Wednesday, July 23 Idaho, Spokane , Leech Lake

 Wed., July 23

Wake to sunshine and 57 degrees.  Perfect!  A few low clouds soon disappear.

We are soon into Idaho.  I love seeing acres and acres of trees!  I keep thinking of all the fresh air they are providing!  This obviously has been a mining area as we see signs for a gold mine tour and just about every highway or town (not a lot of either) has a reference to minerals - Silverton, Smelterville, Copper Street, Silver Valley, Gem, Slate Creek, Leadville...etc.  

Beautiful countryside.  We bypass Coeur d'Alene which is a beautiful city we have been to before.  It is on a huge lake with a thriving tourist/recreation area.  

We are crossing at about the most narrow part of the state of Idaho, so enter Washington around 8:45 and are now in the Pacific Time Zone.  We decide to stop in Spokane and have a look at Riverfront Park where the 1974 World's Fair took place.  There are a series of falls - more like cascades - on the Spokane River here, where a power plant was established in 1922.

We wander the Park, checking out various fountains, bridges and art installations.  The open-air pavilion from the World's Fair is quite pretty.  

The "charms" on this bridge raised money with a $150 contribution for each.

This Radio Flyer houses a slide for kids.

And this is the Looff Carrousel, hand carved in 1909 and quite pretty.  Well kept and just opening for the day.

We grab a few postcards for the grandkids, then pass these "runners" at the edge of the park near where we parked.

Quite a nice park and nicely maintained.  We are told that groups can rent out the whole park and  there are a few folks in uniform scurrying about for tomorrow's event (a great source of info). A few homeless sleep in the shade in one corner. Spokane seems like a nice city.

Gas here is $4.29.  It has been well over $4.00 for most of this trip and we will see it top $5.00 at a few remote areas.  Miss that Texas rate, which was $3.59 or so!

Eastern Washington is pretty flat, with a lot of agriculture, all of which, it seems, requires irrigation. For a while we pass farm after farm where the fields are labeled - Sweet corn, wheat, timothy, carrots, onions, grain corn, potatoes, alfalfa, barley, beans and peas were ones we noted!

Lots of bee boxes here too, like in Montana.

Columbia river

Next, we reach the Columbia River with a beautiful gorge and cliffs and we hike a few short trails.

As we continue west we come through an area of orchards - mostly apple we think.  More irrigation here.  Lots of fruit processing plants with stacks of crates ready to be filled - but not for a while. More gently rolling hills here. 

 

We stop at another fruit stand which features local peaches (he said about 3 hrs away), apricots and lots of jams, jellies, muffin mixes this time of year. We have entered the land of Huckleberries too, not fresh berries, but  pies, scones, muffins, ice cream, shakes, and mixes. 

 I ask the owner about camping spots and he rattles off a few names which will be before Mount Rainier.  Welcome to Washington, he says.  It is the BEST state, with everything from deserts to mountains to rain forests and beaches! We stop at a ranger station and the ranger suggests camping at Leech Lake, which she says is small but not too busy and is first come, first served.  The closer to Mt. Rainier, the busier and many places now require reservations.

Snow-topped Mt. Ranier is very visible even when we are more than 60 miles away!   Going with the ranger's directions, we first miss the turn for Leech Lake (which doesn't have signage but is across from the Pacific Trail South).  The small gravel road is rough, but not long and we find one of a handful of spots. Never would have found it without her help! This is in the Wenatchee National Forest, $10.

Lichen, which we learn is a sign of a healthy environment.

Dinner is grilled ham and cheese, potato salad and carrots.  No fires allowed, as we will find throughout this trip, with the only exception being in the rain forest at Olympic.  As the sun sets the mosquitoes become prolific and especially seem to like Greg, so we retreat for dinner and cribbage inside.