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My in-laws want the family to gather at Coeur D'Alene sometime next March. The Spokane Amtrak station is only 30 miles away, but the trains get there at, shall we say, challenging times of the night.
I'm wondering what services are available nearby at those hours. Specifically, is there any lodging within spitting distance so we could just walk over after we get off the train after midnight?
Are there any restaurants in the neighborhood where we might find food and comfort while waiting for the 3:00am returning train?
Are rental cars easily obtainable?
How is the boarding done when the train splits? Do westbound passengers have to wait until the different sections are split before boarding? (We'd be on the Portland section.)
sojourner Member # 3134
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I cannot tell you about hotels and restaurants in Spokane, Mr Toy, but I can tell you that on my last trip on the Empire Builder westbound, I awoke when we stopped in Spokane and decided to get off to see the delinking. I and another passenger (a college-age male) wandered around the station some, looking at brochures and whatnot. I can tell you that I felt comfortable there even though it was the middle of the night.
I look forward to the input of others on this, because I myself want to go to Spokane some time too!
notelvis Member # 3071
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The Spokane station is shared with Greyhound and there is a grill in the station that was open quite late when I was there in 2002. I had a warm but mediocre sandwich there between landing at the Spokane airport at 10:00pm and departing on an hour late westbound Spokane Builder at 3:00am or so. The station is staffed when the trains are there and station security was vigilant.......meaning walking around keeping an eye on things.....as opposed to sitting at a desk looking at a TV monitor.
TBlack Member # 181
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I'm not sure that I have a lot to add, but I think Mr. Toy deserves all the knowledge we can muster. Several years ago,I had to get off the train at Sandpoint to visit my sister. As you know, that is also at an inconvenient time. She left a car for us at the station with the keys hidden on the car so we could get ourselves to her house in the wee hours without disturbing her.
Another thought is that you might call up wherever you'll be staying and ask them if they can help you either by meeting the train and/or dropping you off at the conclusion of your stay.
Finally, I got into trouble on another thread by suggesting that Albany was a sleepy place, so I'm risking my good name by suggesting here that Spokane might also be pretty sleepy, particularly at 3:00 AM. It might be easier to find food in CDA before you leave for the station and bring it along with you.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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Thank you for your kind words Mr. Black.
No definitive answers but you've all given me some avenues for further research. I've learned there are a number of decent hotels within a mile of the station. Perhaps one or another is used to picking up passengers late at night.
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