XtraCycle participates in motored bicycle gathering...

Opportunity knocked again!

Hey, the masts are up this morning on the white truck in Riverfront Park!

Better pictures of truck.

Coming home this morning, I made sure my camera setting was correct and took a couple more pictures. The masts are still down (it is the weekend). I hadn't noticed the concrete barriers before. Also, there is some kind of dish antenna in the front of the truck. You can click on the picture to get a larger file.

Things you see while biking around Spokane...

Sorry about the low-res image. I also took a picture of the Xtra-cylce parked next to 3 motorcycles and the fire engine in my station when I got to work this morning. Very cool. But, I didn't realize my cellphone camera had flipped into low-res mode. Argggh.

Anyway, I digress. I saw this truck parked at Riverfront Park, kind of hidden in some trees the other day whilst biking home form CompUSA. So I stopped by on my way to work this morning to take the picture. The other afternoon, the antennae were extended and they blended in to the multiple flag poles there. They looked a little thicker than flag poles, more like a ship's masts. There's a generator behind the truck and the whole thing is fenced off.

Anybody know what the story is?

From Building Nina - a great story of a helicopter boat rescue on Long Lake (Lake Spokane)...

Click the title to read the story, or heck, watch the video:

Mega-addition to nursing home!

This was always a somewhat small building. One story. Now there are girders in place to envelope the original strucuture and take it up two or three stories. It looks like it will be at least 10 times the size of before, and will spread out across the whole block. A neat idea in that the residents won't have to move during the remodel.

As seen in Auntie's Bookstore...

No matter what you think of Dan Quayle, you have to admire the title of his autobigraphy! it's even marked down!!!! And yes, this is a hardback.

Shrinking, icy Manito Pond makes it easier to feed the ducks.

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Originally uploaded by Griffith Family.

A couple more days of this cold and the ducks will have to stack themselves in what's left of the pond.

Elite Traveler Magazine - as found in Spokane's Hotel Lusso...

Hotel Lusso - a great place! Beautiful big rooms. Tasteful decor. An awesome restaurant. And in every room a $35 magazine. It was a little larger than most magazines, but a ton more ads. Nothing from the Franklin Mint or Sea Monkeys, however.

If you are looking for a bargain, you can subscribe and get a year's worth (6 issues) for less than $200.

"Elite Traveler is the essence of luxury." When you think of it that way, it almost seems too cheap.

You drive over it a lot...

Some cellphone video of the Monroe Street Bridge and falls. There are some new viewing areas (at least new to me) off the north bank, right at the foot of the bridge and smack-dab over the river. Well worth checking out! This is January 6th. It should even be more impressive in a couple of months.

Christmas Eve Caroling at Cannon Hill Park!

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Originally uploaded by Griffith Family.

A couple hundred folks gather every Christmas Eve to carol. I believe this has been a tradition since the 1940s.

Santa spotted over Spokane - Ride along!

U-Pick Apples and the New World Order!

This from picking apples in Green Bluff. On the edge of Jonathan Apples at "Hidden Acres" Orchards looms this tower. Guard tower? Deer hunting platform? Interplanetary docking port? "Hidden Acres"? Sounds like a good name for a covert operation of any kind. And why were those guys selling cocoa and hot cider wearing flourescent orange coveralls anyway? Not to mention all the microfilm we've found in the macintosh cores...

Bernard St. Tree Removal...

As many of you know, I try not to make this blog too political. But, I received this e-mail today, and wanted to share it with you:


Greetings all!

Here is a link to a guest editorial in the Inlander written by the Mayor regarding the Bernard Street project. He still seems to think this is about trees when it is about the law and the comprehensive plan. Please let him know how you feel about his position. Let him know how you plant to vote the next time a Street Bond proposition is on the ballot. If you are so inclined, write a letter to the Inlander and copy to the Mayor.

link to editorial: http://www.inlander.com/commentary/302015208611699.php
Inlander letters to the Editor: totheeditor@inlander.com
Mayor's email address: dhession@spokanecity.org

Richard

New bike dealio

Pretty much ditched my car for a bike, a few months ago. Started researching ways to carry more stuff. The XtraCycle Free Radical attaches to the back of your bike where your rear wheel used to be. Then you take your rear wheel and attach it to the Free Radical. If you want to see more about this, you can click on the link in the title.

As you can see from the picture, you can load it up with a lot of groceries- up to 200 pounds worth! Recently met a Spokane family that has had one of these for years, and swears by them.

Concrete proof of the Loch Ness Monster or dragons, or something...

This was a very large delivery made to our neighbor's house, the other day. Unfortunately, it's not going in the front yard.

Mister Yuke's Swan Song

Well, all the swans have now been killed in Manito Park. And we look forward to another summer of broken beer bottles, torn up lawns, destroyed trees and other acts of vandalism by little a**holes. What to do...

I know that violence is not the answer, but it is fun to dream.

Perhaps, this could be the beginning of a new superhero. "A spokane parks arborist breaks through the ice at Manito Pond. No one hears his pleas for help. He emerges from the pond, with duckpond water-filled lungs and axe still in hand, and a mission..."

The Axeman! Click the title above to hear the song (by Mister Yuke).

Thanks to FLICKR and Special P for the swan photo.

This house really says it all!

The paint is peeling, but the pride is there. These colors don't run, even though they might want to.

Valentines Greeting at Bernard and Cliff Bridge

Is this tree next?

While not in Spokane Proper, Mike Forbes was in the region when he snapped this shot. Looks as if in the sawmill yard there's one tree that's been given sanctuary. See it right there in the front of the pile? It's fenced off! Click on the picture for an enlargement.

For a three hour tour...

Located on Coeur d'Alene Street in Vinegar Flats is this boat in someone's backyard. It's been converted into a guesthouse/storage area/yard ornament/clothes line.

Thanks Greg Haff for spotting this. With eyes like that, you should be on a water rescue team. Yarrr.