Spokane in July

[Peter De Smidt]

So USJA judo nationals will be in Spokane this July, and The Red Menace, aka Lauren, will be taking part. We'll either take the train or fly.

Regarding the train: according to Amtrak, it'll take 35 hours from Milwaukee to Spokane. The costs of a room are exorbitant. Has any taken an overnight trip on Amtrak staying in a reserved seat? How was it? Hopefully it'd be better than the overnight train from Edinburgh to London, which had some of the most uncomfortable seats imaginable.

Moving on to photography, we'll probably have about 2-3 weeks total for the trip. We are up for a few day hikes but nothing overnight. Lauren (13) and Sophia (6) are troopers, but we want it to be fun for them too. I was thinking of spending a few days in Seattle, and then exploring around the coast, but I'd welcome suggestions. I hope to bring my 4x5 along, but it won't primarily be a photography trip.

[Vaughn]

In the Spokane area. The Bowl and Pitcher, along the Spokane River:

http://www.riversidestatepark.org/bowl_and_pitcher.htm

And the river in downtown ain't bad. Wandering around the site of the 74 Worlds Fair, now a park on islands in the river, is nice.

Rent bikes and ride the Centennial Trail (along the Spokane River) -- weekday

A hundred miles away from Spokane (2 hours) -- Dry Falls State Park. See a set of dry waterfalls ten times larger than Niagra, and that once had more water passing over them than are now flowing in all the rivers of the world (about 300 feet above them -- probably made barely a ripple!) Great swimming for the rest of the family while you photograph. Take a slight detour (18 miles) on the way home and see Grand Coulee Dam. You would be driving past Banks Lake (more good swimming) on your way to the towns of Electric City and Grand Coulee. In July, the days are long! The trip most of the way -- wheat fields, small towns, old buildings standing out in the wheat, etc.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Dry+Falls+WA%22&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=yMM&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=abokT5HZJOariQKm0IDdBw&ved=0CCUQsAQ&biw=960&bih=438

Three hours east of Spokane -- The Route of the Hiawatha Trail, (Avery, ID). You can rent bikes (but you have to be able to transport them several miles to the trailhead, so that would be difficult in a rental car). Goes down an old railroad grade. Starts off with a 1.7 mile tunnel and a few others needing good lights. Some very high trestles , too. Fourteen miles down and there is a shuttle that can take you back to the tunnel (you have to go through it again to get back.)

http://friendsofcdatrails.org/Hiawatha/

Vaughn

[Sergei Antonov]

Palouse (http://www.flickr.com/photos/santonov/sets/614739/)area is located starting 20-30 miles south of Spokane. Take road 27 from eastern Spokane to Pullman. You will see a lot of small towns, farms, barns, rolling hills. In July hills will be green and yellow, if you find canola fields. Typical Palouse will start after Latah. You could easily spend 1-2-3 days exploring this area. Buy Palouse photo guide (http://shop.photographamerica.com/product-p/054-pdf.htm) from Robert Hitchman, if you decide explore Palouse, it is good.

--Sergei

[Peter De Smidt]

Thanks, guys. I'll check out your suggestions.

[Thad Gerheim]

Peter, if you haven't been to Glacier National Park you may want to see if you can route your trip with amtrak through there and stay for a few days. http://www.allglacier.com/transportation/trains.php

I second Vaughn's ideas on the bicycle trips too. The Palouse is a photographers paradise, but may be boing for the girls.

It's going to be hot, head for the mountains or coast!

[Vaughn]

http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/trailofthecoeurdalenes.aspx

The above is a link about another bike trail -- it is along Lake Coeur d'Alenes in Idaho (30 some-odd miles east of Spokane). Probably could rent bikes in Coeur d"Alenes and ride to the trail. Pretty lake.

.
I have been to Dry Falls twice to photograph with the 8x10, both in July. The first time it was about 110F. There was bit of a heat wave. The next summer (2010) it was only in the low 90's mid-day/early afternoon.

On that hot day, I quit photographing at about 1pm. Drove up to Grand Coulee (air conditioning!) I checked out a few places along the way, took a photo of the dam and returned to Dry Falls around 6pm -- photographed until dark (full moon!)

But there is something about photographing in a very hot place, strange landforms and vegetation, no one else around -- the experience affects the way one sees.

