Snoqualmie Falls – jane sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: ANNIVERSARY DINNER AT THE SALISH LODGE

I’m taking you along on our 2024 vacation to Wild & Wonderful Washington State. We’ve just enjoyed the amazing Snoqualmie Falls and we’re about to check out the dining offerings at the Salish Lodge.

Thirty Years Later He Can Still Surprise Me

Though we left home a few days after our actual wedding anniversary, this trip was our gift to ourselves for 30 great years of marriage. You’ll notice I didn’t say perfect, because we are two humans, but it’s been a darned good ride.

During those years I’ve come to understand the things that will displease him and feeling as if he’s paid too much for a meal is one of them. I really thought having our anniversary dinner at the Salish Lodge would be a pretty cool way to celebrate, but I also knew that most of the guidebooks considered it pricey.

So, as we climbed the hill back towards our car, I introduced him to the edifice we’d seen at the top of the falls. I told him the history and I told him my concern about the prices, but I also told him how wonderful it was supposed to be. Then I even back-peddled on that and told him about the remodel of the main dining room that was going on. I figured he’d make a hard pass on the Lodge and go directly to the car.

Instead, he wanted to check it out. He went up to the reception desk and started a conversation. I stepped away, because I didn’t want to influence him either way. If we had dinner there, great. If we didn’t, I was determined that was going to be great, too.

To my surprise, he made some reservations and we had about an hour to kill before they had room for us. We hung out in the lobby, read all the signs and just enjoyed the relaxation.

As I mentioned, the main dining room was undergoing renovation, so our seats were tucked away in some other spot, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. The bar(?) was cozy, with only a few tables – one of which had to be the best possible view of the falls and we were at the table next to that one, so our view was pretty darned good, too.

The couple next to us was celebrating something, also, but they’d gotten dressed up for their dinner at the Salish. We just had on the casual clothes we’d worn to see the falls. Bill chose the risotto. He claimed he wanted to try something different, but what might have been the difference was that the price was less than the rest of the menu. I opted for the Duroc Pork Chop with Bearnaise Sauce and a spring mix of vegetables.

They brought out some gorgeous bread to entertain us while we waited for our meal, but of course, I’m gluten free, so they brought me a gf dinner roll. Not quite the same, but they get points for effort. We knew we were at someplace out of the ordinary when they added a coconut oil candle to our table.

Then a little later, they brought us a sample of the gazpacho. We hadn’t ordered it and it’s not a favorite of mine, but again a nice touch you don’t get at other places. In fact, the waitress kept us busy with all kinds of samples throughout the meal and topped it off with free hand-made chocolates. The food we had ordered was delicious by the way. Bill felt his meal was worth every penny – even if it was a little out of his usual budget.

When we arrived back at the hotel, it was 9 PM Dallas time and I was beat. I went right to sleep. Bill stayed up a little longer, but I warned him to get plenty of rest, because the next morning we’d be heading to a huge attraction he’d want to be awake for.

You’ll want to be awake, too, next week when we visit the Museum of Flight. Come and check it out.

MAKING MEMORIES: ENJOYING THE BEST OF WA STATE

You’re coming along with us on our two week sojourn to WA State. We’ve just left the SeaTac rental car facility with one of our bags missing a wheel. Now Mr. Bill needs a little more coffee to make it through this very long day.

First Things First

I was anxious to get down the road to Snoqualmie Falls, but Mr. Bill needed a little caffeine. We were in WA, the home state for Starbucks, so Bill stopped at the first one we saw. We loved the art inside the store, so we took this shot of Bill. He kept that smile pretty much the whole trip. We loved WA state.

Coffee consumed, instead of hopping on the Interstate, we took some backroads and it was a beautiful drive. The rhododendrons had enormous blossoms on them. Everything was wildly green. It was a great drive.

We got to the little town of Snoqualmie just in time to check into our hotel, Snoqualmie Inn by Hotel America. What amazing accommodations. The designers had thrown away the time-honored configuration of hotel rooms and come up with something much better! Instead of the room being based on the length of the bed with a small walkway, it was based on the width of it. Because of that it felt as if you were in a normal living space with a bed at the end of the room, instead of living around the edges of a bed. We loved it. Absolutely everything had been considered and was of the best quality. Not fancy or elaborate, just elegantly functional.

I was so impressed that I actually chatted up the staff. I wanted to know if there were other Hotel Americas to stay in. They said the Snoqualmie Inn was a model for a chain the owners hoped to start. I certainly hope they are successful, because I’d stay there wherever I went. The price was right and the accommodations were wonderful. I checked the internet and it’s still the only available Hotel America facility, but I’m watching for more.

Our room also had an amazing view – one that encouraged us to get out there and go to Snoqualmie Falls, the reason we were in this town to begin with.

The Falls

Just a few clicks down the road from the Snoqualmie Inn by Hotel America you come to the falls, but without the signs you wouldn’t know that from the road. I remember my first sight of Niagara Falls and how it bowled me over from the road above, but this is not that kind of experience.

Here you park your car, walk across the street and head down some stairs. When you come to the fall’s overlook, you will be blown away. At least we were. What you will see is in the photo above. It was worth coming to WA State and we’d only been there a few hours – so put this on your itinerary.

We ooooohed and aaaaaaaahed, took a few pictures and then headed off to the lower part of the park. There is a parking lot at the top of the falls, where we had parked and another at the bottom of the falls, but we opted for taking the woodlands path between them. Absolutely wonderful choice.

It’s a steep climb down that feels a lot steeper coming up, but worth every ounce of effort. The gigantic trees, the verdant growth around the trees, red clay paths, the occasional fallen log – every step on the way down was great.

As you reach the bottom area, you begin to see manmade additions to the scenery. The falls are part of a working power plant, but rather than detracting from the beauty all around us, it merely made things more interesting to me.

At end of the path, you have another area for photos, ooooooohs & aaaaaaaaahs. We took lots of photos, many of which I will share below. After we felt as if we’d seen and photographed everything we wanted to, we began the climb back up. As I said it was steeper going up than it was coming down, but we had a good a time and recommend the trek.

In the photo above you see a brown and white building. That’s the Salish Lodge. It’s a bit pricey, but I recommend it anyway. I’m sure staying there is an experience well worth the price of admission. There’s a spa there, too – but my guy is not a spa guy.

They are famous for their meals, too. When we were there, the main dining room was being renovated. I explained the pricing and the renovation to Bill, but that didn’t keep him from being intrigued. So our next stop was the lodge. Come back next week and I’ll tell you how that went. In the meantime, enjoy the slideshow below!