots of food trucks in the area lining car parking lots. Walked to 5th Ave and had lunch at Redstar Bar - sampled some different IPAs before walking around Pioneer Square, down Yamhill St and back to hotel.

 

 

Lovely sculpture of bear with salmon

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 Back for a rest as it had become very warm after a cooler start to the day. Had pre-dinner wines at the hotel bar before dinner at Sait Hung Thai Fusion Restaurant.

Set off at 9am on the 18th and caught the light rail tram on Morrison St ($5 for day and transferable between street car and buses). Headed to Washington Park Station - deepest light rail station in USA. There are many places to visit in the park - Zoo, Arboretum, Japanese Garden (closed for renovations) and the International Rose Test Garden which was our destination. Found that the shuttle bus only runs now on Wednesday and local bus hourly so decided to walk the 2.4 kms. Unfortunately no footpaths along road so had to follow trails through the woods and ended up walking virtually double the distance! Luckily it was mostly downhill as the gradients were rather steep in places!

Sweet Licorice

 

 

 



Happy Go Lucky

 Eventually arrived at the gardens and enjoyed looking around the wonderful displays of Floribundas, Hybrid Tea and Miniatures.

 

 

 

Easy Does It



Crimson Bouquet

Spoke to some of the volunteers working in the garden and found that they volunteer directly with the Rose Test Garden and not through garden groups and can do as many days a week as they like. One lady said that now they had downsized to an apartment she spends 4 days a week there to get her garden fix!

Strike it rich

Timed our visit so that we could get a bus back to the station and took the light rail to 10th and Alder where we changed to the streetcar and went to the Pearl District.



Machine to print your own books

 Looked inside Powell's Book Store - covers an entire block and has the most amazing stock of books. You could loose yourself there for a week and not see everything! Had a late lunch at Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House and did a tasting of 6 IPAs with our food.



 An interesting sculpture across the road from the shop.


Walked to Chinatown and visited the Lan Su Chinese Garden. A very restful place in the middle of the city. Light rail back to hotel and rested up after all the exercise. Ordered a glass of wine each and cheese plate to share and had an evening in.



 
 
 


 Set out on Saturday morning at 9am to visit the market near the river. Saw an old steam powered paddle boat heading under one of the draw bridges.
The market was very disappointing - very few stall operating at 9.30am and mostly craft with a few food outlets - no produce.

 Walked along 3rd Ave and had a coffee before heading up Washington to 10th Ave taking lots of photos of buildings and the trams before heading back to the hotel to pack and check out at midday.

Went to Rockbottom Brewery and Restaurant again for lunch before taking taxi to Vancouver, Washington for a one night stay before our cruise.

Only took just over 20 minutes and crossed over the Columbia River as we arrived into Vancouver. Checked into Hilton Hotel - all cruise guests here for the night - very handily placed. Good view from the room of Mt Hood in the distance. 



Park over the road with lovely clock tower and sculptures. 

The Vancouver Producers Market just at end of block and had a wander around there and enjoyed seeing the good variety of fruit, vegetables, flowers and other produce.



One for you Michael!
 

 Sculpture of George Vancouver near the market.
Called by information desk for the cruise to get some queries sorted. Relaxed in the room before going to dinner at Little Italy's Restaurant for dinner - one of the places recommended by the hotel - good food.

Sunday 20th - first day of cruise. Up and to breakfast - bags all packed and ready for collection by 8am. Check in for cruise open and took opportunity to do this early which meant we were on first bus to boat. A bit of a down day as we could not board until 3.30pm so relaxed in room, in room and spent some time wandering around the small centre and found a small café open for lunch. Back and joined many others sitting around in hotel lobby waiting for the bus to the American Empress. A wasted day in many ways but as boat had arrived in that morning they had to replenish and some passengers were on day tours.

 Once on board were shown to our room - 230 on second deck - very comfortable and sufficient room. We were upgraded and it is a much bigger cabin than the one we booked and has private deck. Unpacked and then checked out the boat. Tried a local pinot gris in the Paddlewheel Lounge and met Greg, one of the cruise directors. Found out that another NZ couple on board whom we met later - Bob and Kay from Howick.

Boat drill - involved returning to cabins putting on life vests and standing in hallway to have them checked!  
 

