Image: Spokane Centennial Trail by Gonzaga University, 1998 (10163427794)

Description: Starting somewhere west of the city, along the Spokane River, the Centennial Trail has to be one of the most impressive bike routes I have been on. Dramatic arches under the Monroe Street Bridge provide a backdrop for a gondola ride that is left over from when Spokane hosted Expo 74, otherwise known as the Spokane world's fair. Spokane is located in eastern part of Washington State. Trail goes into Idaho. I grew up in Pullman, not far from Spokane, and I remember laughing at the prospect of Spokane having a worlds fair. My grandmother described Spokane as a little wheat ranching town that just out grew its britches. At the hub of an area called the Inland Empire, Spokane serves as a trade center with all its "chamber of commerce style boosting" and bragadosio promoting. The little wheat town was too conservative to pass its school levy, sometime in the 1970s just before the fair, but plans for the fair continued. I remember thinking it was dumb to plan a worlds fair when the taxpayers were too cheap to support the schools, but funny as it seemed, the fair was a success. The old fair grounds have become one of the most beautiful urban parks I have experienced. River Front Park is right in the heart of the city and it makes good use of the thundering falls on the Spokane River. The Centennial trail wonders through the park catching the spray from the falls along with the gondolas. On Youtube, there is a great documentary from KSPS TV, in Spokane, about the 1974 worlds fair. www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_thtT_DYhM
Title: Spokane Centennial Trail by Gonzaga University, 1998 (10163427794)
Credit: Spokane Centennial Trail by Gonzaga University, 1998
Author: Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes