A Quick Fix in Spokane

September 29, 2011

Spokane, Washington

Tuesday was a nice day for driving, and we had an easy route: fuel up at the Flying J Truck Stop right next to where we were parked, get on I-90 West, and drive.  Actually, it was a simpler, albeit longer, drive than we'd planned.  Right before Sturgis there were highway signs indicating that vehicles over 26,000 pounds (yes, that's us) should avoid US-212, our planned route to Montana.  So, Geri used the iPad to access the Montana DOT while we were driving along, and confirmed that bridge construction would require us to bypass US-212.  In this case, the best alternative was to stay on I-90, even though that added about 50 miles to the day's drive.

We made it to our "destination", a nice quiet Rest Area in Greycliff, Montana, with no problems and had a restful night.  In the morning, I caught a nice sunrise as we were getting ready to hit the road.

Unfortunately, that's when the snag hit.  As I was walking around the coach doing a visual inspection, I noticed gear oil on one of the wheels, one that's been trouble ever since we've owned the motorhome.  I'd replaced the axle cover while we were in Connecticut, but that apparently didn't fix the leak.  This time, enough oil had leaked out that the bearing had overheated, so we knew we needed to stop somewhere for repairs.  I patched it up so we could travel, and thought about options.  Our next planned destination was Spokane, Washington.  I figured that a stop along the way in Montana at a truck shop could yield a "sure, we can fix it but we've got to get parts from Spokane" response, so I Googled repair places in Spokane, found Pacific Power (a chain we've used in the past for engine and transmission service), called and scheduled ourselves in this morning.  What did we ever do before smartphones?

I stopped more frequently than normal during the day and kept checking the axle, and other than running a little hot (checking with an infrared thermometer, another handy gadget), we were at least stable to travel.  We stopped for fuel in Butte and pushed on, soon crossing through northern Idaho.  I'd planned to stay at the Welcome Center just across the Idaho-Washington border, but it was being reconstructed so we pushed on.  Geri used the Exit Guide to find a Flying J a few miles on, so we headed there.  Coincidentally, as we got off the exit, Pacific Power was right across the street, so we pulled in there, let them know we'd be ready in the morning, and found a place to park in their lot.

Today, we were up early and I had the coach parked in front of their bays before they opened.  We checked in, they said they would get us in as soon as they could, depending on work already scheduled in front of us, and the service writer gave us some pointers on breakfast and things to see.  At the local Denny's, we were seated near a large group of landscapers heading for a golf outing.  Geri got to chatting with the owner and, surprise-surprise, our waitress came over and told us that they paid for our breakfast.  Now that doesn't happen every day!

After breakfast, we stopped at the shop and could see that they were already working on the axle, a very good sign.  They did have to get parts from a local supplier, but that was no problem.

So, we headed for Downtown Spokane to kill some time.  The riverfront park was a relaxing place to spend a couple of "found" hours; Spokane is another place we've been through before on the Interstate but never explored.  I wandered around, taking a few pictures, while Geri read on her iPad.  The Spokane River runs right through and has several waterfalls, but all the water was diverted.  I've seen a lot of road and bridge reconstruction, but never a river reconstruction project before.  But, it'll all be better/more stable when done.  The area was also the site of the 1974 World's Fair, so there are several artifacts left over from that.

This was an interesting two-level fountain.

World's largest "Radio Flyer"; what else can I say?

Saw a little parade of "locals"...

This clock tower was built in 1902 by the Burlington Northern Railroad, and donated with the rest of the land here for the 1974 World's Fair.

Interesting sculpture along the sidewalk...

The curve of the wall and walk struck my eye, and the foliage was just starting to turn.

River?  What river?

With the water diverted, construction workers are doing all kinds of projects in the riverbed.

There are several pedestrian and vehicular bridges across the Spokane River.

This is one of the two powerhouses producing electricity in downtown.

Leaves just starting to show color, it was a nice sunny day.

There's a tram that rides tourists down to the lower falls.

The Lower Falls are still wet, with water from the power plants still flowing.

We headed back to the coach after a few hours and found everything all fixed.  As soon as the bill is ready, we'll pay and be on our way, probably right after Noon.  It's never fun to need a repair on the road, but we were fortunate that we could still drive and found a reputable shop that got us fixed right away.  That four-leaved clover I found earlier this year is still working!