I’ve talked a few times about how it’s easy to find new experiences around you when you know where to look. So, while looking for blog post topics, my mom suggested vising the Post Falls History museum, which is only about a 10-minute drive, but which we’ve never visited.
Unfortunately for us, we discovered that the museum is currently closed for the season and won’t reopen until mid-May (which means I have a future trip planned!).
We had already planned to visit the Falls Park afterwards, practically located across the street from the museum, so we just headed there next. Parts of it were closed off for construction, but we still got to see them anyway.
Falls Park
The Falls Park overlooks the Post Falls dam, and you can see the rush of water as it surges through the dam and down into the Spokane River, where it remains until it reaches the Pacific Ocean.
Normally you can get pretty close to the dam and even feel some occasional drops of water splashing up from the surge of water, but the closer sections of the park are currently closed.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen this happen at that park, so it’s not a common occurrence. The dam needed some maintenance work done, but it shouldn’t take too long.
As we tried to think of something else to do, my mom remembered that there is a monument she’s been wanting to visit for years. It’s dedicated to an event in which over 800 horses were slaughtered to keep the natives from getting them back.
Ever since we found out about that event and its monument at a museum probably 7+ years ago, she’s wanted to go visit.
So, we decided to go do that instead. Looking up its location, we discovered that it’s just past mile marker 2 on the nearby Centennial Trail. So, we returned to the car and headed over to a nearby trail entrance.
Centennial Trail and the Horse Monument
Running alongside much of the Falls Park is the Centennial Trail (one of many with that name, apparently).
This Trail begins a few miles east of my hometown of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and continues west all the way through Spokane, Washington. It starts by Lake Coeur d’Alene and then follows alongside the Spokane River.
Now, I’ve biked along small parts of this trail before, and I’ve known about it for years. (Which makes going on it another possible adventure for the future!) But I’ve never explored it all that much.
We found a trail entrance at mile marker 1. You’re probably wondering how it’s mile marker 1 if the trail starts way to the east. Washington manages their part of the trail separately from Idaho, and their mile markers restart the count.
We only had a mile to go to reach our destination. We set off walking, traveling with the rushing river on one side and a rushing highway on the other. Unfortunately, the street noise made it hard to talk for a stretch of the walk. I still enjoyed the experience, though! The highway right beside us by no means took away from the scenery.
After a mile, we found mile marker 2 and, not seeing the monument, we continued up a little further.
Finally, there it was before us:
A monument built in remembrance of a horrible act.
Definitely not a happy thing to read about, but a nice thing to have finally visited.
On the way home, we chose to take a different highway exit to see a more scenic, out-of-the-way route home. It’s a pastoral area and even has a Catholic school built in a German style. Until a few years ago, I had no idea there was a school like that anywhere near us!
Adapting your Plan
A big part of any travel experience, as I’ve said in other posts, is planning for change. I’ve discussed spontaneity and setbacks, but sometimes you don’t really encounter a setback. Sometimes it’s just an obstacle or a small plan that falls through.
If you travel with backup plans in mind, you’ll never find yourself without anything to do. The museum was closed, the park was sectioned off, and so we decided to check out the Horse Monument.
Adapting is an important part of getting the most out of your experience. Even if you have a reservation or plan made ahead of time, be ready for alternatives in case something happens.
You’ll enjoy the experience so much more because of it!
Conclusion
I love telling stories. I’m writing books and I play D&D with friends every week. If I ever get a good opportunity to tell a story, I’ll take it.
Even better if I can use it as an example of my philosophies and worldview. Just like language, stories can communicate so many ideas if we just know how to look for them.
I didn’t want to just write another post about how you can find things you didn’t know about around you, so I thought I’d tell it as a story instead.
I’ve lived right next to Post Falls for years, and gone there many times for various reasons. (Sometimes just to pass through on the way into Washington.) But even still, there are many things I haven’t seen, and many worth checking out.
I’ve been having a hard time coming up with ideas for posts lately, so sometimes it’s nice to just get out there and do something new! Now, I have a few new ideas for things to do and places to visit!
I hope you enjoyed reading, and if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to comment below or contact me directly. I’d love to hear from you!
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Thanks again for reading!
