Snoqualmie Falls Postcard by Impact – #18518

Unlike Special Agent Dale Cooper’s rock throwing, I use facts and little details when investigating the origin of postcards in my collection. Take this Snoqualmie Falls postcard published by Impact – #18518. The image of the majestic waterfall was taken by a talented husband and wife team based in Washington state. The card’s back contains one important clue as to when the card may have been created.

SNOQUALMIE FALLS POSTCARD BY IMPACT – #18518 | FRONT

The front of this postcard features a look at the 268-foot Snoqualmie Falls from the base of the waterfall in Snoqualmie, Washington. The luxurious Salish Lodge & Spa is perched high above this sacred place.

Thanks to fellow Twin Peaks fan Brian Kursar, I visited the based of the falls in August 2026 when I was in Snoqualmie Valley for the “We Live Inside a Dream” event at the North Bend Theatre. The image isn’t a perfect match as we visited just before noon, so the lighting was harsh due to the position of the sun. Nevertheless, it was a spectacular sight to see.

Snoqualmie Falls is a sacred space to the Snoqualmie tribe as it is a central part of their creation story. The tribe says Moon the Transformer created the falls and made the first Snoqualmie Man and Woman at this spot. I invite you to stop by the Snoqualmie Falls Gift Shop at the top of the falls where you can learn more about the importance of the land to the tribe. Learn more about what you can do to protect, respect and restore it on the Snoqualmie Tribe Ancestral Land Movement website.

SNOQUALMIE FALLS POSTCARD BY IMPACT – #18518 | BACK

The back of this card contains the catalog number #18518 with the following inscription:

“Snoqualmie Falls is the second most popular tourist attraction in Washington state–over 1.5 million people visit each year to view the Falls and stay at the world-class Salish Lodge. Photographer – Kirkendall Spring”

The card was produced by Impact, which was also known as Impact Northwest at one point. I found little information about this company other than I thought they may have been based in Olympia, Washington. Eventually, they might have become Impact International, which produced restaurant items for soda beverages and more. Today, I believe they are known as Impact Photographics and are the United States’ largest souvenir wholesalers.

Interestingly, the card contains a website address for ImpactPhotographics.com. Using the Wayback Machine, I determined the website went live around 2002 (it was previously owned by someone else in the late 1990s). Mostly likely, this card was made in the 2000s.

The image was taken by Tom Kirkendall and Vicky Spring who met Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara California. After getting married, this duo founded Kirkendall-Spring in Western Washington state. They specialize in landscape photography, nature’s wonders and occasionally action sports. They have written several guidebooks about their favorite sports including biking, skiing and hiking. Their 2015 book, “Washington: A Photographic Journey” contains more than 100 vibrant photos of Spokane, Seattle and everywhere in between.

The couple offers their photography online so I located the same photo Impact used for the postcard. On their website, the image is titled “Snoqualmie Falls on the Snoqualmie River near Seattle” and has a file name of AA03025-03.

Unfortunately, the image doesn’t contain a date. Tom and Vicky have been taking both film and digital photographs for more than three decades. A remodeled Salish Lodge opened in 1988, so the photo may have been taken after that date (my gut says maybe the late 1990s). I would love to know what they used to capture the image. You can see plenty of their other breathtaking photos of Snoqualmie Falls on their website.