Time to head out on deck and watched from the bow as the boat departed Vancouver and headed down the Columbia River to Astoria near the river mouth. Watched a preview of the nightly show with a complimentary glass of bubbles and were introduced to some of the crew.
Went to late dinner service at 7.45pm in Astoria Dining Room on 1st floor - main dining area, but you are encouraged to also use the River Grill on 4th deck and need to book, but they have the same menu for the whole week where as it changes daily in the Astoria! We both had clam chowder and quail for our meals - very good. Local wines free with dinner and they change each night. Listened to Frank playing on the piano for a while in the Paddlewheel Lounge before heading to bed. A wonderful entertainer!
Woke up next morning in Astoria, Oregon near the mouth of the Columbia River having docked at 3am. Astoria is named for John Jacob Astor whose American Fur Company established Fort Astor in 1811 and is the oldest American settlement  west of the Rockies. Lewis and Clark went through the area in 1805 and wintered over at Fort Clatsop nearby. Glorious day and had breakfast in River Grill (buffet). Elected to do the hop on hop off bus today around the town of Astoria - this option is free with the tour and they pay for your museum entries. Set off at 9.15am and headed along the waterfront. Originally all the buildings in the area were built on piles, but after the devastating fire in 1922 a sea wall was built and was filled in and all new buildings were brick. Moved on through the streets winding up the steep hillside. Lovely old wooden homes in this area. Stopped at Flavel House - home of Captain George Flavel, a bar pilot and prominent businessman of the 1800s. The house was completed in 1886 in Queen Anne style for the cost of US$36,000 and had electricity, running water, baths and toilets. He only lived for another 7 years but the family still resided here until 1934 when a great granddaughter gifted the house to the city. Is an amazing home for its time.

Drawing room

View of part of kitchen

Hopped on another bus from here and went up to the top passed more wonderful old homes to the Astoria Column (600ft above sea level). The column was built to celebrate Astoria's early settlers and begins with Indians at the bottom and ends at the top with the arrival of the railroad - gifted in 1926, but unfortunately  wrapped in scaffolding for repair works. 


 Had great views out over Young's Bay to the Pacific Ocean and the Lewis and Clark River. Also good view of the Astoria Bridge which is the largest truss bridge in the world.

Pacific Ocean way in distance

Astoria Column

Visited the Heritage Museum which is in Astoria's old City Hall and features Clatsop County history - very well put together.

Walked back to the boat.

For the Cook/Conklin families

Docked alongside 630 & 623

After lunch we set out and took the old trolley tram that runs about 4 miles along the riverside. Interesting commentary as we went along past old canneries, hotels, downtown, under the Astoria bridge and the sealions that have taken up residence.



Walked back to the boat looking at the interpretive signs along the river walk - it was getting rather warm. Today there are some buildings still on piles, new ones being built on the old piles and old piles left there as it costs $US2000 to remove them and once removed the area they were in reverts to the city!

Old ferry dock before bridge

Bob went to a beer tasting on board and Mary went to talk on the river, dams, locks etc.

Sailed at 5pm and watched for a while as we began retracing our steps back up river - lovely sitting on our balcony.
Dinner in River Grill and met a couple from Boston. Lobster for dinner tonight. Listened to Frank Chase afterwards doing Ray Charles - great way to finish the day.






We were up soon after 6am on the 22nd to watch the American Empress go through the first of the locks we travel through. This lock is at the Bonneville Dam, the first hydro electric station built on the Columbia in 1937.

 After breakfast we spent time on deck watching the scenery. Very steep sides in parts, all basalt rock and douglas fir trees. Many fishing platforms on the river banks used by the Indians. 
 
 
 
 

Another boat on river

Lifting train bridge

Briefing in Show Lounge about our disembarkation and stay in Spokane.  Back on deck and had some good views of Mt Hood.

 



Captain guiding boat into dock

Terrain changed - not so steep and the hills were very dry as low rainfall in this area. Saw houses, quarries, fishing boats at tributaries catching salmon. On one side of the river was Washington State and on the other Oregon. Trains run on both sides - mostly goods with up to 120 carriages!

 

 Docked at The Dalles (means gutters - from the river flowing through the gorge) just before noon.

After lunch we took the hop on hop off bus and stopped at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Museum - a very well set up museum with exhibits showing beginning of gorge from ice ages through the time of the Indians, the homesteaders, the development of boat trade, canneries, railway and towns.

horn crested owl on display

 
 
 

Entrance to discovery centre

 













Back on bus and back into town and through residential part - again lovely old homes - saw original court house (now museum), Dalles Area Visitors Centre, Fort Dalles Museum and then got off at Sunshine Mill Winery that produces wine under the label of Quenett (local Indian word for steelhead).

