Big grins, big countryside

The ride was a 60-miler or so, and one of our best ever for scenery. In shorthand form, the group found their way out along Cheney-Marshall to downtown Cheney and Betz Road, leading to the Four-Lakes area, to the town of Medical Lake, north and east along Espanola Road and North Wood Road, then Coulee-Hite back to Seven-Mile, and finally down Aubrey L. White to our point of origin. Lots of scenic highlights, including the let’s-pray-the-farmers-never-sell Betz road area, Willow, Granite and Silver Lakes, West Medical Lake, farm country including the Hutterite colony lands north of Highway 2, the Ponderosa-like views descending near Four Mounds along Coulee Hite, and of course, the Spokane River through the State Park.

Rick really missed a photo op when the group passed a female inmate baseball game near the State Hospital outside Medical Lake - the game stopped and both teams broke out into cheers as we passed through (apparently, a parade of Vespas aren’t something they see every day out there). Happily, there were no breakdowns and there was very little car traffic to deal with, but everyone was wishing there’d been a café or coffee stop near the halfway point. (We’ll keep our eyes peeled next time, but it’s pretty empty out there!)

Art Fest
Spokane residents know that on Art Fest weekend, any kind of weather can happen. Today, it was really, really hot, so Art Fest - which takes place in a shady park near downtown – was a pretty good pick as a wrap-up stop. The event seems to get bigger every year, and this time, there were maybe 115 or so artist booths in the park. Good ceramics this day - at least two of these were really worth checking out. Post-ride food choices included shrimp tacos, stir-fry noodles, and lots of cold, cold lemonade.

On a rare, hot spring day, good things include: cold drinks, a shady park, quality festival food, art for viewing, eclectic music, and cool, breezy scooter rides in the country. Thanks to ride leaders Paul and Marla!

Artfest Ride - Flash Photos