Spokane River Walk

I woke up across from Uprise Brewing on the east side of Spokane with no real plan beyond finding decent coffee and getting outside. That's kind of become the rhythm of this trip — roll out, find food, find something worth seeing. Spokane had been on my radar for a while and I didn't want to blow through it. I pulled up Google and started hunting for a place that could do a proper cappuccino and had something to eat. Eventually I landed on a place called Atticus.

Getting downtown was easy. What surprised me was how quiet it was for a Saturday morning in May. Nine o'clock, sunny, warm — the kind of morning that pulls people out of bed — and the streets were almost empty. I found a parking spot right at the Riverwalk entrance, which almost never happens. Actually, there were two open spots side by side, which made squeezing in a lot less stressful. Small win, but I'll take it.

I had a minor moment of embarrassment finding Atticus. I'd been pecking at Google Maps, spinning around on the sidewalk, when I finally asked a woman nearby if she knew where it was. She smiled and pointed — right at the sign, maybe a hundred feet in front of me. We both laughed. Sometimes you just need a second set of eyes.

Atticus turns out to be two things at once: a gift shop up front and a coffee shop tucked in the back. It's a good combination — the kind of place where you come in for a latte and leave with a card or a book you didn't know you needed. There was no line when I walked in, so I ordered a chocolate croissant and a latté, found a spot at a bar along the wall, and started working through the photos I'd shot over the past couple of days. There were a lot of them.

As I settled in, I started noticing the glass panels in front of me. Pages from a book, printed small and laid out in sequence, laminated neatly onto the glass. I leaned in and read a page and recognized it pretty quickly — To Kill a Mockingbird. Of course. Atticus Finch. The whole place is a quiet tribute to the novel — the name, the pages on the windows, the vibe of the room itself. It reminded me of someone I used to know back in Connecticut who was completely obsessed with that book. Every outlet and light switch in his house was covered in pages from it. Quotes on the walls, dishes with text and imagery from the story. Atticus the coffee shop would have made him very happy.

I ended up staying about two hours. By the time I left, the crowd had started to fill in — it was closer to eleven when the line extended out the back door and a large group was standing waiting for the exlixor to be delivered. The crowd skewed young: lots of couples in their twenties and thirties, some with kids, the Saturday morning energy you expect from a place like this. Almost nobody over sixty. I took a lap through the gift shop before I left and picked up a blank thank-you card for a friend — I'd been looking for a decent card for days and hadn't found one. I also paused at the glass counter to look at some antique books they had for sale. Nothing I could justify hauling around in the van, but worth a look.

From Atticus it was less than a block to the Riverwalk entrance. The visitor center was open and a volunteer handed me a small map and pointed out the best walking routes and where to catch views of the falls. Just outside, a man with a megaphone was working the corner, warning passersby about sin and salvation in equal measure. It's a scene you see in a lot of cities. I kept moving.

The Riverwalk itself is genuinely great. The Spokane River runs right through downtown and the path follows it closely, crossing back and forth over the water on a series of walking bridges. Each bridge gives you a slightly different angle on the falls below — and the falls are the real draw. They drop through a rocky gorge right in the middle of the city, which is a strange and impressive thing to see. The sound of the water carries over everything. I stopped to grab a photo of a bird on a large bridge cable.

Along the way there are playgrounds, public sculptures, patches of manicured lawn, and some interesting architecture — a mix of old industrial brick and newer condo buildings right on the water. Lyme electric scooters buzzed past every few minutes. Couples were out walking with strollers and dogs. One couple was being followed by the tiniest dog I'd seen in a while — fifteen weeks old, barely bigger than a shoe. They said they'd been working on socializing it early, keeping things calm and positive. Everyone who passed wanted to stop and say hello to it. Hard not to.

I made a short detour into a large building called the Podium. Inside, the floor was covered wall to wall in wrestling mats and the place was packed. I asked a woman inside what was going on, and she just said "wrestling" — which, fair enough, was obvious. I pushed a little and got the full story: it was the Washington State Wrestling Association Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Tournament. Kids from what looked like grade school through high school were competing. It was loud, intense, and completely unexpected. I watched for a few minutes before heading back out.

I wrapped up downtown at Victory Burger, which had a brew pub feel without the brewing equipment anywhere in sight. Big open room, picnic-style seating, families spread out across the space. In one corner, four three-year-old girls were chasing each other in circles while their parents periodically drifted over to course-correct. Behind me, two guys were sketching out plans for a tech company. A woman near the window was deep into a presentation on her laptop. The pinball machines and the cornhole boards were both getting steady traffic. It was exactly the kind of place that works on a Saturday — loud, relaxed, no pressure to leave.

After that I hit a Planet Fitness to stretch out properly, then swung by a post office to mail the card I'd picked up at Atticus. That felt good to check off.

With Spokane checked off, it was time to keep moving. I had a long stretch ahead — my next destination was nearly three hours out. I found a place to stay over two hours away, and pointed west. The site was a boat launch on Banks Lake, just off SR-155. It's a big parking lot meant for dropping boats in, sitting right on the water. No overnight signs posted, no rangers around, just one other car parked at the far end. I pulled in as the light was getting low.

I opened the side door and just listened for a while. Merlin Bird ID, an app, identified Western Meadowlarks, Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds and a Bald Eagle all working the reeds. I went outside to listen and just then a Bald Eagle, cruising low over the water. I watched as it dropped, hit the surface, and come back up with a fish. The whole thing took maybe two seconds. It was too fast and too dark for any kind of photo — one of those moments that's just for you. I stood there for a minute after, just taking in the moment.

I made a simple dinner and spent the rest of the evening finally setting up the user settings buttons on my Nikon Z7ii. I've been ignoring those custom buttons forever, but with Alaska coming up soon, I need every shortcut I can get. The late coffee I'd had in the afternoon kept me from falling asleep until close to midnight. Worth it, mostly.

Spokane was a good stop. I didn't know much about it going in and came away genuinely impressed — walkable, lived-in and a true sense of downtown. There's more to see here.