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The wife and I are going to revisit the Spokane area in October for a second reconnoiter, before fully committing to a move. This visit we are wanting to take some time to experience the city in terms of parks, restaurants, activities, and rush hour traffic, etc. Additionally, we are going to do more drive-by viewings of real estate, which was our main interest during our initial visit in Oct. 2013, to get a feel for what $$$ gets for property there compared to our current location in Alaska, it is also a great way to see neighborhoods. We will be concentrating on properties on the north side of I90 from State line to 9 mile falls and as far north as Deer Park(judging by map, that is as far north as we are willing to commute for work). If time permits we may visit Marshall/Cheney but, correct me if I am misinformed, I am of the understanding that this area is windy and that well and septic can be serious issues due to basalt/lava flows of ages past?
Popular places of interest that we are aware of;
Riverside Park
Manito Park (local pronunciation? man-y-toe?, ma-neato?)
Spokane River Falls
Suggestions? Nearby State parks?
As for restaurants, we visited TWIGS twice, we were happy with it. We would like to try some local favorites, anything from the best burger joint in town to a "fine" restaurant. All ethnicity's welcome - especially italian/greek and mexican, local brew pub's in particular - meaning good beer brewed locally-food is a secondary consideration on this point, if the beer is GOOD - if GOOD pizza is available with the beer, even better.
Suggestions on routes to experience typical rush hour traffic with ingress beginning from the north, as if one were coming from Deer Park/Colbert/Mead to work "downtown", as well from the east, say, Otis Orchards, or Spokane Valley and the NE - Newman Lake?
Any other suggestions to get a real feel for the area, sarcastic allusions regarding crime, drugs and corruption aside, please. I have read about plenty of that already.
The wife and I are going to revisit the Spokane area in October for a second reconnoiter, before fully committing to a move. This visit we are wanting to take some time to experience the city in terms of parks, restaurants, activities, and rush hour traffic, etc. Additionally, we are going to do more drive-by viewings of real estate, which was our main interest during our initial visit in Oct. 2013, to get a feel for what $$$ gets for property there compared to our current location in Alaska, it is also a great way to see neighborhoods. We will be concentrating on properties on the north side of I90 from State line to 9 mile falls and as far north as Deer Park(judging by map, that is as far north as we are willing to commute for work). If time permits we may visit Marshall/Cheney but, correct me if I am misinformed, I am of the understanding that this area is windy and that well and septic can be serious issues due to basalt/lava flows of ages past?
Popular places of interest that we are aware of;
Riverside Park
Manito Park (local pronunciation? man-y-toe?, ma-neato?)
Spokane River Falls
Suggestions? Nearby State parks?
As for restaurants, we visited TWIGS twice, we were happy with it. We would like to try some local favorites, anything from the best burger joint in town to a "fine" restaurant. All ethnicity's welcome - especially italian/greek and mexican, local brew pub's in particular - meaning good beer brewed locally-food is a secondary consideration on this point, if the beer is GOOD - if GOOD pizza is available with the beer, even better.
Suggestions on routes to experience typical rush hour traffic with ingress beginning from the north, as if one were coming from Deer Park/Colbert/Mead to work "downtown", as well from the east, say, Otis Orchards, or Spokane Valley and the NE - Newman Lake?
Any other suggestions to get a real feel for the area, sarcastic allusions regarding crime, drugs and corruption aside, please. I have read about plenty of that already.
We will have 7 days to explore.
Thanks in advance for your input!
Riverside Park - Go to Camp 7 Mile, and park just after the bridge and then walk the Centennial Trail for a few miles, it's right along the river and plenty of wildlife to view. Also if you can make it as far as the Bowl and Pitcher there's an Eagle that hunts on the river literally right in front of the suspension bridge. Me and my boys were down there a week or so ago and she was hunting high up in the air and then would swoop down to the river and glide above probing with feet into the water for fish. She didn't catch anything on her three tries but we were significantly impressed with the show! There are also places to rent PFD/Tubes and you can float a pretty great area of the river. There is even a shuttle to pick you up, its an easy float and even though you are in the heart of the city its a very scenic float. $20 per person includes the PFD/tube and the ride. Fun, if you want a close up view of the river.
