Category: travel

“Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it. Don’t wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men’s store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee.” 

–Dale Cooper

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to visit Washington, which allowed me to check off a major item from my bucket list: a visit to the historical sites of Twin Peaks in North Bend! The main purpose of our visit was to cheer on our friends competing in IRONMAN 70.3 in Maple Valley, and I found us a lovely tiny home to stay in on an Alpaca Farm. However, we had a full day before the big race, so we made our way down to North Bend, which was only 40 minutes from our tiny home.

Our first stop was the legendary Twede’s café, which recently re-added the Double R sign. I had a damn fine cup of coffee, and the food was equally fantastic; naturally, we had to try the cherry pie. I can confirm that Twede’s “must be where pies go when they die.”

Following that, we made our way to the approximate location of the Welcome to Twin Peaks sign. While the original sign had been damaged and removed several years ago, I decided to add it back using Photoshop for an amusing touch. I had very weak cell service and had to work on memory, but I should have taken the photo a little further up.

A little further down the road was The Reinig Road bridge, which Ronette crosses on her way back into Twin Peaks the day after Laura’s murder. 

Afterward, we headed to the old location of the Sheriff’s station/Packard Sawmill, which has now been transformed into a Rally School called DirtFish. Once again, with a little Photoshop magic, I added the Sheriff’s station sign. To add to the excitement, the Sheriff’s car is displayed in the parking lot as an attraction, and it was a blast taking photos with it.

Our final stop was Snoqualmie Falls with the Salish Lodge & Spa in the background, which served as the exterior for the Great Northern in the show.

We couldn’t resist stepping into the lodge for a drink, where they offer a Dale Cooper cocktail. It was a moment to pause and take it all in because, as Dale Cooper says, “that’s what you do in a town where a yellow light still means slow down, not go faster.”