On January 5, 2024, I traveled to Spokane, Washington to rejoice the 10-year anniversary of my first journey and flight as a wheelchair consumer. As I described within the January 3 Wheelchair Journey E-newsletter, this “flightversary” was considerably impromptu and I used to be centered on making a fast journey to a vacation spot that I had by no means visited earlier than. Right here, I’ll share some observations from my roughly 36 hours in Spokane, Washington, a metropolis that I actually loved!

Wheelchair Accessible Public Transportation

Upon arrival to the Spokane Worldwide Airport (GEG), I boarded metropolis bus quantity 60, which supplies hourly service to downtown Spokane in about quarter-hour. The price of a single experience fare is $2.00.

Town bus was wheelchair accessible with an digital ramp and securement areas with four-point tie downs and a seatbelt (upon request). I rode a few different metropolis buses throughout my time in Spokane, and picked up a reloadable fare card on the downtown “Plaza” station.

Wheelchair Accessible Issues to Do

The purpose of this quick journey was to not construct an entire accessible journey information to Spokane (I’ll have to plan a return journey for that), nonetheless I did handle to expertise a few of the metropolis’s hottest points of interest, detailed beneath.

Northwest Museum of Arts and Tradition

The Northwest Museum of Arts and Tradition, or MAC, was based in 1916 and options rotating reveals which spotlight the area. The museum is housed inside a contemporary constructing which is wheelchair accessible, nonetheless the adjoining Campbell Home is just not attributable to its age.

Admission is often $12 for adults (with no low cost for these unable to entry the Campbell Home — what?), it was free throughout my go to attributable to there being just one exhibit open. That exhibit was Frank S. Matsura: Portraits from the Borderland, described by the Museum as follows:

Frank S. Matsura: Portraits from the Borderland options studio photos by Washington-based Japanese photographer Frank Sakae Matsura (1873-1913) alongside period-specific American Indian regalia from the Columbia Plateau. Exploring Indigenous illustration by means of a multi-dimensional lens, the pictures and objects on view element a few of Matsura’s most culturally important work towards a backdrop of regional transformation.

I totally appreciated the work of Mr. Matsura, which will likely be on show by means of June 9, 2024. For extra data on present and upcoming reveals, go to the MAC web site.

Numerica SkyRide at Riverfront Spokane

Spokane’s Riverfront Park includes a cable automobile, the Numerica SkyRide, which operates alongside a brief route over the man-made Spokane Falls, below the long-lasting Monroe Avenue Bridge, and again. The experience lasts about quarter-hour and prices $12.95.

Boarding the gondola is degree and inside a seat folds up to create space for a wheelchair. Views from the cable automobile are good, nonetheless it received’t supply something you couldn’t have seen from a viewing platform. Nonetheless, I loved including one other cable automobile experience to my checklist. Maybe $5 could be a extra applicable value given the quick experience period.

Looff Carrousel

For simply $3.25, guests can expertise one other downtown attraction, the Looff Carrousel, additionally situated contained in the Riverfront Park.

The 1909 carrousel is on the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations and options 54 horses, 1 giraffe, 1 tiger, and a pair of Chinese language dragon chairs. There’s a ramp to supply wheelchair entry and hook-ups for securement straps, although they weren’t used throughout my experience. My energy wheelchair stayed put throughout what was a fast-paced however quick experience.

Extra data on the Looff Carrousel is accessible from the Spokane authorities web site.

Cathedral of Our Woman of Lourdes

Building of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Woman of Lourdes started in 1903, previous to Spokane being named a diocese. That designation would are available 1913, and the church was named the diocesan cathedral.

Wheelchair entry to the cathedral is offered by way of an elevator to the precise of the church. Since I used to be in Spokane on a Saturday night time, I attended the vigil Mass to satisfy my Sunday obligation. The cathedral was lovely and grand.

Lodging

I booked a room on the Lodge Indigo Spokane Downtown with out doing my due diligence on accessibility, and was disenchanted to discover a roll-in bathe that didn’t meet the ADA Requirements for Accessible Design. The wall-mounted seat was not within the correct location, main workers to supply a conveyable bathe seat that proved troublesome to entry given the glass wall with a slim opening.

The resort was in any other case very good, with a stupendous design, snug mattress, and quite a lot of facilities. Given the accessibility obstacles current within the roll-in bathe, I might want to search out alternate lodging on future visits to Spokane.

Eating

My journey was very quick, so I didn’t have many alternatives to eat, however there are two spots that I can advocate for some scrumptious meals.

I had an outstanding dinner at The Gilded Unicorn, which is situated beneath the Historic Montvale Lodge in downtown Spokane. I loved the Porterhouse Pork Chop, which is a “honey-brined chop roasted and served with maple mustard, creamy gouda mac n’ cheese & bacon braised kale.” It was scrumptious and really filling!

For lunch, I paired a private pizza with a neighborhood craft beer at Thunder Pie Pizza, a recently-opened restaurant in downtown Spokane. It was nice, skinny and floppy with an honest provide of grease. I might positively return!

Ultimate Ideas

Not solely was this my first journey to Spokane, however my first time visiting Jap Washington. Because it seems, Washington is a various state with quite a lot of landscapes, and I discovered Spokane to have the form of “vibe” that I like — easygoing, artful and a bit tough across the edges. I hope to return within the close to future to supply a extra detailed journey information — however within the meantime, this could serve proof constructive that an accessible journey is feasible (simply discover a totally different resort).