A few pics and a little fun from travels to exotic lands

Alright, alright, so Spokane, Washington, and Plains, Montana might not qualify as "exotic" for some people (especially those who actually live in Spokane and Plains). However, if you've never been to either city/town, there is plenty to see, ranging from a beautiful riverfront park to the stunning Davenport Hotel to Lake Coeur d'Alene to the Clark Fork River to, well, Plains—my hometown, a bustling little burg of some 1,200 residents (yes, I know, it's actually not a "burg." In fact, nobody I know uses the word burg. But I thought "bustling little burg" had a nice sound to it, even though it isn't altogether accurate—except for the "little" part).

Spokane and Plains are the two locations I hinted at in this post last week. One reader correctly guessed Spokane, but Plains proved more difficult, despite the glaringly obvious clue of a road sign for Hot Springs (where I was born) and Kalispell, which stands at the intersection of Highway 200 and Highway 28. How much more blatant could I be? Anyhow, here are few pictures from the July 1-8 trip, some of which might actually qualify for "semi-exotic," or at least "not your standard travel photo":

This beautiful crucifix is in the home of Tony and Amanda Clark in Spokane (Tony will be teaching Asian history this fall at Whitworth University after spending the last four years at the University of Alabama). If I recall correctly, it dates from the Napoleonic era. The Clarks have a talent for finding amazing art and books. Another example:



This collection of missals and breviaries is just one little section of their impressive personal library (the third most impressive personal library I've seen in the flesh. The other two belong to Dr. Scott Hahn and Sandra Miesel). I always stand in front of this collection for a few moments and let the electric currents of book jealousy surge through my body. Painful.

And now onto Montana. Here is a wonderful picture taken by my wife of the Clark Fork River about ten miles west of Plains:



People unfamiliar with Montana sometimes assume I grew up on the prairies, perhaps because they don't know the Rocky Mountains run down through western Montana, or because the name "Plains" doesn't conjure up images of rugged terrain. The town was originally called Wild Horse Plains because the native Americans used to winter their horses in the valley during the winter months.



This gunshop was built by my father and some family friends when I was four years old. The large lot originally had a very small house and this shop; it now has a large house, the expanded shop, and about four out buildings filled with lots of tools. Come take a look inside:



(That's my daughter running up to say, "Hello!") My father builds custom hunting rifles for clients around the world. He built his first working gun from scratch (that is, without any previously existing gun parts) when he was twelve years old. When I was twelve years old, I drew this picture of a horse, using a stick on cheap scratchboard-ish paper:



That is one of dozens of pieces of my old artwork that I dug out of storage during this visit. More about that in a second. In the meantime, in case you wondered if my father hunted much (silly question!), here is just one wall in his den; the other three look very similar:



I should take proper and due credit for shooting the antelope on the bottom left, way back in 1985. I subsequently retired from hunting and focused on basketball, reading, and writing. Like Jim Brown, I knew it was best to walk away at the peak of my powers.

Among the many sketches I brought home was this (incomplete) self-portrait, drawn in 1990:



Gotta love that hair! Two years later I was experimenting with a much looser, semi-abstract approach (with both pastels and acrylics), and painted a piece I've since titled "Eschaton":



Okay, since I've been a bit self-indulgent, here is a photo of me taken in Coeur d'Alene Park in Spokane—if you've read this far, reward yourself by coming up with a clean, mildly caustic, and semi-charitable caption:



And, finally, say, "Cheese!" (or, if you're like my wife: "Stop pointing that thing at me!"):

Comments

[Robert]

This is a great post and you have a wonderful blog! Especially like the photo and comments about the personal libraries. Alas, growth in my own (corporeal) personal library has stopped cold since I bought a Kindle.

[Tom McDonald]

Isn't it amazing how having kids means never using a shutter speed lower than 1/250? I have a large collection of wonderful pictures with odd blurs dashing through them.

[Evan]

Great pictures... that's an amazing shop.

I'm trying to think of a good caption, but the creative juices ain't flowing right now.

[Peter McCabe]

I do enjoy your blog including this post.
For the train photo how about, "Carl is to train engineer as Dan Brown is to historian!"

[DN]

All aboard the I Just Confessed to an 80s Mullet Express! Just me? Okay.

[Carl E. Olson]

Evan:And that is just the main shop; there are four other buildings filled with tools big and small.

Peter: Not to toot my own horn, but I think I'd be a better train engineer!

DN: LOL.