It was the perfect day for riding Myrna (pontoon-boat) around the mill pond at Spirit Lake with great friends.

Several families were enjoying the lake as well.

My friend Dan and I drove to Wallace for the 38th annual Depot Day Car Show.

I joined a Meetup group in Wallace, Idaho for a hike along Placer Creek to Pulaski Tunnel.

Wallace, “The Silver Capital of the World,” is home to the world’s largest, deepest, and richest silver mines.

Wildflowers were blooming along the trail – especially the Trillium.

The Great Fire of 1910 burned 3 million acres. Ed Pulaski and his crew of 45 were surrounded while fighting the fire. He led them to an abandoned prospecting tunnel and held them there – he threatened to shoot one man who tried to leave. Ed and thirty eight survived – five men and two horses died from smoke inhalation in the tunnel – one had died earlier.

The Monday Meetup group did a Centennial Trail/Riverside Park walk.

Then I continued on to Peaceful Valley and returned on the Maple St Bridge.

This year 34,915 people signed up, and 27,885 finished. It was in the mid-to-upper 40’s and sprinkled most of the day. The trees in the staging area are an especially popular place for runners to leave warmup gear which is donated to charity.

The Doomsday Hill Vulture has been a race fixture since 1987 and was recently inducted into the Bloomsday Hall of Fame.

I met my brother-in-law at the beer garden after the race. The cuffs on my long-sleeve shirts were wet, so I changed into a dry shirt before we went out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

I met the Spokane Frontrunners this morning for a walk downtown followed by coffee/tea and socializing.

Tonight I attended the opening ceremony for the Expo ‘74 50th Anniversary. There are events tonight through July 4th.

I hung around for the drone show with my brother-in-law.

I met the Spokane Frontrunners this morning for a walk downtown followed by coffee/tea and socializing.

Tonight I attended the opening ceremony for the Expo ‘74 50th Anniversary. There are events tonight through July 4th.

I hung around for the drone show with my brother-in-law.

Bloomsday is Spokane’s annual run/walk. The event is very popular and “finisher” t-shirts are coveted. I walked the course today because rain is forecast for Sunday.

The dreaded N Pettit Dr climb (from 1730.51’ to 1888.91’) around the five mile marker.

The course levels out and winds through several neighborhoods before you reach the finish line downtown.

After finishing the course, I walked by Riverfront Park (home, for over 30 years, of the “Joy of Running Together” – forty life-size sculptures of Bloomsday runners) to pick up my race bib at the Bloomsday Tradeshow.

Today I joined a Meetup group at Sontag Park trailhead and we walked to Spokane Lake – the west end of the trail (mile 40).

After driving that far I wanted to spend more time on the trail, so I continued on to McLellan trailhead on my own. This section affords nice views of the Spokane River.

Plus it crosses Deep Creek Bridge.

Before continuing on to McLellan overlook.

Flora and Fauna

A moose crossed the trail but I didn’t have my camera ready.

Today I did my first hike with a Meetup Group I joined two weeks ago. We met at the Glenrose Trailhead in the Dishman Hills Conservation Area. The trails were well maintained and the views were great.

I recognized many of the wildflowers from previous hikes, but I spotted some new ones, too.

This morning I joined a group to walk on the Centennial Trail in downtown Spokane.

This afternoon my friend Dan and I drove to Liberty Lake for a hike in the Mackenzie Natural Area.

Today I met a friend for a hike at Q’Emilin Park in Post Falls. The path started out steep and rocky, but got better fairly quickly.

The loop took us by the Spokane River and two of the three dams in Post Falls. Middle Dam has a power plant that originally supplied power to mines.

Today I joined members of my rowing group in Highbridge Park for river cleanup to celebrate Earth Day.

This morning our Meetup group hiked Dishman Hills Natural Resources Conservation Area – a 530 acre park with granite outcroppings, several ravines and a couple ponds. The rugged topography comes from the Missoula Floods (a series of cataclysmic glacial lake outburst floods attempt the end of the last ice age).

I joined a Meetup group for their monthly tour of Finch Arboretum. We saw turkeys, quail, and marmots, but no moose.

Today I joined a Meetup Group at Wilbur Trailhead to walk a section of the Centennial Trail through the State Park.

I took an side hike – the Bowl and Pitcher Loop – which took me closer to the river and to the suspension bridge.

I crossed paths with a foraging deer on my way back to my car.

I met my brother-in-law at the fairgrounds and we went through the Spokane Speed and Custom Show.

There were cars from the movie American Graffiti.

And some vintage trailers.

Today I joined a meetup group to hike Liberty Creek/Edith Hansen Loop.

This was one of the few days I’ve spent entirely at a hotel. It started with a long breakfast followed by a soak/mud bath/salt scrub.

Then some time by the pool with a good book before late afternoon soak/mud bath/salt scrub.

I packed, had dinner by the infinity pool, and got a few hours sleep before meeting fellow travelers for our 4:15AM airport transfer.

The drive from Petra took us through some amazing countryside.

We stopped at Wadi Rum for a 4×4 ride through the desert.

We arrived at the hotel on the Dead Sea in time for a soak, mud bath, and salt scrub before dinner.