Reflections along Lake Spokane
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Down By the #Water, a River Runs Through It

To honor Memorial Day weekend, which “officially” welcomes summer into the Northern Hemisphere, Sunday Stills focuses on waterscapes and all things water this week.

Spring in Eastern Washington’s Inland Northwest brings a LOT of water from the mountains into the rivers and lakes. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to live minutes from a river that flows through pine forests and mountains. This is my peaceful place.

View from the Centennial Trail
View of Spokane River from the Centennial Trail

“I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.” – John O’Donohue

The Path of a River

The Spokane River flows westward from Idaho’s Lake Coeur d’Alene, passing through Idaho’s and Eastern Washington’s Rathdrum Prairie through a series of dams, along the I-90 freeway. When it flows through Spokane’s downtown area, it’s a sight to see!

Spokane Falls in May
Spokane Falls in May

Downtown Spokane boasts the largest urban waterfall in the US. Spokane Falls is easily visible from Riverfront Park and Maple Street Bridge.

Spokane River in Downtown
Spokane River in Downtown Spokane
Spokane River flows through downtown Spokane, WA
View from Riverfront Park

It thunders through Spokane’s downtown in a series of waterfalls before it begins its northward turn through Nine Mile Falls where it makes a sharp oxbow.

graphic
Map shows the path of the Spokane River

Leaving downtown Spokane, the river begins its northward turn and creates miles of scenic views passing by Spokane Falls Community College…

Spokane River at Spokane Falls Community College

…through Riverside Park’s Bowl and Pitcher area…

Bowl and Pitcher Rocks
Bowl and Pitcher Suspension bridge
Us at Bowl and Pitcher State Park
Suspension Bridge at Bowl and Pitcher

…views from the Centennial Trail (which follows the river 40 miles back to Couer d’Alene, Idaho)…

View of Spokane River at the Nine Mile Dam
View of Spokane River at the Nine Mile Dam

The snow run-off in May makes for impressive views of the falls here in my town of Nine Mile Falls (hence the name).

Nine Mile Falls Dam
Nine Mile Falls Dam

“Water is the driving force of all nature.” – Leonardo da Vinci

More views from the Centennial Trail…sorry had to share this one again!

Wild Sunflowers frame the raging waters at Nine Mile Falls Dam
Wild Sunflowers frame the raging waters at Nine Mile Falls Dam

After the dam, the river becomes Lake Spokane/Long Lake. The views driving along Hwy 291 are breathtaking any time of year.

Reflections along Lake Spokane
Reflections along Lake Spokane

Continuing its journey at the oxbow turn at Tumtum, there are several spots in which to park and enjoy water activities, along with two campgrounds. One is 8 minutes from my house!

Lake Spokane after Spring Rain
After the rain
Evergreen waters of Long Lake, WA
Memorial Day SUP
Memorial Day SUP

During the river’s southward flow, the next viewpoint is the Long Lake Dam and overlook. Built in 1915, it was the tallest dam in the US at that time.

Long Lake Dam at Spring Thaw
Long Lake Dam at Spring Thaw
Long Lake Dam at Overlook area
View from the Overlook
Long Lake Dam Overlook, Spokane WA
Visiting Long Lake Dam

Visitors can continue driving along Hwy 231 to the Long Lake Dam picnic area. Beautiful views here!

Bridge over Spokane River After Long Lake Dam
Bridge over Spokane River south of Long Lake Dam

After Long Lake Dam, the Spokane River meanders west into central Washington to feed into the Columbia River near the Grand Coulee Dam.

As beautiful as this incredible river and lake area is, people can drown here.

My Annual Plea for Water Safety Awareness and Action

May is National Water Safety Month

Memorial Day also ushers in water sports and activities. The air may feel warm in the sunshine in many places, but beware of the cold and turbulent water as it rises and carries debris like telephone poles and entire trees downstream to unsuspecting visitors, boaters, and swimmers.

“The only reason I started swimming was for water safety. Then, once I started falling in love with sports, I got more comfortable with it.” – Michael Phelps


There are plenty of danger signs at the foot of these dams.

Danger Sign at Charles Street Bridge
Danger Sign at Charles Street Bridge

Just yesterday I saw several RVs and autos carrying kayaks and boats. Our weather temps here in Eastern Washington hover around 75-82 degrees Fahrenheit, while water temperatures are in the low 40s.

caution boaters
A Sign for the Times

Plunging into ice-cold water from snowpack will take your breath away before you know it, or the hidden debris may sweep you away without warning. This scenario plays out at any waterfront location this time of year.

Please be smart and safe and at least wear a life vest, even if you believe you are a strong swimmer. The cold water and debris don’t care.

As we honor the power of water…

Let’s Show Our Gratitude to Those Who Served

Let’s take a moment to honor the reason for Memorial Day. To some, it means a three-day weekend holiday from work or school. To others, it means this is the time to honor the brave men and women who have fought and died for their country and the freedoms it represents.

