Washington - Day 26 - Spokane, and south to Tri-cities

Pasco/Tri-cities KOA, Pasco

Sunday, 26 June 2022

today's route

So now it seems I have 2 problems with the RV: the check engine light keeps coming on and staying on, though it occasionally blinks for a while before it switches back to a steady on; and I think something's wrong with my brakes.  I can still stop just like I always could, but when I step on the brake pedal and then release it, it doesn't feel like it's getting released all the way.  Plus I'm hearing an odd rubbing sort of noise that sounds like it's in my rear passenger-side wheels.  Obviously neither one of these is something I should trifle with, but I haven't got a clue when or where I'm going to be staying long enough, in a town big enough to house an RV repair place.  But I can't let this go too much longer.

After about a half hour, I was back in Spokane, where there was no identifying sign from this direction either but I did see a sign saying it's got 6 international sister cities.

I spent some time driving around town, passing 3 colleges: Gonzaga University, Whitworth University, and Washington State University (not the main campus).  I tried to get a view of the Spokane Falls that the city was originally named for.  Google told me I'd be passing at least "the lower falls" when I crossed the river, but I didn't see so much as a ripple in the water there.  I also tried to get Google to route me along Riverfront Park alongside the Spokane River that runs through the center of town, but it was a struggle.  I kept getting lost and finding it again only to run into impassable streets, and finally gave it up.  I guess today wasn't a good day to find river-related things.

When I'd been through town on Friday I didn't fully appreciate the signs I saw then proclaiming Hoopfest.  Well, Hoopfest, an annual event that proclaims itself to be "the largest 3on3 outdoor basketball tournament on Earth!", was happening yesterday and today.  Major streets were closed for blocks downtown and I had to keep dodging suddenly closed streets and detours and finally asked for directions from one of the event volunteers when I was stymied yet again.  And his directions were perfect, so I got out of town as quickly as I could.  From there I followed Google's sketchy directions (reality didn't look like their map) to the SpokAnimal Dog Park.  That turned out to be a very popular place with what looked like dozens of large dogs arriving and leaving constantly (it was a pretty day).  

The area had 2 parks, separated by the dogs' sizes.  The large dog park was built on a hill with lots of plants (unlandscaped) in it, and I was afraid if I took him there I'd have trouble keeping an eye on him.  I wasn't sure how he'd do with a whole lot of dogs his size, given the trouble he used to have at day care places.  He'd be fine with a few dogs, but when the crowd grew large he always seemed to get overloaded and there'd be a fight.  I just didn't want to deal with that here, so I put him in the completely empty pen for small dogs.  At 2 different times, people brought their equally large dogs to our pen, so Dext had someone for company, though nobody seemed to pay much attention to the other after the first few minutes.  We stayed for a while and then got on the road.

I heard on the radio someone explaining that if carrots are allowed to stay in the ground and not be harvested, then in their 2nd year they'll produce pretty flowers which produce seeds that can then be planted.  Some of Denise's guests had been saying yesterday something about carrots being 2-year plants, but I hadn't followed how that happened.  So I was lucky that they talked about it today.

Spokane is the location of an Amazon "Fulfillment Center."  Though apparently fulfillment isn't what the staff feel about their jobs.

Back on the road, we passed vast fields of grain and cows (not in the same fields).  I was passed by a semi towing an empty flatbed; he had a Texas license plate and was flying a Confederate flag.

I changed highways at Ritzville and wondered if the town still had its former reputation: it was known statewide as a speed trap, with the speed limit suddenly decreasing about 20 mph lower just over a hill and a police car waiting just inside the speed limit zone to nab people.  I couldn't find anything recent on the internet, so maybe things have calmed down.

I'm starting to decide Dext's personality is undergoing some serious changes since Gracie died.  Now he hangs back behind me on walks, where he used to run to the end of his leash in front.  He won't play with other dogs, just sniffs them.  He doesn't even get very excited about them when we pass them on walks.  He shows interest in things like deer and marmots but doesn't strain at the leash to get to them or bark his head off at them like he used to.  I'd love for it to be because he was finally getting mature, but it can't be a coincidence that it's happening right after he lost his companion of 6 years (he's 7 now).  I think he's probably grieving her loss, as I am.

He may also be lonely, but I'm not ready to get another dog just on the off-chance that it'll make him feel better.  Life with only 1 big dog is much much easier for me than it was with 2, and I really need the break.  I try to make it up by giving him more attention that I did, which he likes.  But when I try to take him for longer walks, which I can do with only 1 dog, he often heads back to the RV long before I'm ready.  I feel sad for him as much as for me, but I think I'm going to give this situation more time.  Grief is a complicated thing, and my sweet-natured dog deserves a chance to do it in his own way.

I passed a billboard that said: "Weed 'Em and Reap."  (We're definitely in agricultural country.)

In the town of Connell (pop. over 5,000) I saw a light standard with 2 lights that were shaped like upside-down flowers with several petals on the light standard itself.  Kinda nice for a change.

After passing through Mesa, a sign warned of "Farm Accesses Next 9 Miles."  Like I said, agricultural country.

The radio told me the US Weather Service had put out a heat alert for this area because of temperatures expected to rise into the 80s and low 90s.  I'm not sure why they did that because this part of WA always gets hotter than the western part, and the summer temps can get up a lot higher than that.

A large sign I saw somewhere in this area supported the Franklin County Republicans, which it said was "A Party on the Move."  "Protecting Life, Restoring Liberty, Defending the Constitution."  Considering the way the very conservative Supreme Court justices seem to be shredding Constitutional rights (since when did the Court take away rights that people already have?) in their recent decisions (on Miranda warnings, on abortion, on separation of church and state, as examples), I don't see that as much of a defense for the Constitution.  But I know not everybody agrees with me.

I passed an apple orchard advertising a "new variety: Cosmic Crisp."  And they had other varieties, of course, like Fujis.

I passed corn fields and grains and other vegies and grape vines.  This is a very fertile part of Washington.

And then we were in Pasco, pop. 73,590, and tonight's campground.