Snoqualmie Falls and Huxdotter Coffee: I Insist

Whenever someone comes out to visit us, we make sure to take them to see Snoqualmie Falls. You can see the famous Salish Lodge & Spa on the left side of this photo. It is perched above the Falls and was the location of the fictious Great Northern Hotel in the hit television show Twin Peaks.  

Do you want to hear a coincidence I've never been able to explain? When I was in college, everyone had an answering machine with a tape on which you recorded an outgoing message, "Hello you've reached..."  I had never watched the show Twin Peaks, but I liked it's eerie opening music so I used that as my answering machine message. No message from me. Just the music. Very random. 30 years later I live in the town where it was filmed. It somehow feels like foreshadowing, doesn't it?

This is the view looking away from the Falls. When the conditions are right you can see a rainbow in the air! With luck, the sun has to be shining and there has to be enough water rushing over the falls to create a mist. I've caught it several times and it is magical - be on the lookout.

And then you'll need coffee. On most of my scenic drives in Snoqualmie Valley, I make up a reason to stop in North Bend for Huxdotter coffee. They offer fun and delicious drinks like the Twin Peaks latte (that is the famous Twin Peaks covered in snow - on Mt Si). I love to sit outside and see the Mountain looming large, though I only ever order a classic latte and it is perfect. 

These are the requisite stops when you have a 2 hours on a beautiful day. Lots more to see and wonderful places to shop, but you must see the Falls first.

#mtsi #huxdottercoffee #salishlodge #snoqualmiefalls #snovalleylife #pnw
 

 

Seattle: Snoqualmie Falls and Plans for a Cozy Dessert

If you are on the east side of Seattle and are looking for a lovely spot to visit after dinner, may I suggest Snoqualmie Falls? 

This natural wonder has free parking and admittance from dawn till dusk. We drove over to see the falls and take a peek at the casual restaurant, The Attic at the famed Salish Lodge. We are planning on bringing guests to see the falls and thought that coffee and dessert in the famous Salish Lodge & Spa would be a nice ending to a busy day. It looks perfect; we will be back.

You can visit the official Snoqualmie Falls website to get directions and see a terrific video of the water spilling down 270 feet. It is breathtaking. We arrived around 7 o'clock on a Friday night and barely a handful of visitors were on the observation deck. This is the time of day I would like to show off the falls to visitors. The sun is setting and a warm glow lights up the mist off the falls (see below).

Seattle: Snoqualmie Falls: A Natural Wonder Minutes from Civilization

Are you kidding me?  After work, Dan said he wanted to surprise me by taking a short drive out to "see something" before we had dinner.  20 minutes after leaving his office we were at the magnificent Snoqualmie Falls.  

Visitors can park along the roadside and this waterfall is just a short walk away.  There are several viewing platforms, which provide a lot of different angles for photographing the waterfall.  

This is one of my favorite photos - the sun illuminating the forest in the distance at the sightseers are mesmerized by the roar of the falling water. It was 7:30 pm and the light was perfect.

I also wanted to show you these beautiful pine trees growing straight and strong on the edge of the rocky cliff.  Majestic.

I found a selection of videos on the Snoqualmie Falls website, if you want to see the waterfall in action. (*Note: The first video in the list is dated October 22, 2013. It shows the walk to the lower falls.  It is long and not worth it. Move on to some of the other choices.)

You can see the Salish Lodge and Spa peeking out in the top left corner of this photograph.  My good friend used to live in Seattle and she recommended that we come back to the Salish Lodge and Inn for brunch.  Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?