Spokane, WA here i come

[Outlaw]

Its not set in stone yet but I might be moving from the sunny panhandle of FL to freezing cold WA. Problem is that i'm not sure how i'm going to get my truck that far. I have my 3/4 ton Sweptline, 2 bikes, wifey's tahoe, and my impala. Its looking like i might have to give the truck to my dad in TN and hopefully get a new project when i get to WA.

Its still not set in stone so i'm not sure when yet but hopefully i'll know something within the month. Anything i need to know about the Spokane area?

[wideblock]

use the swepty to haul the rest of it up there. Florida to Washington would probably be a record drive in a swepty out of the guys on the forum. definitely something to brag about if the truck is up to it. whats takin you all the way up there and out of the sun??

[wally426ci]

Sell it and buy one of the 100,000 Sweptlines that seem to have made it to the North West.

[Jones]

Cold in the winter and warm in the summer.
The wind is usually blowing either snow in the winter and dust in the summer.
Hunting is great!
Snow skiing is good!
Bird hunting is good!
They have a Cabellas in town.
Nice down town area.
Worlds Fair was hosted there in 74.
Minor league hockey team is fun to watch.

So what's bringing you to Spokane? May I ask?

Keith

[Cageman]

My buddy lives out there, He calls it spoocompton. He drives a tow truck there. Says there is lots of swepts out there, has yet to tow one in the yard though.

I have been to each side of the country in my sweptline, I think I take the prize of miles driven across country in a swepty!

[wideblock]

cage man, terry and fred would be real hard to beat as far as miles a year accumulated behind the wheel of a dodge. i would have been at one point, but since i got the company van, im pretty easy to beat...lol

[Hobcobble]

My buddy lives out there, He calls it spoocompton. He drives a tow truck there. Says there is lots of swepts out there, has yet to tow one in the yard though.

I have been to each side of the country in my sweptline, I think I take the prize of miles driven across country in a swepty!

Of the folks I know here.... it sounds like you & Glenn [aka Pfury69] have logged
a lot of cross-country miles in their Sweptlines. FrankyB drove a '68 W200 from
California to Buffalo, NY and delivered it to the buyer in person. It would be
neat to hear from some older folks who used to carry or tow campers "back in
the day".....
John

[Hobcobble]

Its not set in stone yet but I might be moving from the sunny panhandle of FL to freezing cold WA. Problem is that i'm not sure how i'm going to get my truck that far. I have my 3/4 ton Sweptline, 2 bikes, wifey's tahoe, and my impala. Its looking like i might have to give the truck to my dad in TN and hopefully get a new project when i get to WA.

Its still not set in stone so i'm not sure when yet but hopefully i'll know something within the month. Anything i need to know about the Spokane area?

My wife & I vacationed out in the Washington & Oregon area
in '09 and really liked the region. I would suggest buying some
rain gear and a heavy coat. The good thing is is that there
are a lot of fellow Sweptline members in Washington & Oregon.

I have a good idea !.....
Drive your D200 to New Mexico and trade
it to Trey for his '70 D100 Adventurer. Trey
would then have his pre-'69 D200 he's on the hunt
for and you'd be a paint job away from a really
nice original D100 Adventurer.
John

[Outlaw]

My wife and i both are military and she got orders to Spokane, WA. The problem is seeing if they can make an open spot for me also. If they can't, we'll both just stay here in sunny FL.

I would drive the Sweptline up there but gas would rape me! I think the best bet is just give it to my father in TN (who loves sweptlines) and i'll grab a new project when i get to WA. Maybe this time i can finally get the step side i've always wanted.

I'm excited about the move but i probably won't know something for sure until July time frame, hopefully sooner though!

[jimmy]

I'm from Spokane and other than some of the nasty winters, I thinks it's a happy medium.
We get four seasons, it's a very safe place to live & raise a family. We call it Spokamojo, Spokaloo.
We have great shopping, clean parks, reasonable housing, crystle clears lakes, rivers, moutains, more than most places.
Spokane is less than a days drive to at least 4 National Parks, Pacific Ocean, valcanos, deserts, great farm land and several big cities.
We are 1.5 hours to Canada if you want to go visit our good friends to the North.
We have a nice little international airport and flights are reasonable.
The car show seen is far better than other places. We have a nice 1/4 mile drag strip and a oval track. Several ORV parks.

Lots of good trucks here, priced decent. B.A. 1970 W100 on CL now. Unless you have very rust free or rare truck or an attachment to yours, I wouldn't feel bad about buying one around Spokane.

If you make it here, welcome, Spokane supports our military. Thanks you both for your service.

Drop me a message and we'll hang out.

[soopernaut]

I'm from Spokane and other than some of the nasty winters, I thinks it's a happy medium.
We get four seasons, it's a very safe place to live & raise a family. We call it Spokamojo, Spokaloo.
We have great shopping, clean parks, reasonable housing, crystle clears lakes, rivers, moutains, more than most places.
Spokane is less than a days drive to at least 4 National Parks, Pacific Ocean, valcanos, deserts, great farm land and several big cities.
We are 1.5 hours to Canada if you want to go visit our good friends to the North.
We have a nice little international airport and flights are reasonable.
The car show seen is far better than other places. We have a nice 1/4 mile drag strip and a oval track. Several ORV parks.