Branches, Dry Falls, WA, 2010
4x10 carbon print

[Thad Gerheim]

Interesting that there isn't any mention of the superfund site that the bike trail goes through on the state recreation website. You might want to watch the bike trail video on this site first. http://idahoptv.org/outdoors/shows/silvervalleyrising/watch.cfm Biking down Silver mountain would be fun, I have skied there. I do think the trail along the Saint Joe river would be much more scenic.

[Vaughn]

I remember a green river (and a strange green at that!) in the 1970's up around Kellogg.

[John Berry]

Palouse (http://www.flickr.com/photos/santonov/sets/614739/)area is located starting 20-30 miles south of Spokane. Take road 27 from eastern Spokane to Pullman. You will see a lot of small towns, farms, barns, rolling hills. In July hills will be green and yellow, if you find canola fields. Typical Palouse will start after Latah. You could easily spend 1-2-3 days exploring this area. Buy Palouse photo guide (http://shop.photographamerica.com/product-p/054-pdf.htm) from Robert Hitchman, if you decide explore Palouse, it is good.

--Sergei
+1

[Kuzano]

Some of the most interesting Geology in the world (ie landscape subject matter) exists along the Northern top of Washington, from Spokane westward. If you get some time, jump on the internet and explore a phenomenon called the Missoula flood. It used to be considered one event, but it's been determined to be a number of inundations of Northern Washington, turning south and carving out the Willamette Valley through Oregon and into Northern California. The flood(s) ran hundreds of feet deep and rolled Huge Boulders throughout the inundation with some of them ending up in southern Oregon and California. It was caused by glaciers backing up literal seas of water in the Western Montana region and then being broken through by the the huge volume of water that created all sorts of new geography throughout Washington, Oregon, etc.

They've currently concluded that it happened a number of times, either hundreds or thousands of years apart...

Long story short... lot's of very interesting geological and landscape uniqueness.

Missoula Floods.

[Peter De Smidt]

Great stuff, guys, thanks!

[Marc B.]

Back to the OP's original question...seats?
Not quite first class airline seats, but much better then coach or business class seats on planes.
Having said that, since you state this is not primarily a photo trip, and with kids ages 6 and 13....Fly!

Amtrak runs two trains a day between Seattle and Spokane. Beautiful Cascade Mountain scenery on this trip, but only the eastbound, SEA to SPO, is run during the day. The westbound, SPO to SEA, is run late at night.
Check with Amtrak; since you're coming from the east, you may find your incoming train trip through the Continental Divide in the Montana Rockies, and the mountains of northern Idaho will be at night, too.

Fly to Seattle ahead of the Judo match, rent a car, spend time on the coast, then take the train during the day to Spokane.
Fly, drive a rental car, or take the train home from there.

When renting a car, you don't always need to rent from the national chains. There are local rental companies in all major cities, renting cars at much lower rates then the big guys. You will have to return the car to where it was rented, so, no long distance, one-way trips...but for driving around one locale...great.

URL for a site with about 50 pictures of attractions in/near the center of Spokane.
http://gonw.about.com/od/photoswa/ig/Spokane-Photo-Gallery/View-of-the-Spokane-Falls.htm

[Marc B.]

I remember a green river (and a strange green at that!) in the 1970's up around Kellogg.

Probably the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene river (Core dah-Lane).
During the [old] silver mining days, before the EPA of the 70's, that river or creek would run many colors.
Rust red, milky/grey, and sometimes green.

In Wallace, Idaho, just upstream from Kellogg, (even through the 70's), there were still a few outhouses built on what looked liked little miniature fishing piers, built-out over the river, dumping directly into the river/creek below.

In Wallace and Kellogg in those days, that river branch was known as "Shit Creek."
Not just because of the dozens of outhouses, (once upon a time, 100's of outhouses), but from a century of silver smelting waste and chemicals that were dumped, leached, or allowed to flow into the river.

[Thad Gerheim]

Here's a few Palouse photos. Seriously, if you would like one of the best family adventure trips there is, forget the Palouse, its about as exciting as driving through Wisconsin, look into a river trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon river through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. I would rate this better than a trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, which I have done too! http://idahoptv.org/asxgen.cfm?showfile=OI/MiddleFork/mf_outfitttedtrip_hi.wmv
And there's a reason the oldest and best guides work for Jerry Hughes. http://www.hughesriver.com/middle-fork-salmon/index.html
Peter, if you would have any questions e-mail me.