Canoeing the Spokane River? With dogs? I admit I was skeptical.
How great could a river be that runs right through the heart of the second largest city in the state? But it turns out the Spokane River is a terrific paddle.
All four of us settled right into the poetry of the river: Molly and Pete, our intrepid Labradors; my husband, Zack, and me.
As we eased downriver, ospreys racketed and whirled over their nests of sticks high in the ponderosa pines on the banks. A heron gulped fish in the shallows.
By Lynda V. Mapes | October 3, 2002
SKYKOMISH -- As we lounged on the shore of log-strewn Eagle Lake in the September sun after a morning of fishing, we spotted a faint path behind us following a talus slope up 5,936-foot Mount Townsend, a long, boulder-crowned ridge in the heart of the proposed "Wild Sky" wilderness.
By Greg Johnston | October 3, 2002
About seven routes in the proposed Wild Sky Wilderness can be considered actual hikes -- although anglers, climbers and scramblers go to many more places -- and they range from easy-to-follow official trails to rough way trails that combine old roads and sketchy paths. But they all go to fairly wild and highly scenic places, including subalpine lakes, high meadows, waterfalls and old-growth forests.
Here are descriptions of the most popular.
By Greg Johnston | October 3, 2002
GRAND COULEE -- While he gazed at the grandeur of Grand Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in the United States and considered by some the eighth wonder of the world, tourist Dave Werlein said the Crown Point overlook provides the "best damn view of the dam -- and you can quote me on that."
By Jeff Larsen | October 3, 2002
Ask around Puget Sound and you'll find people whose last journey across the state to Spokane was for Expo '74. That World's Fair left a legacy of a lovely 100-acre park on the rushing Spokane River. Now comes Spokane's next big splash as a visitor attraction: a major makeover of a popular museum and reopening of a showplace hotel. And the river is still there, just to watch as you walk, or for a leisurely autumn canoe ride right on the edge of town.
By John Wolfson | October 3, 2002
In Spokane with an anniversary to celebrate, we decided to splurge with a stay at the most lavish hotel in town and one of the finest in the Northwest: The Davenport.
This regional landmark is back in business after a 17-year closure and a restoration that cost more than $30 million and was a labor of love.
Walt and Karen Worthy of Spokane acquired the hotel in 2000 and spent the next two years restoring the 1914 landmark.
By Lynda V. Mapes | October 3, 2002