Winery is in the old Sunshine Biscuit Company building where they milled wheat for 130years - first building in The Dalles to have electricity powered by a Thomas Edison motor and is the only designated skyscraper in town. Wheat milled here was used to make Cheez-It crackers.
The tasting room is interesting with machinery from the mill to view and other nick nacks. Claire and Fiona they had chandeliers made from wine bottles, but no where as good as at Waipara Springs!
Tasted 5 wines - 2 whites and 3 reds and enjoyed the pinot gris and the sangiovese and we bought some to enjoy before dinner on the boat.

Dinner in the Astoria tonight and sat with a couple from Michigan. Listened to Frank for a while and then bed for early start next day.

  Docked at Stevenson, down river from The Dalles, at 7am and to bus by 7.45am for our all day trip "Ultimate North West Experience". Stevenson is a small town of 1600 people in Washington State. 

 Headed through town and over the Bridge of the Gods into Oregon and drove along a section of the Historic Columbia River Highway built by Sam Hill and Sam Lancaster.

Stopped at the Multnomah Falls (620ft) and tallest in Oregon. Lovely setting and we walked the trail to the Benson Bridge which gives you a good view of the two levels of the falls.

Retraced our steps and went to the Bonneville Dam and had a tour of the powerhouse first built in 1933-1937. It could not meet power needs so a second dam was built on the Washington side 1974-1981.

Horsetail Falls

First lock built a little upriver at Cascade Rapids in 1896 to allow ships to move upriver instead having to portage goods around the rapids.

Fish ladder

Inside Powerhouse

Bonneville lock built in 1938 and became too small for larger boats and present one built in 1993. There is a fish ladder for salmon etc. to utilise when swimming up river and many are doing that now as they return for breeding.

Fish going along fish ladder as seen in visitors centre

Saw the fish in the viewing windows in the visitors centre and they have a person counting the fish by variety as they move through and 3.86 million have gone through since 1st April this year. There is still tidal movement up to the dam - 145 miles upriver - and sealions come up this far to feed on the young fish as they swim downstream.

Beacon Rock nearby - so named by Lewis and Clark because they thought they were near the coast due to the tidal movement.

Travelled alongside the river from here to Hood River City which has grown in recent years due to the wind conditions being suitable for kite boarding and new industries being developed.

Turned inland from here along the Hood River and followed the Fruit Loop - so named due to the large number of fruit trees and vineyards. Lovely views, especially of Mt Hood.
Stopped at the small town of Parkvale for early lunch prepared by the ladies of the Grange. This non-profit, nonpartisan, fraternal organisation was founded in 1867 and its main aim is to advocate for rural America and agriculture. It is represented in more than 2100 towns in USA and has its head office in Washington DC - a powerful lobby group.
This lovely group served us a Thanksgiving lunch of salad, turkey, stuffing, ham, mashed potato, gravy and vegetables followed by their homemade pies of pear, apple, blueberry etc. All very tasty and we had a lot of fun.

After this we continued in the bus to Timberline Lodge winding our way around Mt Hood up to 6000ft where they average 21ft of snow in the winter. It was a great drive with lovely views of the douglas fir, vine maple turning colour, waterfalls etc.

The lodge was completed in September 1937 - having been built by the WPA (Workers Progress Administration) in 18 months. They had a budget of $US1 million and only used $20,000 on supplies as they cut local timber, sourced local rocks, used railroad tracks for iron work and snow chains for other metal work!

Chairs made with hide, wood and rail tracks

Good views of the mountain and Mt Jefferson in the distance.

Stopped at Mt Hood winery on the way back and did a tasting of 5 wines out on their verandah overlooking the vines. Enjoyed the pinot gris and bought a bottle.

Murals made from vinyl cut and painted

Back to the American Empress having crossed the Columbia back onto the Washington State side and we sailed at 5pm heading upriver past The Dalles.

Remains of original lock at The Cascades



Sailing at Hood River

Watched progress through The Dalles lock while at dinner and before going to bed we were on deck to watch the American Empress go through the John Day lock.

 Next morning the 24th we continued upriver through very different countryside - very dry and treeless - rolling hills with basalt rocks.





