(no subject)
Since the meeting didn't start until 1 pm, I now had a working GPS and hadn't done any geocaching since last September, I spent my first morning in Spokane walking around the riverfront and downtown area, which was lovely. There are waterfalls here, and the Riverfront Park was once the site of the 1974 World Expo, which a couple of the structures in the background were part of. This rock formation in the middle of Upper Spokane Falls is an Earthcache, a type of virtual cache that gives you a little geology lesson of the area. The lesson here being that much of the area around Spokane was once volcanic, and this formation is made of the same columnar basalt that is used in building a number of structures in the area (it looks very manmade, but it's the actual stucture formed by the rock as it cooled). This was taken from one of two pedestrian footbridges that cross the Upper Falls, both connecting to an island in the middle of the river.
Upper Spokane Falls
Spokane WA
Canon EOS 1000D
12 June 2009
I also passed this fantastic fountain, which alternately sprays from the ground level and the ring at the top - and you are quite welcome to splash around in it! Why didn't I bring my suit? It looked like a great way to cool off on a warm day (which it was).
Later, after my meeting, I set out to purchase another pair of shoes, as the only other pair I had with me were flip-flops, and got to experience Spokane's public transit system. This was across the street from my bus stop, and was actually visible from my hotel room window.
Would've loved to get closer to it, except for the threatening thunderstorm, and trying to get back in time to join my teammates for dinner. The bus fare was about half what it is at home, and seemed mostly very nice except for being jammed (Friday afternoon rush hour) and the poor sick guy in one of front seats throwing up in the bus's waste basket. He was holding a couple of big cards of prescription meds, and every few minutes someone asked "Are you all right?" He obviously wasn't, and I felt for him having to ride the bus when so obviously ill. Found a Sears and purchased these, which seemed like they'd be good walking shoes, but they aren't.
