Monthly Archives: October 2017

Movie/TV Shooting Locations, Travels, Washington Places

Tour of Washington State Movie and TV Locations Part 3–Twin Peaks at North Bend

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Twin Peaks at North Bend: Go for the Novelty, Stay for the Si

North Bend and Twin Peaks will forever be entwined with each other, but even if there’d never been Twin Peaks at North Bend, the town (which is home to Mount Si) would be a fantastic destination.

Si is possibly the most popular mountain hike in the state of Washington. It affords incredible views and has a well-maintained, easy-to-follow trail. Don’t let that fool you, though.

The walk is pretty challenging physically, and I’ve seen a lot of people start it without understanding what they’re getting into.

By all means, do the Si hike before you die, just make sure you’re mentally prepared for it. Also, plan to hike early in the morning before the heat rises.

The fact that Twin Peaks was filmed in North Bend is just the dollop of ice cream atop the cherry pie (see what I did there?).

North Bend and Twin Peaks:

Twede’s Cafe is the Double R from the television show…you know, the one with damn good coffee. The interior is decorated exactly as it is in the series.

The cafe also happens to have some of the best burgers I’ve ever had, and a wide variety of them at that.

Perhaps the weird energy of the show rubbed off on the area, too, because I’ve seen some odd things there, including a man carrying a full-sized tuba up to the top of Mount Si and playing it there.

As noted in the Roslyn entry, you can hit up North Bend and Roslyn in one day. They’re only an hour apart from each other, and doing them both makes for a fun little road trip for television and entertainment buffs.

Movie/TV Shooting Locations, Travels, Washington Places

Tour of Washington State Movie and TV Locations Part 2–Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight at Forks and La Push

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Twilight at Forks and La Push, Washington

One of the funniest bumper stickers I’ve ever seen read, “Vampires SUCK…at Forks, Washington.”

The sticker, of course, references Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series.

Like Northern Exposure‘s Roslyn, this is an area that I’m familiar with because I love the area itself. And yes, that is partially my way of saying, I’m not really a Twilight fan (though I did watch the first movie and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would).

While I’m not a big Twilight-head, personally, it’s been fun watching Myers’ vampire-and-werewolf love stories transform the formerly sleepy, way-off-the-beaten-track and not-passionately-sought-out destination of Forks, Washington, into a treasured haven for females of all ages.

The thing that’s sort of odd about Forks and La Push as movie attractions is that none of the films was actually filmed in either of those places, far as I know. That’s not what their claim to fame is.

Rather, the attraction is that the Twilight series was set in a fictional version of Forks, and various Jacob-oriented scenes took place at La Push.

The fact that the area isn’t really featured much in the movies stopped the area from becoming a major attraction for Twilight fans. It also hasn’t stopped the people of these towns from catering to those visitors.

The Pacific Inn Motel, for instance, has special Twilight-themed rooms.

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Beautiful Scenery and Rugged, Fun Hiking

Like most of the other locations I’ll be featuring in this series, Forks and La Push made the list because they are great destinations on their own — even without the movie fanfare. So, when you visit them, you get two wins for the price of one.

La Push has some of the most beautiful beaches you’ll find in the state of Washington. The place is rugged and wild and sparks with elemental energy. View or rocks in the ocean as seen from La Push beach.Forks, too, is an underrated location.

The town itself is rather small with few attractions, but while you’re there, you’re within easy travel distance of rain forests, beaches, and Lake Crescent (with its fabulously terrible Mount Storm King) destinations.

All of those things make Forks a terrific yet relatively little-known base camp for exploring the northwestern corner of this amazing state. It also tends to be affordable for those on budget trips.

La Push accommodations are nice and host spectacular views, but in the peak season can get a bit pricey. Both places are well worth the cost, however, if you’re willing to throw down the quid. It really just boils down to what your budget is at the time you want to visit.

If you drive in to the area from the east, stop by Granny’s Cafe for some of the best food you’ll find on the 101 loop.

Movie/TV Shooting Locations, Travels, Washington Places

Tour of Washington State Movie and TV Shooting Locations Part 1–Northern Exposure in Roslyn

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Roslyn, Washington, aka Cicely, Alaska: Home of Northern Exposure

We’re starting with Roslyn, Washington, for two reasons.

First, it’s the town where Northern Exposure — my favorite television series ever — was filmed (check out Moose Chick’s excellent fan site here).

Second, it’s a chill little mountain town smack dab in the middle of the Snoqualmie Pass, which is one of the prettiest drives in the state of Washington. In my opinion, only the White Pass drive can compete with it.

The town shown in Northern Exposure as Cicely, Alaska, is actually Roslyn, Washington. The town hasn’t changed much at all, which is good for visiting because you can see every show-related site in just a couple hours.

It’s been about two months since I was there (August 2017), but as of that time, Dr. Fleishman’s name was still stenciled on the window of his “office,” and a sign still identified Chris in the Morning’s K-BEAR radio room.

The Brick is actually called the Brick, and would be a great bar/restaurant even if it wasn’t associated with the show. The place, built of brick and wood with an enormous bar and full-sized spittoon, is enormous inside and feels like something from the Old West. The whole town feels that way, really. The people of Roslyn are almost universally friendly and easy to talk to, and I’ve had a great experience every time I’ve visited there.

The famous camel mural on the side of Roslyn’s Cafe is also still present. The iconic image in the show was called “Roslyn’s Cafe” because the real cafe was named for the town: ROSLYN (singular) Cafe. Show producers had to cover up for the fact that the town’s name wasn’t actually Cicely, so they added the apostrophe to turn the “Rosyln” into “Rosyln’s.”

Roslyn is a relaxed, quirky town with more than its share of quirky characters…not too unlike our beloved fantasy town of Cicely, Alaska.

You can hit Roslyn and North Bend (discussed below) on the same day without any rush. They are less than an hour of gorgeous driving from each other.

Roslyn was also shown in the 1977 film Joyride and the 2014 film Man in the High Castle.

Travels, Wandering Around With a Notebook, Washington Places

Aberdeen, Washington: Not the Lying-Down Kind

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The city’s bridges sag over rivers
like hunchbacked men carrying too-heavy loads
for too long.

On the streets, tired,
dim-eyed cars float into mist
as a foreign country’s nighttime
overtakes the city’s sleep.

Orange lights glow in pub windows,
buildings thus resembling cooling embers from a scattered fire.
They’re the secret hearts of this world carved out of fog, those pubs.
Their walls thump with rock, pop, and hip hop.

A tortured, mewling voice echoes faintly through the alleyways.
“Come as you are,” it says,
“and then be gone with you.”

The whole of Aberdeen sleeps on the threshold of yesterday,
dreaming of beds.

In the warm thump of the secret hearts the people laugh.
Nothing said ever lasts.
Every word fades into fog rolling down mountains.

Yet, for all their subtracted voices,
the people stay,
and in staying they honor a history of hard work and tough family.
Their’s is not a surrendering sadness.

No, it’s not that kind.

Triumphant and proud,
it laughs.
It harvests life out of the hollow,
it doesn’t give a damn for lying-down things.

Aberdeen is a mother nursing her baby
after a double shift.

Aberdeen is a grim lumberjack,
hands numb with callouses,
laughing with abandon as his son tickles his stomach.

Sometimes hobbled,
but never cowed,
Aberdeen is the people
of Aberdeen.