 Went through the McNary Lock - last one for us on the Columbia River.

line holding boat stable in lock

A lot more industry lining the river.

looking down through paddle

fish ladder at dam

Hat Rock

Twin Sisters

Wallula Gap



Sailed past Hat Rock and then totally into Washington State, having had Washington on one side and Oregon on the other. Went through the Wallula Gap with the Twin Sisters Rocks and the confluence with the Walla Walla River and eventually to the confluence with the Snake River. Amazing to see the end of this river when we were very close to its spring beginnings only 2 1/2 weeks ago in Yellowstone.

vineyards close to the river

Passed under an uplifting rail bridge where trains have the right of way and by the delta of the Yakima River before we docked at Howard Amon Park in Richland - part of the Tri-Cities - around midday. Lovely downtown setting. Tri-Cities is made up of Pasco, Kennewick, Richland and West Richland - yes 4 cities and we are yet to get the explanation as to why it is called Tri-Cities!




Headed off on hop on hop off bus in the afternoon through town and the ABC houses, so named as when the army base began here in the 1940s they had house designs known by letters of the alphabet! 

 Out into the countryside - very dry and natural vegetation is sage brush and grasses, no trees.

 Stopped at The New Country Mercantile near Badger Mountain. This business began as a roadside fruit stall and now large business selling all sorts of goods and fresh made chocolates - on entry the place just smelt of sugar!!

Decided not to do Badger Mt trail as it had really warmed up and headed downtown and back to boat - countryside interesting with very dry hills (7ins of rain and 300 days of sun) and then you are in green patches of fruit trees, vines, alfalfa for hay - all irrigated. Sat on balcony and watched fishermen catch some salmon - very relaxed! Dinner in River Grill and sat with couple from Sacramento - meal very average.

squirrel in park by boat

tied up at Richland

Watching the fishermen

Next day, 25th, we set out at 9am on hop on hop off bus and headed out towards the Yakima River and to The REACH (The Hanford Reach Interpretive Centre) - opened in 2014 and has displays of local history from Ice Age Floods, Lewis & Clark, Manhattan Project, Hanford and local agriculture.

 Very good exhibits and could have stayed longer, but on time limit. Good display about the nuclear reactor that was built at Hanford and was used to make the first atomic bomb. They have a major problem in the area with the massive amount of nuclear waste that is buried underground.


Bob at spot marking confluence of the Columbia & Snake Rivers

From here we crossed the river to Pasco and to the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers to Sacajawea State Park - a very important place in American History.

 Very good small museum that features the history of Lewis & Clark around this site and focuses on the Corps of Discovery's voyage from Missouri to these grounds with the help of their female Indian interpreter, Sacajawea.

Were lucky as a Heritage Day was being held in the park with lots of displays from Indian, to early settlers to today - many school children on a day out.

On bus again after an hour and travelled back to boat through Pasco which has all its signs in Spanish due to large Hispanic population - a very industrial place with lots of wheat storage, oil storage, large cranes and rail tracks.

Badger Mountain

 Quick lunch and out again on our Wine & Spirits on Red Mountain excursion. Headed out through Richland and Kennewick and into the wine country area of Red Mountain.




First port of call was the Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Centre where we learnt about the history of the Red Mountain AVA.

This is a not for profit centre and has tastings of local wines from small vineyards and also those made by students. Tasted 2 whites, a rose and 4 reds - not really to our taste.

Moved on to Kiona Vineyards with a magnificent building overlooking the Yakima Valley, hills and vines. Did 5 tastings here and Bob liked the Old Block Cabernet Sauvignon made from grapes from original 1975 plantings and Mary enjoyed the late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc.  









 


 

Next stop was at Hedges Family Estate, which is again in a lovely setting and owned by a local man and his French wife who wanted a chateau - building not quite to that level, but still grand! We tasted 5 wines - 2 whites and 3 reds - the Red Mountain Estate blend the best for us.







They still had grapes on the vines near the winery, which was good for us to see as the harvest has been much earlier than usual due to the heat.

Commented to our guide as to how they are missing out by not having restaurants or platter food on offer especially with the great weather and views. He said a few are beginning to do so.
Final stop of the afternoon was at Black Heron Spirits, a small and quirky distillery. Had a tour and tasted some of the products that were produced using 3 different grains, but principally corn.

The brandy was quite firey (different from a grape brandy), enjoyed the lemoncello and Bob enjoyed the bourbon and purchased 2 50ml bottles to drink later.

Back on board the American Empress and we sailed at 5pm and headed down the Columbia River in beautiful conditions to the confluence of the Snake River. Lots of people out in small boats, lovely riverside homes and we had to wait for train going over rail lifting bridge.

Entering Snake River

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 





Finally into the Snake River near Paso - quite industrial.
Through the Ice Harbour Dam Lock the first on the Snake and a guillotine type - lifting up and down as against gates that open and close. Was a lovely sunset as we sat on our balcony.






