riverfront park

I live in a great city and in the middle of downtown is a great park called riverfront Park.  It is the leftover buildings from expo 74 (think that is right) with the exception of the clock tower.  the clock tower still works and is all that is left of the railroad yard that use to be there.

recently I did one of my training walk/runs from there since it was still cold and icy out it was one of the safer routes to take.  the centennial trail runs through the park.  which is a trail that runs from 9 mile falls all the way through Idaho and I think has started into Montana.  great trail i use various sections of it all the time.

this was the picture from that day a cold but at least blue sky day

i have some exciting pictures to come real soon so stayed too.  well at least I am excited about them. 

riverfront park

what can I say it is a favorite subject this tower and it really is a huge symbol for our city.  It stands out and asks to be photographed.

clock tower by moonlight

one of the original standing buildings in or Riverfront Park located in the middle of our downtown area is the clock tower.  this use to be a railroad depot many many many years ago. the clock tower is all that is left of the depot.  many other things have been added to the park as a result of being the worlds fair in 1974


 

like the photo from a few days ago of the carousel this photo was taken as we were leaving the park in a hurry but coudn't pass up seeing the moon right next to the tower.

Besides the tower the pavilion are the two symbols associated with our city the most.

pow wow pride

to bad there are other people in this picture but this to me says pride of who I am

pow wow

have you ever been to a pow wow?   they are full of some beautiful native dresses, drumming and singing.  We recently were able to attend the opening ceremonies and a short bit of the start of the dancing. I wished we could have stayed longer maybe next year.

I really liked the little kids that came out and danced.  not the best of pictures the lights were getting dim and there were a ton of people in front of me.

some background on this particular event:

According to the event’s Facebook page,

“The history of this event and the significance of gathering at the Spokane River goes (sic) back generations. It has been a sacred tradition for many of the tribes around the Northwest to gather at the river because it gives life, love, hope, and a sense of revitalization. During past years, the Spokane Riverfront powwow has become a tradition for people of all nations to gather and celebrate those gifts the river provides, and to create or renew friendships. Dancers and singers, young and old, come from both near and far to showcase their songs and their dance styles for our community. It is a unique cultural gathering. Last year, this event did not take place and the community at large felt its loss. This year, community members have re-dedicated themselves to the event's true purpose to ensure that this celebration comes back to fruition.”

round and round

we are so lucky to have this right in our downtown area.  Our riverfront park is very historical and this carousel if a favorite.  I was happy to snap this quick shot as we were leaving the park for the evening and when I say quick I mean I was walking and snapping at the same time.  

some information on the carousel:

Riverfront Park’s 1909 Looff Carrousel is on theNational Register of Historic Places and is one of America’s most beautiful and well preserved hand-carved wooden carrousels. Our Looff Carrousel proudly features 54 horses, 1 giraffe, 1 tiger, and 2 Chinese dragon chairs and still has a brass ring to catch.

and for some additional history on spokane you can go here

the carousel was even on the antiques roadshow. 

Spokane River

Taken on Friday the Spokane river has reached flood stage.  I used a new app for my phone for this shot called autostitch.  I took a series of 7 shots and not perfect by any means just hand held and hoped they were ok.  well the stitching in this app is pretty amazing   I then used snapseed to add a little border and a glamor filter to the photo.



yes I know I am now addicted to taking pictures with the phone but during the week it is usally what I have with me as my big camera I can't take to my place of work for several reasons.

I am not sure how well this will print out but will be interested to see if it turns out.

tick tock time is running out

for all the flowers.  took this picture in September when the flowers were blooming.  this is the clock tower left over from the railroad yard and the pavilion was left over from the worlds fair in 1976

how fast are you?

yesterday I ran my first 1/2 marathon in San Francisco. I scheduled out a bunch of posts since i knew i wouldn't have access to a computer.  I am flying home tonight (hopefully on all of this info) so thought I would post a picture of my sister in law when she came to visit us last month. 

the sculpture's are steal and located in our downtown area on the edge of riverfront part.  they symbolize the racers in our biggest race Bloomsday one of the largest in the nation.  my dad when he was working sold the steal that made all those sculptures   guess that is why I am partial to them.