Manito Park (local pronunciation? man-y-toe?, ma-neato?)Man-uh-toe. Yes, the Japanese Gardens and Rose Gardens are amazing to look at. If you go on a weekend they sometimes have live music in the park to take in. While you in that area take a quick jaunt up to The Scoop for an ice cream cone or one of their homeade Waffles (can't remember what their called but...yummy). It's a little north of the park and kind of in a secluded neighborhood. Cool vibe there.
Spokane River Falls - This will not be as spectacular as it is during the Spring runoff, but can be an interesting scenic look. You can go down to Riverfront Park and ride the Gondolas, or walk across the street behind city hall and walk down to the river below. Over in the area there is a seafood joint called Anthony's with outside seatings and views of the river that can be pretty popular. I'm not much into seafood so I'm not sure I can give a great recommendation to the food. There are numerous pedestrian bridges that cross the river between Riverfront Park and the areas north of the park that can be interesting to walk around on. Lots of Marmots (feed them some Dots candy-the chewy candy-its hysterical or popcorn) they come right up to you but I wouldn't touch them.
Suggestions? Nearby State parks? - We're partial to John C Shields Park and Beacon Hill and Camp Sekani, those are all along the river near the Dam and Felts Field (small airport) on Up River Drive. We mostly do scrambles on the rocks (you can take a very easy hike and get up on "the rocks" and watch the planes take off) this area means a lot to me and my boys and might be something you are interested in. If you want to rent a mountain bike and ride, there are some amazing trails and single track in that area. Very fun riding. Not sure how active you are or want to be on your trip. Out near Cheney (about 30 minutes away by car) is the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge with, mostly, bird watching but there are enough wildlife out there to interest anyone and the trails are clearly marked and its easy to spend a afternoon out there.
As for restaurants, we visited TWIGS twice, we were happy with it. We would like to try some local favorites, anything from the best burger joint in town to a "fine" restaurant. All ethnicity's welcome - especially italian/greek and mexican, local brew pub's in particular - meaning good beer brewed locally-food is a secondary consideration on this point, if the beer is GOOD - if GOOD pizza is available with the beer, even better. Ok this one will take a while and I'll have to come back and edit and I apologize upfront but both my wife and I are non-drinkers so I'll have to stick to food. I do know that the local craft brew and wine scene is improving at an alarming rate and people here are most happy with what they can find to drink. My wife works in public relations for a fortune 500 company here in town and has a budget with which to take clients out to eat on. She's eaten at just about every place here in town so I can give you some recommendations. Again, we've eaten at so many places that I will forget a lot of them but I'll list my favorites.
Fine Dining - Clover, Beverly's (over in Couer D' Alene).
Asian - Gordy's, Thai Bambo, Pho Van
Hamburgers - Wisoncsin Burger, Dicks (local burgers by the bag ful have fun dodging the bums and ask for extra tartar for your fries-cash only walk up window).
Breakfast - Franks Diner.
Bar Food - Manito Tap House (good beer here from what people tell me).
Random - Nudo (rice bowls, noodles). Wild Sage Bistro (PORK CHOPS!!!). Casper Fry (in the South Perry District) try some Chicken and Waffles,and other good southern dishes too.
There's a place out in the Valley that serves the most amazing sweet potatoe appetizer, it's like candy, and they have good sandwiches...I'll have to ask my wife what the name is.
Suggestions on routes to experience typical rush hour traffic with ingress beginning from the north, as if one were coming from Deer Park/Colbert/Mead to work "downtown", as well from the east, say, Otis Orchards, or Spokane Valley and the NE - Newman Lake? - From Mead/Colbert/Deer Park you can try coming straight up Division from the "Y" or from by Wandermere. Also, try coming down from File Mile Prairie. There are some side streets you can go down Ash/Maple/Wall/Monroe/Nevada/ etc that can cut down on commute time. This is very location specific and also very time specific. Traffic in Spokane from the North is nothing like traffic in real cities where you're stuck on the freeway...its all surface streets with lots of lights (I've found that heading into downtown if you travel south on Ash the lights are very favorable to movement into downtown and that is a quick drive). This really depends on where you will actually live and of course where you will actually work. If you have a better idea of where those two place will be (home and work) we can give you a much better traffic idea of how long the commute will/can take. I've lived in SoCal, Portland, Biloxi, MS and Baltimore. Traffic here in Spokane is unlike any of those owing to us (still) not having (and when its finished it will still not be a viable alternative) north south freeway's running through the city.