 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Next morning, the 26th, we went through the  fourth and final lock on the Snake River around 7am - Lower Granite Dam and then sailed through very dry rolling hill country with basalt rocks - very similar look to Central Otago.

Went past Granite Point and twisted our way up river and eventually arrived in Clarkston mid morning - only about 8 feet of water here and river not navigable by bigger boats from this point. Docked near the confluence of the Clearwater River and within sight of Lewiston in Idaho.
 

Went on hop on hop off bus trip after lunch and headed out over the river into Idaho and past Lewiston and along the Clearwater River to the Nez Perce National Historical Park in Spalding.

 

Confluence of Snake & Clearwater Rivers

 





Wheat being stored under plastic until prices come right!

 The Nez Perce, or Nimiipuu people, so named by the French due to their pierced noses are working hard to bring back their language and traditions as seen in the very good film at the park. They are doing this using their various businesses including sole rite casinos to fund their health, education, housing and buying their land from farmers.

Crossed the Clearwater River into Clarkston and next stop was the First Territorial Capitol Building - a replica built of 150 year old timber from old farm buildings.

Next door was a very small old building that once housed a family of six!!

We got off at the last stop within walking distance of the boat and visited Walmart to have a browse and then went to Basalt Cellars Winery and tasted a few wines and settled on a viognier to take back for our last night on board.

Packed our bags and listened to Frank before dinner. Last night's food continued to be average at best, but the wine was the best we'd sampled on board during the week.

More Frank before finishing packing and having bags outside room before 11pm.

Early start on Sunday morning - breakfast just after 6am and mad house in River Grill and little food - not much being replaced!! Had to be in Show Lounge for 7am and off the boat at 7.30am. Sat around and no announcements and finally one and error made so ended up with people trying to get on wrong bus! We were on 2nd bus and checked our luggage on shore and then it was loaded. Set off to Spokane through Washington , briefly into Idaho and back into Washington.

Cold morning and luckily on sunny side of bus. Climbed up to 2500ft and travelled through rolling countryside with wheat fields as far as the eye could see.

 No fences most of the was as very few animals as the land is too valuable as cropping.

Had one short stop near a wind turbine farm and eventually into the Spokane River Valley - countryside changed and more forest areas - saw some deer.

Arrived in Spokane at 10am and picked up City Tour guide at the Davenport Hotel.

 First went to Cliff area to get view over Spokane and see lovely old homes designed by Kirtland Cutter and then to the gardens in Manito Park where we were given a snack bag and enjoyed the sunshine.

 From here we toured around to the oldest residential area - Browne's Addition where first trolley cars ran to downtown Spokane.

 

City named after the Spokane Indians and was first settled in 1871 mostly by miners and lumbermen. In 1889 a fire destroyed 32 blocks of downtown - all wooden buildings and replaced with brick.

 

                                                                                                                               Travelled over the Spokane River to Conzaga University and the house where Bing Crosby grew up. Is now part of the university and has rooms full of memorabilia. He left from this house with a friend and went to Hollywood to make his fortune!

 Back over the river and to the Riverfront Park in Downtown where we had a ride on the Looff Carousel built in 1909   

 

                     - lots of fun.

Park is now where the railway tracks were and were moved north to clean up river for the World Expo here in 1974 and just the clock tower of the station remains.

 

Eventually got to the hotel around 1.30pm and were able to check in at the Historic Davenport Hotel.



This hotel was built by Louis Davenport in 1914, but before that he had set up a tent on part of the site after the fire in 1889 and sold waffles, that was replaced by a restaurant and in 1904 he had the Hall of Doges- very Italianate - built above the restaurant so people could have a ballroom. 

 

 

 



This is a photo of a costume ball held in the Hall of Doges in 1908.

Eventually he built the hotel covering the rest of the block and it became the place for Spokane people to meet.

 

 The front area is where the original restaurant was and is now the valet parking and entrance to reception and the main lobby.
 

 

Ceiling in lobby was blacked out during WW11 and left that way until refurbishment between 2000 and 2000. 
 
Fire was lit  by Kirtland Cutter (the architect in September 1914) and burned 24/7 in the good old days as sign of hospitality and still is today with gas being used as the smoke along with cigars etc. blackened the ceiling beams of this Spanish Renaissance style area.

 

 
 

 

Cutter designed the hotel so that it would bring the world to Spokane and you can see this with the Italian, French, English, Spanish and Russian styles.

