The Slice: Detour may be required on Sundays

One of the great things about living in Spokane is the astonishing ease of going for restorative Sunday drives out in the country.

You can start in the middle of town and minutes later gaze at hawks sitting atop utility poles.

When people start thinking twice about taking these little backroads jaunts, we’ll know gas prices really have gotten high.

“Slice prediction: Growing national interest in the geology of the Channeled Scablands will eventually bring more tourists to this area than the Lewis and Clark anniversaries.

“Slice answers: Most responding readers said squirrels were the most common form of local roadkill. But Lois Hodgson said skunks win, “By a nose.”

Tim Osborn said Gonzaga University’s sports team nickname should be “Bandwagons.”

Chuck Young guessed that parking spaces reserved for colonels and generals out at Fairchild are never used by unauthorized drivers.

And a reader in Airway Heights said she knows we’re in for a rough winter because her dog’s “feet hair” is getting long.

More on Thursday.

“Multiple choice: What bugs you most about football?

A) The physics of the activity vs. the design of the human knee. B) The inconsistency of “holding” penalties. C) Coaches wearing headsets. D) Football fans. E) Other.

“Contests update: Thanks to the readers who have submitted entries in The Slice’s Best Leaves of Autumn Contest and the Postcard Photo Contest. The deadline for both is Nov. 1. Give me a call if you need details.

While we’re on the subject, I should note that my friends at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture took issue with a Slice reader’s assertion that there aren’t any decent Spokane postcards. To decide for yourself if they have a case, check out the museum’s gift shop.

“Today’s Slice question: What interesting factoid or trivia with some personal connection to your past did you discover while surfing the Internet?

Here’s an example of what I mean.

About a hundred years ago, when I was a sophomore in high school, my hockey team won the state championship in Vermont. Our next step was to play in a tournament against other New England state champions.

We promptly got thrashed by a team from Waterville, Maine. It was ugly.

Anyway, not long ago, I was Googling down memory lane. And I came across a 2004 newspaper column that had appeared in Portland, Maine. The columnist said that 1971 Waterville team — featuring nine seniors who went on to play college hockey — might have been the best in the state’s history.

It’s almost embarrassing to admit how pleased I was to read that, even after all these years.

OK, your turn. What was your Internet find?