Lots of good trucks here, priced decent. B.A. 1970 W100 on CL now. Unless you have very rust free or rare truck or an attachment to yours, I wouldn't feel bad about buying one around Spokane.

If you make it here, welcome, Spokane supports our military. Thanks you both for your service.

You really sell this place.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

My memories aren't that great.
I drove there from CA in Jan 78 to visit a buddy, driving an un-named off-breed pos car. Left spokane in the morning heading west. Got about 40 miles til the rr wheel bearing crumbled. Pulled into the closed, snow covered rest area, near Sprague (iirc). Pulled the axle and wheel, then walked back onto the interstate to thumb a ride back to spokane. A drink'n, tok'n hippy in a pickup with camper stopped. Ride back was interesting, especially as we went down a long @#% grade, steep enough that we kept driftinging slideways on the ice pack. He dropped me near an auto parts where I got the bearing then I hiked to a shop to get it pressed on.
The *#%^@ part was I spent the next 3 hrs standing on the plowed snow piles at a freeway onramp there in town, with a sign, and not one single "friendly spokanian" gave me a freakin ride. Finally called a taxi, waited 45 minutes for that a-hole to show up and barely made it in time to catch the 3pm Greyhound.
The bus driver was cool, he broke company rules, and instead of making me get off in Sprague and hike back out to my car, he pulled into the closed rest stop and dropped me right at the car. Put the GD axle back in, in the dark and snow, with a flashlight and got going again around 6pm.
I never looked back and Ive never been back. Ya'll can have that town!

I also lived in Pensacola and Milton, FL in 77. No regrets from there.

[jimmy]

I wouldn't have picked you up either if I didn't see your broke down car.
It's not safe and against the law for all kinds of reasons.

We are Spokanites, not whatever you said.

Don't blame our town for your break down.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Jimmy, where did I blame your town for the breakdown?

U see a guy standing in the snow, with an axle/backing plate/hub assembly in his hand, a sign that says SPRAGUE, and u can't figure out he needs to get back to his car?
You're either a freakin idiot, a youngster, oblivious or just plain self absorbed and inconsiderate.
Unsafe or illegal? Maybe in today's self-centered, drug addled, litigious and over regulated nanny state, but it wasn't 30 yrs ago.
Either way, that's pretty pathetic to make excuses for failing to give somebody a hand.

I didnt sit around and cry about it, I just got it done WITHOUT your help, regardless of how miserable it was.
I drove all night to Portland, it was so cold there was frost on the venturi's in the carb. I was glad to get the hell out of WA. Never been back. I noticed while driving all night that 80% of the drivers would NOT dim their high beams. That stopped almost immediately upon crossing the river into OR.

The point is, it is not all peaches and cream, there or anywhere.
Maybe things have changed in the last 33 yrs, but it was NOT an enjoyable place when I visited.

[soopernaut]

The point is, it is not all peaches and cream, there or anywhere.
Maybe things have changed in the last 33 yrs, but it was NOT an enjoyable place when I visited.

But your situation could have taken place anywhere and then you would be talking about some other place not being enjoyable. Spokane would have just been another place you happened to pass through.

[Outlaw]

Jimmy, i agree with Soopernaut, you really do sell the place. Well i know we are both looking forward to the move. I'm also glad you mentioned something about finding a new project. I'm kinda worried about that. How bad is the rust on the trucks laying around? Are they easy to find where people are willing to get rid of them for cheap? Its also funny you mention the winters, i don't own any winter clothes. the closest thing i have to a winter jacket is my riding jacket for my bike.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Similar situations did take place elsewhere, but the same rudeness was not experienced.

Dec 1975, snow and cold, Sonora CA, '52 D400 spun a rod bearing. Buddy and I were stranded, didn't even ASK for help, but total strangers offered us a place to stay overnight, plus meals. Made new friends with that family.

Sep 15, 1978, I-80 westbound, coming into Cheyenne WY late eve, 70 W200 pulling 20' flatbed trailer from MI to CA, freak snowstorm shuts down I-80. We weren't asking, but total strangers offered my brother, buddy and me a place to stay overnight, showers and meals. Made new friends with that family.

Jan 1978, Spokane - left standing in the snow, even when I WAS asking for help.
A lot of people painted a bad picture of that town. All it would have taken is ONE PERSON, out of the hundreds that passed by in 3 hrs, to have made a different impression

Ya, I have many memories, and many experiences, all over the country and world. No good ones from WA.

[jimmy]

LOL,

Here is something that was killing your chances of of a ride.
If your sign said Sprague, that is the name of a east west road in a old crappy part of town! When Cops is filmed in Spokane that is usually were they go. Hookers and whatever!
People were confused as to why you would be standing at the west bound on ramp wanting to go east! People in Spokane automaticly think East Sprague, not Sprague lake or the rest area.

Trucks are easy to find and prices are prety good. Exception would be someting harder to find like a Crewcab or something. They are here just not as cheap.

The only place I like better than Spokane is Flathead Valley of Mt.

[tinbasher]

i always liked spokane. riverside state park used to be a nice place... haven't been there for years. i used to play hockey there when i was a kid, we often used the billet system and i always got treated good.

i prefer the country to the north of town rather than the south but overall it's a nice area. colville, kettle falls, republic... all really nice little towns.

[digdoug]

The flathead valley sucks! I was driving through Poulson and a rock flew off a truck and broke my windshield...