Spokane, WA
After being on an airplane for 4 hours, we decided to take a walk near our hotel and the campus of Gonzaga University. Other than NCAA March Madness we knew very little of Gonzaga and the city of Spokane. It is a beautiful campus and reminded me a lot of my alma mater, though... not a division one university.
If you find yourself in Spokane, I would recommend to the two breweries we visited. No-Li Brewhouse seemed like a trendy place with indoor and outdoor seating, the food was tastier than the beer, but a good staple (Food 3.5 stars, Beer 2.5 stars). We did a quick pour at Iron Goat Brewing and decided to go back for dinner the next night Beer and Food both rank 5 stars in my book.
Looking to enjoy the beautiful day, we took a short trek out to Riverside State Park and walked around Bowl and Pitcher area.
We were told that that we would love Coeur d'Alene, ID and it was true. Definitely has a tourist part of town, but you cannot beat the rolling mountains, pines and access to Lake Coeur d’Alene.
We stopped at Crafted Tap House + Kitchen which had a good selection of hosted tap beer and our humus platter was delicious. If you know my husband, you know his fascination with country westerns and mountain men/wilderness genres.... His dreams came true when we discovered Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company had a tap room in Spokane. I would rank the food as 4.25 and the beers as 3, but all in all, a good place to stop for a bite off of the beaten path.
The drive form Coeur d’Alene to Glacier National Park was amazing. Filled with boulders, rivers, pines, mountains and Flathead Lake that goes on for days! Did I mention it's only 2-2.5 hours from Couer D'Alene, compared to the 22-25 hour drive through Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Eastern Montana.
Driving from east to west in Washington state you get everything in terms of landscape. Mountains, ski hills, farm fields, fruit produce, vineyards, back to mountains, fresh lakes and finally the sound.
Seattle, WA
Interesting and enjoyable!