I'm a bike rider, skier, hiker, climber, backcountry skier/mountaineer/explorer so the outdoors is my domain and we have some great stuff around here in Spokane (actually amazing really, but we'll keep it a secret between us for now). I've given some simple recommendations on things to do and places to eat but if there is something else you want let me know. If you need directions we can draw maps or point you in the right direction especially for any of the forays into the parks.
Yeledaf can take you into Hillyard and introduce you to some of his friends in the local bar scene there. (Bring a gun...and a knife....and some bear spray).
Last edited by TrafficCory; 08-04-2015 at 03:41 PM..
Riverside Park - Go to Camp 7 Mile, and park just after the bridge and then walk the Centennial Trail for a few miles, it's right along the river and plenty of wildlife to view. Also if you can make it as far as the Bowl and Pitcher there's an Eagle that hunts on the river literally right in front of the suspension bridge. Me and my boys were down there a week or so ago and she was hunting high up in the air and then would swoop down to the river and glide above probing with feet into the water for fish. She didn't catch anything on her three tries but we were significantly impressed with the show! There are also places to rent PFD/Tubes and you can float a pretty great area of the river. There is even a shuttle to pick you up, its an easy float and even though you are in the heart of the city its a very scenic float. $20 per person includes the PFD/tube and the ride. Fun, if you want a close up view of the river.
Manito Park (local pronunciation? man-y-toe?, ma-neato?)Man-uh-toe. Yes, the Japanese Gardens and Rose Gardens are amazing to look at. If you go on a weekend they sometimes have live music in the park to take in. While you in that area take a quick jaunt up to The Scoop for an ice cream cone or one of their homeade Waffles (can't remember what their called but...yummy). It's a little north of the park and kind of in a secluded neighborhood. Cool vibe there.
Spokane River Falls - This will not be as spectacular as it is during the Spring runoff, but can be an interesting scenic look. You can go down to Riverfront Park and ride the Gondolas, or walk across the street behind city hall and walk down to the river below. Over in the area there is a seafood joint called Anthony's with outside seatings and views of the river that can be pretty popular. I'm not much into seafood so I'm not sure I can give a great recommendation to the food. There are numerous pedestrian bridges that cross the river between Riverfront Park and the areas north of the park that can be interesting to walk around on. Lots of Marmots (feed them some Dots candy-the chewy candy-its hysterical or popcorn) they come right up to you but I wouldn't touch them.
Suggestions? Nearby State parks? - We're partial to John C Shields Park and Beacon Hill and Camp Sekani, those are all along the river near the Dam and Felts Field (small airport) on Up River Drive. We mostly do scrambles on the rocks (you can take a very easy hike and get up on "the rocks" and watch the planes take off) this area means a lot to me and my boys and might be something you are interested in. If you want to rent a mountain bike and ride, there are some amazing trails and single track in that area. Very fun riding. Not sure how active you are or want to be on your trip. Out near Cheney (about 30 minutes away by car) is the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge with, mostly, bird watching but there are enough wildlife out there to interest anyone and the trails are clearly marked and its easy to spend a afternoon out there.
As for restaurants, we visited TWIGS twice, we were happy with it. We would like to try some local favorites, anything from the best burger joint in town to a "fine" restaurant. All ethnicity's welcome - especially italian/greek and mexican, local brew pub's in particular - meaning good beer brewed locally-food is a secondary consideration on this point, if the beer is GOOD - if GOOD pizza is available with the beer, even better. Ok this one will take a while and I'll have to come back and edit and I apologize upfront but both my wife and I are non-drinkers so I'll have to stick to food. I do know that the local craft brew and wine scene is improving at an alarming rate and people here are most happy with what they can find to drink. My wife works in public relations for a fortune 500 company here in town and has a budget with which to take clients out to eat on. She's eaten at just about every place here in town so I can give you some recommendations. Again, we've eaten at so many places that I will forget a lot of them but I'll list my favorites.
