Months later, in July 2018, we were hired by “Visit USA.com” to do tourist reports in the northwest of the United States and we took the opportunity to visit Deer Park. The website disappeared, but we were left with the memories of that unforgettable trip. We arrived at a very-changed airport in Spokane, Washington.  The last time I was there was in 1968: 54 years ago!

The Spokane International Airport (IATA: GEG, ICAO: KGEG, FAA LID: GEG) is a commercial airport located approximately 7 miles (11 km) southwest of downtown Spokane, Washington, United States. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and includes areas such as Spokane, the Tri-Cities, both in Eastern Washington, and Coeur d’Alene in North Idaho. The airport’s code, GEG, is derived from its former name, Geiger Field, which honored Major Harold Geiger (1884–1927).

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As of 2015, Spokane International Airport (GEG) ranks as the 70th-busiest airport in the United States in terms of passenger enplanements. At 4,112,784 total passengers served in 2019, it is the second busiest airport in Washington. GEG is served by six airlines with non-stop service to 15 airports in 13 markets.

It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.

Spokane

We did some sightseeing in the city of Spokane before reaching our goal: Deer Park.

Spokane  (listen) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, 92 miles (148 km) south of the Canadian border, 18 miles (30 km) west of the Washington–Idaho border, and 279 miles (449 km)^] east of Seattle, along I-90.

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Spokane is the economic and cultural center of the Spokane metropolitan area, the Spokane–Coeur d’Alene combined statistical area, and the Inland Northwest. It is known as the birthplace of Father’s Day, and locally by the nickname of “Lilac City”. Officially, Spokane goes by the nickname of Hooptown USA, due to Spokane annually hosting Spokane Hoopfest, the world’s largest basketball tournament. The city and the wider Inland Northwest area are served by Spokane International Airport, 5 miles (8 km) west of Downtown Spokane. According to the 2010 Census, Spokane had a population of 208,916, making it the second-largest city in Washington, and the 101st-largest city in the United States. At the 2020 Census, Spokane’s population was 228,989.^[4] A 2019 estimate sets the population of the Spokane Metropolitan Area at 573,493.

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9 Miles Falls, Spokane

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The first people to live in the area, the Spokane tribe (their name meaning “children of the sun” in Salishan), lived off plentiful game. David Thompson explored the area with the westward expansion and establishment of the North West Company‘s Spokane House in 1810. This trading post was the first long-term European settlement in Washington. Completion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1881 brought settlers to the Spokane area. The same year it was officially incorporated as a city under the name of Spokane Falls (it was re-incorporated under its current name ten years later). In the late 19th century, gold and silver were discovered in the Inland Northwest. The local economy depended on mining, timber, and agriculture until the 1980s. Spokane hosted the first environmentally themed World’s fair at Expo ’74.

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Gonzaga University, Mariam Hall & Withworth University

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Many of the downtown area’s older Romanesque Revival-style buildings were designed by architect Kirtland Kelsey Cutter after the Great Fire of 1889. The city is also home to the Riverfront and Manito parks, the Smithsonian-affiliated Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, the Davenport Hotel, and the Fox and Bing Crosby theaters.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, and the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist serves as that of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane. The Spokane Washington Temple in the east of the county serves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gonzaga University was established in 1887 by the Jesuits, and the private Presbyterian Whitworth University was founded three years later and moved to north Spokane in 1914.

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The city’s western suburb of Airway Heights is home to Fairchild Air Force Base as well as two large casino hotels.

In sports, the region’s professional and semi-professional sports teams include the Spokane Indians in Minor League Baseball and Spokane Chiefs in junior ice hockey. The Gonzaga Bulldogs collegiate basketball team competes at the Division I level. As of 2010, Spokane’s major daily newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, had a daily circulation of over 76,000.

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