A brighter future

Things are finally brightening up over here, literally and figuratively. Since I arrived 3 weeks ago, it's been almost nothing but rain and dark clouds for days on end, with only a few hours of sunshine here and there. It was hopelessly cold, damp, and dark, and, despite keeping a positive attitude, the sardonic writer in me couldn't help but privately see it as a metaphor for recent life choices I've made to come out here. 

But the clouds have finally broken and with a forecast of crisp weather and sunshine for the next 10 days, other parts of my life are looking up as well. 

This morning I had a job interview with the city for an environmental clerk position. It seemed to go well enough, but unfortunately due to the fact that I'm leaving next week for the rest of the holidays, I doubt I will be offered the position. They seemed to like me though, so I'm hopeful their funding will work out such that they can offer me the position after the first of the year. Monday I have another job interview with Washington State University, so it feels good to finally be hearing back from potential employers. 

Tuesday is the day I am most excited about, however. It has been a longtime dream of mine to travel across the country, and it's finally happening. It was spontaneously planned, but in some random turns of events, it's working out perfectly to be able to see the family over the holidays, spend quality time with loved ones, reconnect with people, and be able take advantage of my free National Parks pass I earned from working last year. ;-) I should feel more guilty about shirking potential upcoming job opportunities, but to be perfectly honest, I'm totally okay with it and super excited about life right now. 

Before I peace out, here are a couple pictures of some wildlife sightings I got during a visit to Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge a couple days ago:

Coyote running off into the sunset

One of 3 moose we saw

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A Walk in the (State) Park

This afternoon after my roommate got out of class, we all took a drive out to Riverside State Park a few minutes from the house. Although it's right next to the city, the park is a beautiful patch of wilderness surrounding a roaring river with huge basaltic rock formations. 

We spent a couple hours wandering the trails and scrambling up the rocks, and enjoying the comfortable 55 degree day -- perfect hiking weather. 

Suspension bridge at Riverside State Park

The river 

Looking back across the bridge

Cool rocks

The rocks were the most fascinating to me. From far away it looks like piles of loose scree, but up close you could tell that it was all one solid formation. Huge chunks break off every winter with the thawing of the ice, giving the rock a jagged look, and making it excellent for climbing.

Mule deer running away

The only wildlife we saw were tons of little mule deer. They were fairly skittish, and would prance or boing away when we came close to them on the trail.

Roommates and I

It was an enjoyable afternoon, and great to know that there is such a great state park just a few miles away from where I'm living. I can't wait to come back and explore more of the side trails and climb in the spring!

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Exploring Northern Idaho

Yesterday one of my roommates and I got out of town to go hiking in Northern Idaho, about 40 miles from Spokane. We spent the day near Coeur D'Alene, hiking the Mineral Ridge Trail. As it turns out, Northern Idaho was explored for its gold prospects back in the day, and along this trail some of the historic test pits remain. 

Old gold pit cave

I suspect there were many more caves than I even saw, but most of these looked like sink holes or shallow pits that didn't go very far into the ground.

View from the top of Mineral Ridge

The air was cool and dry, and smelled of fragrant pines, reminding me of some trails I've hiked in the Northeast. The forest was all conifers, ranging from Ponderosa pines, to douglas firs, to yellow larch that were, indeed, very yellow. Red squirrels scurried about and ravens cawed from the treetops, but otherwise the forest was peaceful and quiet.

Scenic overlook of Lake Coeur D'Alene

Awesome float houses

After completing the 2.5 mile loop up the ridge and back, we took a scenic Forest Service road up another peak that was high enough to be shrouded in dense clouds. Here the ecosystem resembled more of what you might expect for the coastal Pacific Northwest, with dense, wet woodlands and a winding, rushing brook.

Eventually the road got pretty sketchy with potholes and rocks though, so we turned around and drove to the town of Coeur D'Alene.

Cove at Tubb's Hill

Here we stopped at a place called Tubb's Hill, a 120 acre park in the town. It was surprisingly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen! With rocky cliffs jutting straight out from the lake and seemingly endless hidden coves and trails, Tubb's Hill was truly an unexpected gem, and I can't wait to go back and explore it more!

Beach at Tubb's Hill

Turkey crossing

At the end of the day, the only wildlife that we saw were the squirrels, ravens, and a huge flock of turkeys in Coeur D'Alene, but nonetheless it felt great to get outside and the fresh, fragrant air and wander new parts of the region.

Expecting snow the next couple days, so keep your eye out for wintery photos soon!