Fine Dining - Clover, Beverly's (over in Couer D' Alene).
Asian - Gordy's, Thai Bambo, Pho Van
Hamburgers - Wisoncsin Burger, Dicks (local burgers by the bag ful have fun dodging the bums and ask for extra tartar for your fries-cash only walk up window).
Breakfast - Franks Diner.
Bar Food - Manito Tap House (good beer here from what people tell me).
Random - Nudo (rice bowls, noodles). Wild Sage Bistro (PORK CHOPS!!!). Casper Fry (in the South Perry District) try some Chicken and Waffles,and other good southern dishes too.
There's a place out in the Valley that serves the most amazing sweet potatoe appetizer, it's like candy, and they have good sandwiches...I'll have to ask my wife what the name is.
Suggestions on routes to experience typical rush hour traffic with ingress beginning from the north, as if one were coming from Deer Park/Colbert/Mead to work "downtown", as well from the east, say, Otis Orchards, or Spokane Valley and the NE - Newman Lake? - From Mead/Colbert/Deer Park you can try coming straight up Division from the "Y" or from by Wandermere. Also, try coming down from File Mile Prairie. There are some side streets you can go down Ash/Maple/Wall/Monroe/Nevada/ etc that can cut down on commute time. This is very location specific and also very time specific. Traffic in Spokane from the North is nothing like traffic in real cities where you're stuck on the freeway...its all surface streets with lots of lights (I've found that heading into downtown if you travel south on Ash the lights are very favorable to movement into downtown and that is a quick drive). This really depends on where you will actually live and of course where you will actually work. If you have a better idea of where those two place will be (home and work) we can give you a much better traffic idea of how long the commute will/can take. I've lived in SoCal, Portland, Biloxi, MS and Baltimore. Traffic here in Spokane is unlike any of those owing to us (still) not having (and when its finished it will still not be a viable alternative) north south freeway's running through the city.
I'm a bike rider, skier, hiker, climber, backcountry skier/mountaineer/explorer so the outdoors is my domain and we have some great stuff around here in Spokane (actually amazing really, but we'll keep it a secret between us for now). I've given some simple recommendations on things to do and places to eat but if there is something else you want let me know. If you need directions we can draw maps or point you in the right direction especially for any of the forays into the parks.
Yeledaf can take you into Hillyard and introduce you to some of his friends in the local bar scene there. (Bring a gun...and a knife....and some bear spray).
What an excellent reply! Much appreciated, and we will certainly take in as much of it as we can!
As far as my employment goes, I am hoping to do an inter-company transfer to one of two locations near E. Montgomery and N. University or, E. 2nd and Scott. As for my wife, it is an unknown for the time being. Where we will live, well that is a complete unknown except for the general area I mentioned in my O.P. That is, that is the area we intend to purchase a home after a year in a rental in order develop a comfort level for the area.
Quote:
(Bring a gun...and a knife....and some bear spray)
Have that covered, well, except for the bear spray, I have much more faith in things that go BOOM and eject a projectile that will fly straight, rather than a gas that goes psssssst.... and is easily deflected by a breeze.
You might also want to check in advance for upcoming shows playing at The Bing Crosby Theater, The Fox Theater and Chateau Rive - tickets are usually not too expensive for some of the acts that come through town. As far as local beer & food, Waddell's Brewpub and Manito Tap House are really good for both beer and food. Tamarack Public House is another new gastropub that's become one of my favorites.
