West to Spokane Washington State 4/9

We actually drove NW from Kalispell to visit two small towns that were mentioned as interesting. This took us back into small town rural US and the forests and mountains. As we drove I jotted down some names that tickled our fancy. There was Bitter root Lake, Kick Horse Saloon, Loon Lake, Stampede Lake, Crazy Moose Crossing, Bear and Beaver Creeks, Snowflake Lane, Silver Spur Restaurant, and Lake Cocolalla.  As you may gather we were passing lots of water features but there  were at least two major fires in the hills nearby and the day was clouded in smoke.

 This is what the sky looked like all day. We stopped at Bonners Ferry which was a very pretty litle town. It is beside the very large Kootanai River. The history is that gold miners heading to the gold strike in British Columbia, Canada could not cross this river without the help of the local Indians who took them across in their canoes. An enterprising propective miner realised there was a development opportunity here and persuaded a couple of others to join him in purchasing a ferry. So his fortune was made and the now substancial town has a bridge. We were now on the Wild Horse Trail and drove on to Sandpoint the other town in the county but got lost in the suburbs trying to find the river again and somewhere to eat out lunch. As is often the case the private land owns most of the river bank and we decided to head SW to our last destination for the day. Fortunately just out of town we found a State Park camping area beside a lake. After a conversation with the Park Ranger during which he explained that we couldn't picnic in their camping bays and there was a free but unsignposted picnic area 100 metres away  we settled alongside the lake. The view would have been stunning but we couldn't see more than 100 metres.

We arrived in Spokane in mid afternoon and found our very comfortable motel which is located in the centre of the city. The nice young man registering us explained that there was a three day food and music festival occurring in the River Park 3 blocks away for the Labor Day long weekend. After settling in we walked down to the Park half expecting that the festival would be closing down but found it still in full swing. We browsed the food options, made our selections, perused  the seating options overlooking the stage, bought a beer and settled at a table to listen to the music. They were a local rock band who almost immediately played a Split Ends  composition and we felt right at home. They were very good and we stayed to the end of their performance.  After I had bought myself my first icecream of the trip, a "small" Ben & Jerries Cherry waffle cone we walked the extent of the River Park. Spokane's claim to fame is the only City built around a waterfall. The hydro elctricity from the falls provides a lot of the citys power but this doesn't detract from their beauty. The surrounds have been landscaped and the Park is currently being expanded to make even more of the site. We will go back this morning to take some photos.