Arlington Cemetery, Washington DC
Arlington Cemetery, Washington DC

“Let their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.” —Daniel Webster

Many have fought and won, but some returned home with untold physical, mental, and emotional trauma.

As a public swimming pool operator, I had the honor of hosting a Wounded Warriors event in the spring of 2012. Many volunteers gathered at our handicapped-accessible pool to teach water safety, scuba, and watercraft skills to our wounded warriors. Of course, we supplied the lifeguards and other infrastructure free of charge in order to not only honor those who served but to help build community and water safety awareness.

thanking our wounded warriors

I caught this moment as several honorees stopped to shake hands with our lifeguards. The one shaking hands is my daughter (who just got married) the other is a woman whose husband has served in the Air Force for over 10 years. The mutual respect here is thrilling to see.

“Ceremonies are important. But our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops and once-a-year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead best by treating the living well.” —Jennifer M. Granholm

Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week

Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

This Week’s Featured Bloggers

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their photos of all things water. I add these all week as new links are posted.

New here? Subscribe to Second Wind Leisure Perspectives to receive my weekly posts.

This week, for Sunday Stills, tell us and show us your images of water–of any kind. I also enjoy seeing your creativity in poems and stories! I’ll be back next Sunday for the theme: the Great Outdoors! June’s themes are available here!

Enjoy the rest of your Memorial Day Holiday and see you next week. Be safe!

SUPSIG

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117 comments

  3. All that snowmelt water sounds so refreshing, Terri. So thank you for highlighting the dangers of entering the water when the weather is hot and sunny.

    Sadly I heard of two deaths of young men over the weekend who were pulled from the water. And yesterday a young girl and boy were also killed in the sea off the south coast of the UK. It shows how powerful water can be and how it can pull you away from the shoreline.

    Do they produce any electricity from all that water in your area? It seems like the perfect place for doing so.

    As you know, I can’t swim, so I am not confident in water once it goes over my ankles. However, I love living by the sea.

    I hope you’re having a great week.

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    • As our weather gradually warms, our snow pack is disappearing, quite normal for here, making the local waterfalls a little less thunderous already, Hugh. We visited another nearby dam making that three just in our county. They all provide electricity.
      I’m sorry to hear about the recent deaths caused by water. It’s nothing to underestimate. Glad you are smart and stay safe!
      Wow, what a gorgeous image you included! Thanks so much and have a great week 😊

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  6. Your photos are beautiful as usual Terri – blue skis, a little clouds for effect and wonderful water shots – all could be postcards. I found the Spokane Falls pictures and stats fascinating. Since I live in the Great Lakes State, we have a lot of water-related accidents, whether it is boating accidents or drownings. We’ve already had a few of each over the Memorial Day weekend. People in kayaks have had them flip if they get caught in riptides and must be rescued. Your warning is important and I hope people heed your advice. The picture of Arlington Cemetery makes you stop and pause. I visited it while in Washington, D.C. in 1977, but this sweeping view of the graves s impressive. A friend’s parents are buried there and she told about the ceremony and the annual laying of the wreaths on each of the graves.

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  14. Terri, all of these pictures bring back great memories. The river looks so much more ferocious in the spring, doesn’t it? I would not want to kayak on the river at this time of the year. I’m glad you are out of your drought. I think ours is still with us. It’s hard to rely on just one year. The West depends on rains like we had this winter to tide the states through several dry years.

    Thanks for taking the time out of the water to honor our fallen soldiers. It’s amazing to see so many rows of white headstones in Arlington Cemetery. Your picture reminds us that young men and women paid the price for our lives today.

    Hope the rest of your week is fun and productive. Your weather is perfect. 🙂

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    • Thank you, Marsha. Our snow pack is less than 50 percent now so the falls have already tapered off a bit in the last week. My neighbor showed me a pic of Lake Shasta…totally full! Never seen it that was, which is so good for Cal.
      When I worked for parks and rec we had many former service folks. The Wounded Warriors project was a big deal to us and we enjoyed partnering with their organization, especially in aquatics for therapy and events. I was proud of my daughter and the other young woman for stepping up for that event.
      Hope you had a nice weekend and it’s still somewhat cool in Prescott.

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      • It is coolish in Prescott – that’s called perfect at this time of year in AZ. It’s only in the 90s in Scottsdale, which is also called perfect. That’s where we are today. It was gorgeous walking around Old Town Scottsdale last night.

        I hope you have a great week. Your water pictures could get any more beautiful. I’ve never worked with Wounded Warriors, but they do such good work. There are so many wounded. If we were younger, it would be fun to be involved with the programs that build houses for the wounded. Hats off to your daughter for stepping up to the plate. She has big shoes to fill, Mama Bear.

