Pride and Nature

coeur d' alene, ID
Spokane, WA
​and Missoula, MT

Spokane Pride

Relaxing in Montana with Hot Springs and Beer

This weekend was a ton of fun! After leaving Melinda's I headed to the Spokane metro area, spending one night in Coeur D' Alene then two nights with my friend Drake and his Family and taking in the Festivities of Spokane Pride.  With a lot of very short drives I was able to take my time, which in the van on curvy is a real luxury and still have time to actually get out and enjoy the places I went. My first stop on this leg was Coeur D' Alene. I found out that this was the first really nice weekend in a while for this area and you could tell with the amount of people at the beach and walking around. The only thing that was weird was the absolute lack of diversity which honestly made me a little uncomfortable, kind of like the town was straight out of a 60's sitcom. but besides that it was beautiful and the downtown was really nice and a little dog friendly.

​Spokane was amazing. I can't say I thought much of Spokane, the last time I was in Washington I only ventured into the Central Valley so never got that far East so I was thinking that it too would be dry and various shades of brown. Of course, that was not the case with beautiful mountains and a rushing river through downtown I really saw the draw that community has for so many in Silicon Valley. But my goal for Spokane was twofold, to visit with my friend Drake and then go to Pride.  Visiting Drake was great, like my other visits I realize that the relationships that I have are the most important things I have. 

Pride in Spokane Blew my mind! It reminded me of the Pride I went to in Portland many years ago, but this one was more emotional then any Pride I had every attended as I listened to the stories of folks who had crossed the boarder from Idaho. Being in the Bay Area there is a lot that we take for granted, but the stories of families having to move and people having to go back into the closet was heart breaking. I ended up donating to the Northern Idaho Pride Alliance so they can keep fighting the fight for equality and acceptance.  Listening to the drag queens who emceed the parade I learned some very interesting things, like the pride flag that had been painted on the street had been vandalized and not only did the community raise the money to fix it within a couple days but that instead of fear it emboldened the community and brought out the largest crowd that Pride ever had. 

Granted on my ride home I did have a scary moment when a big red pickup roared behind me and started yelling slurs at me, thankfully I could turn the other direction and wait until they disappeared.  It was the reality that as good as things are there is still an entitled group of people who feel it is their right to demean and attack people they don't agree with.  I also learned that I look under 21 as I kept getting rejected from places because I left my license back in the van. LOL.

​After Pride I headed back Montana for a stay over in Missoula and then a night in the mountains. Again I found an amazing Brewery and this one had a delightful gift shop and tasty beer. On Monday I did a scenic drive on us 12 by LOLO mountain and found the trail to a really cool Hot Springs that I got to sit and relax in for a half hour or so, it was great!  Monday Night I stayed at a national forest at the Powell Campground and Today I head into Yellowstone, where I will be bopping around Yellowstone and the Tetons for the rest of the week.