icy ride

I wished I would have been able to take this picture the day before. 



the gondolas offer a great ride to view the water cascading over the damn in our downtown area.  with the huge and early runoff we have been having the spray combined with the frigged temperatures caused the gondolas to ice up.  they have since been rotating them around so they don't get covered in ice anymore.

the day before the gondolas were covered completely in ice but I don't take my camera to work with much because I have to keep it locked up and its difficult to do where I work. but I did get this shot of them under the Monroe street bridge.

sunday grumblings

i had hopes of completing the weekly scavenger hunt hosted by ramblings and Postings but life gets in the way sometimes.  I ended up getting a couple of them but only so so shots that I liked.  below was my water shot.



the water is really flowing over the damn which is highly unusual for this time of the year. 

fog and water

taken from phone so not the best but it was really pretty to see the water flowing so fast over the damn today.  Although the icy rain that was falling was not so fun.  Lots of accidents car and tripping.  Nearly biffed myself several times. 

icy reflection

love how the colors turned out on this.  but it sure looks cold doesn't it?  yeah well 18 degrees is cold

spokane

S is for Spokane, Washington. This is taken in the heart of the downtown area. we have a river that runs through it and through a damn that generates our power. The park is called riverfront park and originally was a train yard the clock tower is all that is left of it. in the 70's we had the worlds fair here and the pavilion in the background is one item left from that. It houses our ice rink in the winter and a mini golf range and a few rides in the summer. In the park we also have a carousel, an Imax theater, and countless areas to sit and enjoy the scenery. we hold many festivals here including pig out in the park on labor day that is full of good eats. Forth of July with the sympathy playing on the floating dock with the opera house in the back ground is always a big hit.

Spokane is located on the eastern side of the state of Washington and is considered a high desert. NO it does not rain all the time here. That would be rain forest near Olympia on the west side of the state. Spokane is about 30 minutes from Idaho. Has tons of lake, mountains, farm lands and just about everything but an ocean.

or stock photo
just to busy of a day to get out and get a shot so used one I had taken a few months ago. Just as well since I don't take my real camera to work due to not really having a place I can safely put it without risk of being stolen.

I think after doing this photo I have found my 2011 project. I think I will blog every day about my fair city to spread the word of what we offer and the beautiful things here and around here. Would love to have some followers for next year to do this with. any takers??? well you have many months to decide on it.

14 sunny day in january

Knock on wood we have had unusual weather. sunny and in the 40's unlike a year ago at this time with 6 feet of snow on the ground. hope it stays that way too. it can snow in the mountains and leave the valley alone. Took this on my way to deliver the mail with my little point and shoot.

hey almost caught up on pictures for my 365

10 turning over a new leaf

I decided to rename my blog to a more appropriate name. The weekend photo warrior. Since I mostly take pictures during the weekend, due to that pesky thing called work. And since I can mostly update my blog during the weekend I thought it would be better.

The above picture was taken through a sculpture of a maple leaf flag. Not happy with it but I think that is because the weather is so blah. Just another beautiful cloudy winter day in Spokane.

199/365 July 18 world wide photo walk

This was the day for the scott kelby worldwide photo walk now I am not a great photographer I am still learning to take it out of program mode but here are a few shots I did for the day. We worked our way down through the park and downtown area. the above shot Iliked but didn't submit as my favorite 2 for the day. Its our river front park area.

I almost submitted this but changed my mind. converedt a color photograph to black and white. This is a highend condo that is located on the river downtown. Through the bars of a walkway fence I took the photo and was going to call it A different kind of Jail.


I did submit the above photo and the one below.
this I titled road to prosperity.

The walk was awesome I will do it again next year if they do it and I encourage everyone to join to its a great way to meet others that like photography and learn more about what you see. There were point and shoot ametures and full fledge professional photographers and everything in between on the walk

174/365 june 23

geese seen on a walk through the park

173/365 june 22

Spokane riverfront park

126/365 may 6, 2009

I love where I live and work. Every day I walk the mail down to city hall and I pass the river and dam that runs through our downtown area. There is a little spot behind city hall where you can walk down to the dam. I don't have time for that walk during work but have done it several times and never get over the power of the water flowing over the dam, especially in the spring time.