Duncan Gardens: The Duncan Gardens is the most impressive garden at Manito Park and Botanical Gardens. The formal English Garden is a lush display of manicured grass and a colorful display of annual bedding plants. Shown is a visitor entering the gardens on the left while two gardeners work on one of the beds on the right. A beautiful water fountain is set in the center of the garden. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Flowering Onion: A group of colorful flowering onion blooms stand out against the green foliage backdrop. The flowering onion blooms in May and June at Manito Park and Botanical Gardens. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos

When planning our RV trips we often have an idea of what major features or attractions may be before we ever leave home. Other times, we know very little about a location. With the internet, researching a city or area for attractions is simple but an even better way of inquiring or learning what a city has to offer is to ask locals. The locals often mention or recommend activities that may have otherwise been overlooked.

In June, we visited the state of Washington for the first time on our travels. While we had flown into Seattle years ago and spent a short time exploring, we really did not know what to expect. We were planning to visit eastern Washington rather than the coastal side of the state beginning in Spokane.

Spokane sits on the eastern border just across the border from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. We knew very little about Spokane but found it to be a beautiful city with many points of interest. We had not planned on spending time in the city but decided to stay overnight and explore for a day.

One of the attractions, which kept coming up while doing research and in literature about the city, was Manito Park and Botanical Gardens. We arrived at the park in late morning and spent several hours walking around this beautiful park.

The City of Spokane owns the park and the park is maintained by the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department. The park was established in 1904 and was a gathering place for families and visitors to enjoy the outdoors while being just minutes from downtown Spokane. The park was developed and became home to the Botanical Garden. It even featured a zoo for a few years but that portion of the park was closed in 1932 during the Great Depression.

Today Manito Park and Botanical Gardens features five gardens, two playgrounds, a baseball park, a disc golf…