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'Fall'ing for Spokane

Spokane is really growing on me. It was a little intimidating the first few days with variable weather, trying to learn my way around, coming to terms with the dismal prospects of the job market, and on top of that coming down with the flu. But as they say, things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.

View out my window on our first snow day

On Tuesday, we had a nice 3 inch dump of snow that blanketed the town in white. That same day, my roommates and I took a road trip to Missoula, MT to see an Iron & Wine concert. It happened to be the first concert I've ever been to, and one of my favorite bands, so needless to say, it was a blast. I wish I could have gotten pictures of the drive, but unfortunately most of it was dark and snowy -- from what I could tell though, northern Idaho and Montana are absolutely gorgeous; I can't wait to explore more!

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty rainy and all the snow melted, but today it finally warmed up and the sun came out to shine light upon Spokane's remaining fall colors. I took advantage of the nice weather to walk downtown and turn in a job application to the city hall, and get some photos of the waterfalls that run through town.

Spokane Falls

View from one of the many footbridges 

More of Spokane Falls and pavilion 

Spokane Falls runs through Riverfront Park, which was incidentally designed by the same people who designed Central Park in NY. It was also the site of a World's Fair back in the day, and the historic pavilion still stands in the park, I guess for various events throughout the year.

Another cool footbridge

My artsy shot for the day

It's been a perfect "fall day" in more ways than one -- waterfalls, fall colors, and finally starting to fall for the beauty of this city. :) Can't wait to explore it some more!

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And so it begins again..

I arrived in Spokane, WA two nights ago after an exhausting 12 hour travel day across the country. I ended up with awesome seats on all my flights because they were so full, so I got upgraded for free to the "premium" seats with extra leg room and they let me check my second carry-on for free.

It was cold and dark and wet when I got to Spokane, but my friends were there to pick me up and it felt just like old times again, despite being in such a new and unfamiliar place.

Spokane has about 200,000 people, but the city is huge and sprawling, and surprisingly "short" -- No big high-rise buildings or skyscrapers, so it's hard to distinguish the city center. Right now, because I don't know it too well, most of the buildings look like the same old-fashioned brick structures. It's gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but I'm not used to so much brick!

My new home is the upstairs of a cute little bungalow house, converted into a 2 bedroom apartment. My first thought when we walked in was that it looks exactly like a little Hobbit house on the inside. Because it's on the second floor, all the ceilings are slanted and low as if being in an attic. There are a couple doorways so short you have to duck to go through. We have a tiny little kitchen, a bathroom where the ceiling is so low you have to duck to take a shower, a little living room, my housemates' bedroom, and my bedroom. I have a nice queen-sized mattress under the low slanted portion of the ceiling, a huge closet, a dresser, and a little window with a view of the Moody Bible Institute across the street. I'll try to post pictures later.

The first morning dawned cold and gray with a mix of rain and big fat snowflakes that melted as soon as they hit the ground. By mid-morning though, the precipitation had stopped, and we took a trip out to a few stores to get groceries and supplies and show me around Spokane. This side of Spokane looks like any other city outskirt, with strip malls and chain restaurants. There's lots of urban renewal going on though, which is cool to see.

After lunch we headed into the "pretty side" of Spokane, which is to say, downtown. It's about a 15 minute walk, during which you cut through a nice little neighborhood, the Gonzaga University campus, the Centennial Trail (a 33 mile pedestrian trail), and Riverfront Park, which is sort of the Central Park of Spokane. Everything is in beautiful fall colors right now.

Downtown is full of more old brick buildings, tons of skywalks, a lot of upscale hotels and restaurants, and a bunch of hole-in-the-wall local coffee shops, book stores, art co-ops, and cafes. I'm so excited that all of this is within walking distance from where I live!

By far though, my favorite part of Spokane is the river, which cuts directly through the city. There are huge waterfalls right in the middle, partly formed by the man-made dam and partly natural. Riverfront Park flanks both sides of the river, with beautiful little suspension footbridges cutting across. The park was pretty empty when we walked through, but apparently in the summer it gets packed.

In the evening, we headed across town to my roommates' friends' house for their weekly potluck. It was a group of outdoorsy 20-somethings who work at REI, AmeriCorps, and various local shops, who talked about hiking, snowboarding, roadtrips, and travel.

And so ended my first day in Spokane. Today will likely entail more job searching, more exploring, and hopefully I'll get out to take some pictures so I can actually show you what all this looks like.

More to come later..

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