Downtown Spokane, Washington

Staying at Hotel Ruby in downtown Spokane, we did a lot of wandering in the surrounding neighbourhoods - eventually making it down to Riverfront Park. Here were some of the pictures I snapped while we toured. 

Fox Theater - an art deco movie theatre constructed in 1931.

Steam Plant Square - we ate and toured here.

Hotel Ruby - our mod inspired motel.

Space Needle in Seattle, Washington

Seattle's Space Needle is a symbol of the city, and arguably the most iconic landmark in the Pacific Northwest. Naturally, seeing the Space Needle up close was a memorable experience, whether you're standing directly below it or enjoying the view from above. Constructed for the World's Fair in 1962, the Space Needle is 605 ft. tall and boasts over a million visitors a year. We spent the day touring Seattle Center, which also included the EMP Museum (now MoPOP), before finally making our way up to the Space Needle's observation deck.

Kurt Cobain in a Used Bookstore

More than just information, a good experience goes a long way to making a story resonate. Prior to leaving on our road trip of the Pacific Northwest I was already a casual fan of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, but I wouldn't have said I was all that informed. Somewhat unknowingly that began to change over the course of our trip between Portland, Aberdeen, and Seattle.

In this used book store in downtown Portland I stumbled onto an original copy of Cobain, a book that was published by Rolling Stone magazine just after Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994. In the book there were stories, pictures, and lots of talk about the influence of the group and what it meant to so many. I bought it hoping to get a closer look at it in the days ahead, especially because of some of the stops I knew we'd be making.


What was most interesting about this find was that even though I didn't get a chance to read the book until I got back to Canada, I had it with me when we drove up the coast and visited the memorial in Aberdeen, WA (Cobain's hometown). I had it in my backpack as I snapped pictures of the Nirvana graffiti under the bridge along the muddy banks of the Wishkah River. It was also with me in Seattle when we visited the EMP Museum and toured the massive collection of Nirvana memorabilia. 

Going through the book when I got back then wasn't just an eye-opening read, it felt a bit surreal knowing that I'd just seen many of the things in person that I now had pictures of in this book. The shots of I took in Aberdeen seemed especially meaningful after the fact knowing more about Cobain's life there. For that reason, this book became an increasingly valuable memento - it ended up symbolizing the experience for me.