Spokane, Washington

After six days, 1900 miles, and an adventurous border crossing, we finally arrived at our final stop on our Pacific Northwest road trip: Spokane, Washington. The reason for the trek was seemingly inconsequential when compared to the cost, coordination, and mileage involved: we had tickets to for Noah Kahan’s Stick Season Tour at the Pavilion. And we were disappointed to find that neither the French-Canadian border guard going into Canada or the American border patrol agent ever heard of Noah Kahan.

That aside, Spokane is a beautiful city in eastern Washington with a more laid-back feel than Seattle. We only had one full day in Spokane, and we spent much of it at the Riverfront. The girls wanted to get in line early to make sure we were able to get close to the stage for the concert later that evening, so we headed over about 10 am. I confess that I was rather dreading staying in one location instead of exploring the area around Spokane or driving to nearby Coeur d’Alene. Fortunately, the Spokane Pavilion is right within Riverfront Park, and there was plenty to keep us occupied as we waited for the venue to open up.

Riverfront Spokane is located in downtown and is operated by the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department. The park is quite large at about 100 acres, and has a number of play areas and green spaces. There are even gondolas at the Numerica SkyRide that provide an aerial tour of the downtown area. Unfortunately these closed early in the day due to high winds; otherwise it could have been a fun activity.

The park is located right along the Spokane River. The river has been an important source of hydroelectric generation since the late 1800s, back when the city was called Spokane Falls. Washington Water and Power was founded in 1889 and has been harnessing the power of the mighty Spokane River since it completed its first generating plant on Monroe Street following the Great Fire of Spokane. The fire started on a hot August evening and despite volunteer firefighters’ best efforts, the high heat and winds fanned the fire, leaving much of downtown in ruins. But out of those ashes, the city proved its resilience, and a modern city was built- powered by electricity.

We did enjoy walking around the park while taking turns in line. The park is really pretty, and there were many points of interest. Nate loved being able to feed the Spokane Garbage Goat pieces of trash, and the ginormous Radio Flyer replica evoked memories of the kids’ childhoods and Jacob’s failed Cub Scout rendition of the song “Little Red Wagon.”

Closer to parking lot 1, there are picnic pavilions, the Ice Age Floods playground, and-Nate’s favorite- several basketball courts. It seemed like the prehistoric-themed play area was the place to be; there were kids and adults enjoying the sunny day.

Close to the park were several cafe’s and restaurants, as well as shops. We walked south across West Spokane Falls Boulevard to Boo Radley’s, a locally-owned bookstore with kind of a sarcastic vibe. We found many items that tickled the funny bone, as well as a few that were a bit more daring. I appreciated the joke books with educational puns, amusingly worded cookbooks, and clever stickers. I would say this shop is the perfect place to find a special gift for the hilariously salty person in your life.

After lunch at Mod Pizza on Main Street, we walked back to the Pavilion. The afternoon was wiling away, and there were more people heading to the park- not just for the concert but also to enjoy the day. The sky was bright blue and the winds were picking up. It felt good in the afternoon heat. But just as history recorded a bad fire season in the Pacific Northwest over 130 years ago, another bad fire season was in progress, as we had seen on our drive through British Columbia. While making bracelets for the concert and hanging out, we noticed a large plume of what appeared to be smoke southwest of where we were sitting.

But at that point, we were not sure exactly what was going on or how far the fire was from downtown. While it looked close, and we could hear some sirens, no one seemed too perturbed by the plumes. So we carried on, checking Google occasionally to see what might have been happening, and eventually it was time for us to excitedly head into the outdoor concert venue and make a beeline for the barricade.

Meanwhile, across town at Avista Stadium…

While the girls and I were singing along to songs from Stick Season and Busyhead, the boys were enjoying a fun, low-key evening of minor league baseball. Michael found tickets to the Spokane Indians game that evening, and decided to take Nate to cheer them on. The team is a member of the Northwest League, and is an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. While the stadium seats only about 6800 compared to the tens of thousands of a major league stadium, the energy was high and the venue family friendly.

The Spokane Indians have several mascots, including the Spokanasaurus and KC the Stratotanker. Nate’s favorite was Ribby the Redband Trout. Redband trout are a subspecies of rainbow trout and are native to the Spokane region, and while not endangered, is a species of concern due to habitat loss. Ribby, while being a cute albeit weird mascot, does help to bring awareness to conservation efforts. He is proudly sponsored by the City of Spokane, and beloved by many fans.

The boys had a great time. They had some good food at reasonable ballpark prices. There were also many giveaways and games throughout the evening. When the boys returned to Riverfront Park to pick us up, they had a a bag full of freebies, along with a stuffed Ribby for my classroom.

As a result of the Grays Fire near Medical Lake, and another fire burning to the north, Noah Kahan cut the set list short by three songs. Sadly, we would find out later that a fire had broken out near Medical Lake, about 15 miles from Spokane. This fire would spread quickly, fanned by high winds. This brought much concern for the safety of concertgoers, and especially for those closer to the fires. Though we did not get to hear some of our favorites, we were thankful that we were able to attend and that it was a fun time. The waiting did pay off: we were right against the barricade, as close as we could get to the stage, and the kids had a great time. Sami was really excited to get a high five from Noah. And in the end, missing three songs for the sake of safety and air quality is no complaint. Our thoughts and prayers are with those directly impacted by the fires near Spokane, as well as the firefighters who are working still, even at time of writing, to contain fires in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

Spokane is a beautiful city, and this trek was a great time of exploring with family and friends. Even our birdy-themed AirBnB was special and sweet, and I would love to go back and explore more. After a stop in Redding, we raced back to try to beat Tropical Storm Hilary, which made for a harrowing drive on the Grapevine on Sunday afternoon. Still, worth it. This Pacific Northwest road trip was an adventure to remember.

To plan your trip, check out:
Riverfront Spokane
Visit Spokane
milb.com

References:
Harbine, Anna. “The Great Fire of 1889.” Spokane Historical, spokanehistorical.org/items/show/356. Accessed 10 Sept. 2023.

Kershner, Jim. “Washington Water Power/Avista.” Washington Water Power/Avista, 2016, http://www.historylink.org/File/11211.