Visit any beautiful park, just watch out for the car-prowlers:
YEEEHAW, the corruption is insane. Down at the park today, just taking a stroll, my car parked in the park's parking lot. Well, I am out walking in the park and I see Sheriff Barney Fife stop behind my parked car, flashing lights on.....he is looking in my vehicle very carefully.....either wanted to steal something out of it or plant some dope. I walk to my vehicle and have words with Sheriff Fife....ask him if there is a problem......he asks if this is my car.......I say yeah, what are you looking for......he's like well, ummm............I'm like why you scoping my car........he's like well, ummm.........I say, you lookin to steal something out of my car......he's like, why would I do that........I say to him, I trust you less than a crackhead, then continue on my walk........true story, LMFAO.
You might also want to check in advance for upcoming shows playing at The Bing Crosby Theater, The Fox Theater and Chateau Rive - tickets are usually not too expensive for some of the acts that come through town. As far as local beer & food, Waddell's Brewpub and Manito Tap House are really good for both beer and food. Tamarack Public House is another new gastropub that's become one of my favorites.
Visit any beautiful park, just watch out for the car-prowlers:
YEEEHAW, the corruption is insane. Down at the park today, just taking a stroll, my car parked in the park's parking lot. Well, I am out walking in the park and I see Sheriff Barney Fife stop behind my parked car, flashing lights on.....he is looking in my vehicle very carefully.....either wanted to steal something out of it or plant some dope. I walk to my vehicle and have words with Sheriff Fife....ask him if there is a problem......he asks if this is my car.......I say yeah, what are you looking for......he's like well, ummm............I'm like why you scoping my car........he's like well, ummm.........I say, you lookin to steal something out of my car......he's like, why would I do that........I say to him, I trust you less than a crackhead, then continue on my walk........true story, LMFAO.
Visit any beautiful park, just watch out for the car-prowlers:
YEEEHAW, the corruption is insane. Down at the park today, just taking a stroll, my car parked in the park's parking lot. Well, I am out walking in the park and I see Sheriff Barney Fife stop behind my parked car, flashing lights on.....he is looking in my vehicle very carefully.....either wanted to steal something out of it or plant some dope. I walk to my vehicle and have words with Sheriff Fife....ask him if there is a problem......he asks if this is my car.......I say yeah, what are you looking for......he's like well, ummm............I'm like why you scoping my car........he's like well, ummm.........I say, you lookin to steal something out of my car......he's like, why would I do that........I say to him, I trust you less than a crackhead, then continue on my walk........true story, LMFAO.
Maybe he was looking for Opie after aunt Bea gave him a scolding?
Have that covered, well, except for the bear spray, I have much more faith in things that go BOOM and eject a projectile that will fly straight, rather than a gas that goes psssssst.... and is easily deflected by a breeze.
Just so you know, it is not legal to carry a firearm into a bar in the state of Washington, so if you go packing into bars, don't bother to advertise it and definitely do not open carry. I carry a can of high powered/high concentration human pepper spray with a 15ft blast. If you use bear pepper spray in self-defense situation you will probably end up being incriminate in court, just like if you use a 44 magnum for a self-defense situation in a downtown area of a city. Not to mention bear pepper spray is too large to carry in an urban situation. The jury always looks at the practicality of weapons used in SD in a politically correct state like Washington.
I will say that in a bar, for example, a high powered pepper spray with a 3.0 OC concentration will generally not have much of a problem with wind resistance and can be quite a viable weapon. It is also easier in certain scenarios, in a close range situation to subdue a person with powerful pepper spray (not the mouth spray sized kinds) than with a firearm. Never underestimate it.. To me a gun is my second line of defense, especially since incapacitating a violent attacker will result in less legal drama than blowing his a** away.
I carry this with me when I am walking through the dark streets of Seattle and have a nice little holster for it I bought at Cabelas. I think it is a valuable weapon to have along with a gun and a knife. Be wary of Washington's knife laws as well. You have more chance of breaking Washington's knife laws than Washington's gun laws, when you go conceal carrying.
Scary, creepy thread. Who are you people so afraid of, and why?
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with ingress beginning from the north, as if one were coming from Deer Park/Colbert/Mead to work "downtown", as well from the east, say, Otis Orchards, or Spokane Valley and the NE - Newman Lake?
I have read about plenty of that already.