 

 

 Photo of Maypole Celebration in lobby in 1915.

 

 The beds in the rooms are extremely high and you need a stool to get up - measured the mattress and it is 40cm deep - you can purchase these to take home!

Went for a walk and then had an early dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Next day we took it slowly and wandered down around the river and got good views of the falls and the power house.

 

Scouting statue near the river. Lovely buildings throughout downtown area with quite ornate facades.

 

 

 

 

Met the rest of the group staying over in Spokane and our guides

 

 

 by the fountain in the lobby at The Davenport and they gave us a little of the history of the place and how it was wonderful to see the place restored in the early 2000s - there was the threat of the building being demolished. Now when locals say "Meet you at the fireplace" they mean in the lobby of the Davenport Hotel!

Set out for a walk and wine tasting tour in downtown. First stop was at Cougar Crest Estate Winery - wife is the winemaker and her signature wine is viognier which we tried first and was quite pleasant. Also tried a rose and 4 reds - best of these a merlot and syrah (with 3% viognier - unusual to put in some white juice).

 

 Walked from here to the Liberty Building and Sante where we sat down and had a charcuterie board to sample with 3 meats (all made on site) accompanied with cheese, pickled vegetables, jam, fruit and bread.

Spent some time looking through an artists' co-op in the building and also Aunties Bookshop.

Headed back towards the hotel and were given little bits of information about different buildings and major benefactors to the city on our way.

Final stop was at Patit Creek Cellars (founded in 1999 and along with other small wineries has opened a tasting room in the city to attract more business.

 

This place is different as you can get little bites and cheese that go with each different wine you taste.

 

 We sampled 4 wines and had 4 different bits to eat and they definitely were complimentary. The wines were the closest we have tasted in the USA to our wines.

In the evening we went for dinner at Stacks Restaurant & Steam Plant Brewing in the old Steam Plant that produced steam for nearly 70 years to warm the streets of the city. Again this building was originally designed by Kirtland Cutter.

 

The building was redeveloped in 1996 and re-opened with a mix of shops, offices, brewery and restaurant with much of the old workings still visible - very interesting.

A private dining room visible through the door of one of the old furnaces!

Spent our last full day in Spokane around downtown once again - very easy to potter about and relax. Went down by the park and took photos of the statues of runners celebrating the Lilac Bloomsday Race that is held on the 1st Sunday of May and averages around 50,000 participants.

 

 

 

Found this rather interesting car parked in a parking meter - no doors - note the horns!

Eventually worked our way back to Sante and had a charcuterie platter for our lunch and then soaked up the sunshine along the river banks.

 

Found that the gondola was working so had a ride down over the falls.

 

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Walked back through the waterfront mall and spotted these amazingly decorated apples - cabinets full of them of all different mixes of sickly frostings etc. - obviously a play on toffee apples!

Had dinner at the Palm Grill in hotel and took the option of sitting in the lobby area for our meal. Very pleasant and a good meal - both had halibut. Bob and Kay joined us for a while.
Our final day now in Spokane. We did the historical tour of the hotel in the morning before checking out. Was very interesting looking into the ballrooms and seeing all the memorabilia.
First went into the Isabella Ballroom, which was originally the dining room of the hotel.

The hanging light fixtures are the originals.
We then went up to the mezzanine floor that wraps around the lobby and went into the Marie Antoinette Ballroom.
The chandeliers are original - each US$10,000 - a lot of money in those times!

This photo is of the annual banquet for employees held in this room in 1924.

The Elizabethan Room represents old England and was Louis Davenport's favourite room. In the 1970s the wooden walls were covered in flocked wallpaper and once stripped showed that the timbers were saved from a lot of damage. Some of the original hotel telephones are displayed by the windows.

A banquet in Elizabethan Room in 1939.


Other memorabilia that was of interest to us.

Above right is of employees in Marie Antoinette Room in 1917 and the bottom one shows the furnishings in the lobby in 1916.
Louis Davenport loved peacocks hence one lounge is decorated heavily with peacocks - wasn't open when we wanted to photo it but this view is through the grille!

We had lunch in the lobby and then it was time to go to the airport.

Flew with Alaskan Airlines to Seattle and just made the flight to San Francisco as the flight was late. We have had an overnight stay near the airport and fly back home tonight - arrive early Saturday.
We have had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the different experiences.
See you soon.
To finish off we are including a great photo of the grizzly bear we saw in Yellowstone that was sent to us by one of the others on the tour who had a much bigger lens and set it up on his tripod to get his shot.

Bob and Mary