Never Been to Spokane

We spent a few days in Spokane recently, checking out the local galleries, investigating new options, and it turned out to be one of those trips where the camera never really went back in the bag. Here are some of the scenes we enjoyed most.

Geese over the clock tower

Our first evening, we watched a skein of geese cross the sky right over the old clock tower downtown, the whole sky gone soft and gold behind them. A painter couldn't ask for a better welcome.

The view from our room

This was the view from our room — the Spokane River running glassy and calm, downtown mirrored in it. I must have looked out that window a dozen times a day. Mornings were the best, when the water went completely still.

And this was the same river at golden hour, the red buoys strung across the water like beads, willows going soft in the evening light. I took this one just because the color made me happy.

The falls

[PHOTO: selfie at Spokane Falls — Howard Street bridge, the Pavilion, and the old Washington Water Power building behind us]

You can't go to Spokane and skip the falls. We stood on the overlook with the water thundering below, the old Expo '74 Pavilion in the background, and took the obligatory selfie. Some backdrops do all the work.

The runners

[PHOTO: "The Joy of Running Together" runner sculptures]

Spokane takes its running seriously — this is "The Joy of Running Together," the sculpture honoring the city's famous Bloomsday race. A whole pack of bronze runners mid-stride along the river path. It made me smile every time we walked past.

The world's biggest red wagon

[PHOTO: Diane standing in the giant Radio Flyer wagon slide in Riverfront Park]

Riverfront Park has a full-size Radio Flyer wagon — the biggest one in the world — and yes, the handle is a slide. Of course I climbed in. Some photo ops you just don't walk past.

A painter's eye view

This one is just water and light — the reflection of a footbridge broken up into stripes on the river's surface, with fall color creeping in at the edges. No filter, no editing. Nature does the abstract work better than I ever could.

Brunch worth writing home about - House of Brunch

[PHOTO: bloody mary with dill, pepperoncini, and olive]

[PHOTO: server carrying the cinnamon roll with a sparkler]

We found a fun brunch spot downtown that served a great bloody mary — dill, pepperoncini, olive, salted rim, the works. And then they brought out the cinnamon roll with a sparkler stuck in it. Flaming cinnamon rolls. I mean, come on.

Spokane surprised us — river light, public art around every corner, and a brunch we'll be talking about for a while. Already thinking about what I'd paint from these photos.

— Diane