Visiting the Real Twin Peaks in September 2019

“I’m back!” – Leland Palmer in Episode 2001

Just like Leland, I have returned from an incredible birthday trip to Washington State. I had not visited the region since August 1996 when I attended the Twin Peaks Fan Fest. Twenty-three years later, I now question why it took me so long to return. I ended up visiting about 90 film locations and spots, drove about 250 miles and ate five slices of cherry pie. I’m currently editing the more than 2,900 photos and videos, but I wanted to give you a sneak preview of what I discovered. Needless to say, there will be many updates to the film locations page coming very soon.

I visited Washington from Friday, September 13 through Wednesday, September 18, 2019. For my birthday this year (September 17), I wanted to enjoy cherry pie and damn fine coffee at the “Double R Diner” also known as Twede’s Cafe in North Bend. As soon as the trip began, I was greeted with spectacular views, such as Mt. Rainier peeking through the cloudy sky.

BOOKHOUSE BOYS & GALS

Upon landing, I was welcomed by several long-time Twin Peaks fans (the Bookhouse Boys & Gals), many of whom I had only met via social media. It quickly turned into a mini-fan fest as we reminisced about favorite scenes, locations, stories and more. It was nice to see Aaron Cohen again who I first met in person at the July 2019 Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me event in Columbus, Ohio. We dined with several folks (Mark, Erin, Mary, Vinnie and Christin). Karl and I spent hours chatting about local history which was fascinating.

Visiting Mary Reber at the actual Palmer family house was a dream. Mary played Mrs. Tremond in Part 18 on Showtime.

It was surreal when she asked if I wanted to step inside the home.

We met up with Eva, Amy and Tara and dinned at Mazatlan in Everett, Washington. Damn good food!

The night ended at Smokey Joe’s in Snoqualmie where a “trucker” was confronted by someone who took off her face. You may recognize the spot from Part 14 which was called Elk’s Point Bar #9.

And this was just the first day!

VISITING FILM LOCATIONS

As mentioned, I visited about 90 locations throughout the area to capture shot-for-shot photos, ala InTwinPeaks style. Here are a handful of those images which will be updated on the site.

During my location visits, I ran into Special Agent David Isreal twice.

He runs the Twin Peaks Tour in the area which gives you a first hand look at many of these film locations.

SURREAL VISIT TO OLALLIE STATE PARK

I don’t know how I didn’t faint after visiting some of these locations. “Surreal” isn’t a strong enough word to describe the sensation. I’ve spent the past 23 years watching and examining every inch of the series and film, even more since February 2018 when I launched Twin Peaks Blog. To walk in these spaces was an out-of-body-experience.

For example, I loved seeing the Deer Meadow Sheriff’s Department at Olallie State Park as I adore the first 35-minutes of Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me. Visiting the actual spot (which is a private home for the Park Ranger Rick and family) was amazing!

I was forever grateful that Jill took me on a personal tour of Olallie State Park, which is basically like the Twin Peaks version of Disneyland. There are so many scenes shot in this location and I documented many of them.

This is the spot in Part 17 on Showtime where Agent Cooper watches Laura Palmer and James Hurley. I documented ALL of the spots from this scene (coming soon). Here are a few more from Olallie State Park.

I also had to get creative to capture some of these images.

Since I didn’t have a camera crane, I used my tripod to capture an iconic spot by Olallie State Park.

You may recognize this as the road into Deer Meadow from Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me. The angle is almost there but I needed to be even higher in the sky. Maybe next time.

MORE TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

I even stayed up late to capture some iconic locations such as the traffic lights at Bendigo Boulevard and North Bend Way. This shot was taken at 1:51 a.m.

Besides pie and coffee at Twede’s Cafe, I really enjoyed craft beer at the newly opened Volition Brewing Co. in North Bend. You may recall me discussing this as the spot where Nadine Hurley had her Run Silent, Run Drapes store in Season 3. It’s definitely a must-stop location when you are in town.

Words can’t describe the wonderful beauty of Washington State. This was the sun rising over a mountain as I was on my way to Olallie State Park for the third time.

There was also a strangeness in the air.

While enjoying coffee at Twede’s, I thought I spotted Phillip Jeffries. Perhaps he was telling me that I need to come back soon.

Stay tuned as I have many more images and stories to share from a birthday trip I’ll never forget.