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  23. Wow! So many gorgeous pictures of the river and falls!! Being born and raised in Western Washington, I’ve only visited Spokane a couple times, usually on the way to somewhere else. It was only on our last trip a few years ago that I saw the falls in the middle of town. Fantastic! And I hadn’t heard of Nine Mile Falls till you moved there. What a wonderful place to live, surrounded by so much natural beauty!

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  38. So much goodness in this post. The photos are stunning. Your captures beautifully illustrate water’s split personality. Tranquil and mirror-like in one shot and tumultuous and roaring in the next photo. That Washington State is very picturesque.
    Salute to all of our military men and women and their families. We just finished watching Black Hawk Down. I am exhausted. And so angry that our soldiers were put in such a losing situation. We are heading to the National Cemetery tomorrow. God bless our military.
    And water safety. We have a pool and we have young grandchildren. All but one knows how to at least dog paddle and could probably get to the edge of the pool to save themselves. God forbid. But my grandson is just one. We are going to have to watch him like a hawk when he visits in July. Just had a drowning at our neighborhood water park. The mom was making TikTok videos and allowed her 3-year-old son to roam the water park alone without flotation. That poor angel.

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    • First of all, many thanks, Leslie, for all you kind words! We love where we live and I wonder why we didn’t do it sooner. I’m so sorry to hear a toddler drowned in your neighborhood. Such a tragedy and so easy to avoid especially if people just stay off their phones. May your visit the cemetery tomorrow bring you peace and respect by honoring out fallen heroes.

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  43. Happy Sunday and thanks for the mention Terri – I guess i DID include water in many of my images this week. Loved your post, especially since we’ve got lots of water this weekend which is unfortunately in the form of 3 days of highly unusual rain! Since we have SO many sunny days I’m not complaining and neither is my laundry 😊 but I do feel bad for our many visitors this week. Your post reminded me somehow of our visit to Oregon with so many amazing falls and river activities. Great fun!

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    • So far every Memorial Day in the last 5 years either in Sacramento or here in the Spokane area, have had unseasonable weather–many days cloudy, some rainy (weird in Cali), and a couple in the upper 80sF! Eastern WA is in for a hot summer (again), hopefully we will have a better fall. But I don’t want to think about that now with summer upon us. Enjoy your day, Tina!

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  45. Terri,
    I LOVE water scenes and have way too many, but I can’t help myself. Yours are beautiful! I have to admit that I am very impressed that you are on your SUP on Memorial Day. I hope that the water was at least lukewarm. Thanks so much for remembering our brave people in uniform. They deserve our gratitude all year long. My contribution this week is one of my favorite water scenes–a view of the Tetons from the Snake River in Idaho. So calm…
    Have a wonderful holiday weekend. Joe
    http://www.easingalong.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/TetonsLum4WM.jpg

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    • Thank you, Joe! Thank you for your service to our country 🙏 ❤️ I’m glad you benefit from your time and enjoy the lifestyle supported by military discounts.
      Me on the SUP was taken in 2021 here in Nine Mile. It was a warm weekend and the snow pack was minimal that year. This year is a totally different story. Hanging with our family later today. Enjoy your week!

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    • Thank you, Graham! The Spokane River is quite stunning as it goes through so many different areas, unlike the Sacramento River where I spent a lot of time. We have family plans this afternoon, although it rained here all night. More water for the river 😉

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  52. Your post made me think about water Terri?
    Our bodies are composed of water, about 60%. Everything that is living has water in it.
    When we pass, that water is released back into the atmosphere. This water becomes part of a cloud and will eventually fall to earth as rain. Which in turn drains into rivers.
    So when you step into a stream there are millions of people/animals flowing around you.
    Nature recycles.

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    • Thank you, Anne! I’m glad California is out of the drought for now! It’s raining here today so I doubt anyone will try to swim here. Funny, our first year here in 2021, Eastern Washington was in an “exceptional drought” status. After La Nina, the western states got some water back!

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  58. I recognized the locations of the river photos through Spokane. Those are sights we would have missed had you not recommended that we visit the park while we were “in your neck of the woods.”

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    • Hooray! I’m glad you got to see my backyard, LOL! I’m coaxing my hubby to hop on his bike and ride the Centennial trail from our place to downtown Spokane. We have a folding ebike now, so no excuses, right? Plus I want to see more of these areas, myself.

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  60. I knew you’d have some fabulous water photos, Terri…and you absolutely did! Beautiful rivers and lakes and the dam is amazing!
    I don’t think people realise rivers and lakes can be just as dangerous as the ocean and how quickly extremely cold water can incapacitate.
    Great choice for this week 😄

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    • Thank you, Cathy! I recently added new photos of the Long Lake Dam when we visited earlier this week. That little picnic area was awesome–everything is so green but the river water is very high and turbulent. I was just off to visit yours!

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