Spokane

Today's blog comes to you from Douglas, WY.  Our trip is winding down, and as it does I begin to feel anxious. There are so many MORE place I want to go now!  I want to take a road trip across the southwestern states and up the coast of California to Yosemite.  I want to go to the Florida Keys. I want to tour Maine in the fall. I want to see our nation's capital. I want to hit up things we missed along this trip: Devil's Tower, Colorado, Portland, And all the places in between. I want to see and do it all!!  I think it's time to start researching and figuring out what would be feasible. 

Last Saturday we left Yellowstone. We dropped off Mollee and Will at the airport in West Yellowstone. As we departed, I asked a random guy outside the airport if he would take a picture of the five of us since we had so few group pictures. I could tell he felt uncomfortable with my phone, so I told him to push the big white button on the bottom. He somehow managed to take a selfie, and for that I thank him!

Without Mollee and Will in the car, we had a bit more space to stretch out, which was nice.  We drove through the rest of Montana (which was beautiful), a quick cross through Idaho, and into the evergreen state, Washington. 

Melissa lives in a cute house that she shares with her roommate in Spokane, Washington.  Once we arrived, we aired out all of our tents and sleeping bags, washed loads of laundry, and showered. Melissa went to pick up dinner and her boyfriend, Ian hung out in the hammock in the backyard, and I went for a walk around Manito Park. As I walked around, I knew I was sweating. I felt myself sweating....however, thanks to the drier air, it instantly evaporated. I've never experienced a dry heat, and it's so weird but pleasant compared to the humidity of the south!  

The following morning Ian and I went to church. It was the closest church to Melissa's house, but we didn't realize that it was an old people parish. We were the youngest people there by about thirty years. The parishioners were so old that during communion, we had to sidestep a couple of walkers. The man sitting next to me was very kind and said that it was so nice to see young people in the parish and told us to come back any time. He was super welcoming. I felt bad telling him that we were just visiting Spokane and would be on our merry way the following day. He told us that if we were ever back in Spokane, we should come back to the church. So sweet!

Melissa took us to meet her parents in Nine Mile Falls that day. It was about a thirty minute drive outside the city and borders a gorgeous lake. After meeting her parents and getting the tour of Melissa's childhood home, we decided to take the canoe out on the lake. It's been a while since I've canoed, but I love the feeling of being on the water!  We crossed the lake and went around one of the bends before docking to play in the water for a bit. When we returned to the Barcellos house, Mrs. Barcellos had prepared us a feast for lunch, and we enjoyed a lovely picnic outside. 

That night we drove back into town, met up with Melissa's boyfriend, Tyler, and ate delicious German food. It has been a loooong time since the Reeds have had good German food, so even though we weren't terribly hungry after our delicious lunch, we powered through to devour our schitzels and brats!