In the first Setting the Stage article, I visited the Blue Pine Lodge, home to the Packard family. That article focused on the exterior shots of the lodge from Twin Peaks. This time, I’m focusing on the giant log located on the shore also known as Laura Palmer’s Log.
WHERE IS LAURA PALMER’S LOG LOCATED?
You can’t miss seeing the iconic log on the beach at the Kiana Lodge, located at 14976 Sandy Hook Rd NE, in Poulsbo, Washington. The Pilot episode contains the most footage of the giant log on the beach.
Sadly, the log is no longer located in the spot as seen in the Pilot. Thanks to King Tides in Puget Sound between 2022-2023, the log floated down shore. You can read more about the log’s movement in this Twin Peaks Blog article.
PILOT – PETE MARTELL DISCOVERING THE BODY
Upon hearing the “lonesome foghorn blow,” Pete Martell notices something wrapped in plastic resting just in front of the giant log on the beach of the Blue Pine Lodge.
Putting down his tackle box and fishing pole, Pete cautiously steps onto the beach to get a closer look. The camera pans to follow his approach, which gives us a great view of the gigantic log.
A handheld camera shot simulates Pete’s point-of-view as he approaches the body wrapped in plastic. The camera cuts to a view of Pete peeking around the giant log at the mysterious sight.
PILOT – SHERIFF TRUMAN AND DOCTOR HAYWARD ARRIVE
After a call to the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Harry S. Truman and Dr. Hayward arrive at the scene. Notice how the water has receded since Pete first discovered the body. One can assume some time had passed since the crew filmed Pete’s scenes.
The next scene pans from right to left (from head to toe) looking down at the body wrapped in plastic. I combined still images from that pan to create a complete image of the body on the beach.
Deputy Andy Brennan arrives to take photos. The camera quickly cuts to the top of the body on the shore. Andy breaks down.
Sheriff Truman dismisses Andy which leaves Dr. Hayward on the beach. By this time, the water has greatly receded meaning it was probably low tide.
Sheriff Truman and Dr. Hayward decide to roll the body over. Notice the equipment at the bottom right side of the screen which is Deputy Andy Brennan’s camera he put down before leaving to get the stretcher.
The pair roll over the body only to discover it’s Laura Palmer. This concludes the daytime scenes on the beach.
PILOT – LAURA PALMER’S LOG ON THE NIGHTTIME BEACH
The next time we see the giant log is toward the end of the Pilot episode just before Sheriff Harry Truman is seen making a house call to see Josie Packard at the Blue Pine Lodge.
While standing on the porch, Sheriff Truman and Josie look toward the giant log. The discuss Laura Palmer’s murder taking place about 24-hours earlier. This was the last time the log was shown in the Pilot episode.
LAURA PALMER’S LOG IN EPISODE 2.006
The next and only time the log is seen in the first two seasons is in episode 2.006. It’s briefly shown as Sheriff Truman arrives at the Blue Pine Lodge to find Josie leaving with “cousin” Jonathan.
LAURA PALMER’S LOG IN TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME
The giant log is briefly seen in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Laura’s body wrapped in plastic is shown next to the giant log before the water has receded. One can assume this footage is not from the Pilot episode but captured while shooting the motion picture.
The movie uses some footage from the Pilot episode of Dr. Hayward peeling back the plastic to reveal Laura Palmer’s face. It’s formatted differently than the Pilot episode as seen below (16:9 ratio versus 4:3 ratio).
LAURA PALMER’S LOG IN TWIN PEAKS PART 17
When Twin Peaks Part 17 aired on Showtime, we returned to the giant log and Laura’s body wrapped in plastic. Several scenes in Part 17 were shown in black and white. Like the recycled footage used in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the footage used in Part 17 was presented in a 16:9 widescreen format.
This time, the pan of Laura Palmer’s body wrapped in plastic was shown in black and white and moved from left to right (toe to head). I created a collage image of the body similar to the one I made from the Pilot Episode.
Laura’s body wrapped in plastic is seen disappearing beneath the giant log in Part 17.
As Pete Martell leaves the porch of the Blue Pine Lodge, only the giant log sans Laura Palmer’s body is seen.
You can catch a glimpse of the top of the giant log as Pete casts his fishing line from the shore. The scene is actually shot in the opposite direction from where Pete was walking.
