July 23, 2025 - Driving from Alaska to Maryland
Yakima to Spokane to Kalispell, Montana
|
| We left Yakima and headed east to Spokane across mostly flat, high desert. It was an easy threee hour drive to Spokane. Note: good low flying country! |
| |
 |
|
|
Our son Joe had flown into Spokane last night. We met him at a downtown hotel and had a nice breakfast downtown. The Spokane River runs right through Spokane so we spent a little time walking around Riverfront Park which was nice.
|
| |
 |
|
| Spokane is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the second-most populous city in all of Washington (after Seattle), with a population of 228,989 at the 2020 census, while the Spokane metropolitan area has an estimated 605,000 residents. |
| |
 |
|
| Spokane is known as the birthplace of the national movement started by Sonora Smart Dodd that led to the proposal and the eventual establishment of Father's Day as a national holiday in the U.S. The first observation of Father's Day in Spokane was on June 19, 1910. |
| |
 |
|
| Spokane is home to Gonzaga University of college basketball fame. |
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
 |
|
|
I have been to Spokane once before. Ciena, the company I worked for my second career, acquired another company whose headquarters were here in Spokane. I flew out here for business travel once I remember their building was an ex-supermarket. Today I was able to find an address on Google Maps. It was on the east side of town. We stopped by on our way to Kalispell. As you can see, Ciena no longer owns the building -- it's now a carpet superstore -- but it is definately the same building.
|
| |
 |
|
| Soon after leaving Spokane we were back in the mountains on Interstate 90. After awhile we encountered the Lincoln's 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar. It looked interesting so we stopped in. As you can see, they have everything: bar, restaurant, motel, gas, gift shop, RV park. |
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
 |
|
|
When the small bar opened in 1952, the local customers (loggers and miners) were paid in silver dollars. So, on October 1, 1952, owner and founder Gerry Lincoln cut a round hole in the bar top, hammered a silver dollar into it, and inscribed he and wife Marie’s names beneath it. The idea caught on and by December 1953, over 2,000 people had placed their coins and names in the bar top. As a result of this, the name was changed to “Lincoln’s 2,000 Silver $ Bar.” The original bar top is still intact and in use, pictured here.
Each coin is the possession of the individual who left it and many people, or their children or grandchildren, return year after year to visit their coin.
|
| |
 |
|
|
Over the years, the name has changed many times to reflect the growing collection. From “Lincoln’s 2,000 Silver $ Bar” to “2,500, 3,000, 4,000 and 6,000” in Alberton and then from “6,000, 8,000, and 10,000” in Haugan. In 2007, the collection reached another milestone. Hence, the present name “Lincoln’s World Famous 50,000 Silver $ Bar and Gift Shop.” There are now over 50,000 silver dollars and people donate about 1,500 more every year.
Of those 50,000+ coins, 12,623 are REAL silver dollars. The rest are Eisenhower “sandwich” dollars. In 1972, when silver prices began climbing, people no longer wanted to part with their silver coins. However, they still wanted to donate a dollar. The Eisenhower dollar is a dollar worth a dollar and so, the tradition continues.
In 2022, they celebrated their 70th anniversary. Along with this milestone comes the fourth generation of direct-lineage Lincoln family to work here. Gerry and Marie would be proud to see their great-grandchildren working their legacy.
There are now over 87,000 silver dollars on hand! (I wonder what kind of security apparatus they have?)
|
| |
 |
|
| I would have liked to have stayed overnight here in their hotel -- not expensive -- had dinner and breakfast here, and most of all hung out at the bar for the evening! Next time. |
| |
 |
|
| They had a big gift store with many interesting items. My grandsons would have loved the axes, swords and knives! |
| |
 |
|
| We continued on to Kalispell, the jumping off point for tomorrows visit to Glacier National Park. We stayed on the southside of Kalispell at the Aero Inn. I knew the Aero Inn, having stayed here on one of my long cross-country flights. A small airport is within walking distance of this inexpensive motel. Big day tomorrow: Glacier National Park! |
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|