Smilin' Jack: Roslyn, Cheney and Points Beyond...

Finally got to take that trip back to Cheney. Actually, there were several places I was planning on going to, in Washington and in Idaho.

So, settle in, buckle your seat belt and relax. It took three days for this trip and yours might be just about as long. You've been warned…

We got off to a rainy start. That rain was going to set the theme for the next few days.

First stop was Cicily, Alaska, aka Roslyn, Washington.

This is the city where they filmed the TV show, Northern Exposure back in the 90s. You remember it, if you don't you will when you see some of the pictures below.

Here's KBHR, home of Chris in the Morning…Coffee, Commentary and Kaffa. You could find it on 570 on the AM dial.

The turntable and the board where the magic was made.

"Good morning, Cicily, this is Chris in the morning…"

And The Brick. Where Ol' Holling poured out the beer and dished up the burgers.

Good looking building…you starting to recognize things, now?

Oh, look!! There's Maggie O'Connell!!

Oh, wait, that's Carol...showing off her Hudson Bay Jacket.

The Brick…Cold Drinks.

You can see a bit of the main street, Pennsylvania Ave., in the background.

It was a nice looking bar but nothing like the one on the show. Nothing like it.

I don't remember Holling having this big a selection of booze.

Nor these elegant and tres upscale toilet facilities for the men.

A curtain!?! Really!?!

Some of the original buildings. They look like they've been there a while.

And directly across the street from them was this house.

Set off the main street and across a vacant lot you get to see the Leader of the Pack, Marlon Brando, as Johnny Strabler from, The Wild Ones.

I know, it did feel out of place but, there it is.

and then there was…Dr. Fleishman's Office.

Now a gift shop

Full of all sorts of wondrous stuff.

Like refrigerator magnets...

Kitschy paintings...

Sporty apparel…

"Where you from?" boards...

and Moose heads…

Yeah, they spend a lot of the upkeep, don't they. The wallpaper looks like the original from way back when.

Then, out the door and to the left there was…

The Roslyn Cafe.

Ah, I thought so. Now you remember!!

The Moose, walking down the street past this sign…It all comes back now, doesn't it.

And there's Maggie again!!

No, wait!! It's Carol!!

Moving along Pennsylvania Ave., we came to Ruth Ann's Store. She's sold it and retired to Fiji but we went inside and...

Found this. See the brown square…when Ruth Ann had her store there she was renting it from Maurice and he insisted that the walls remain brown…when he sold it, they immediately painted the walls this green color. Seems they painted around the picture on the wall and when the current owners took it down they found the original paint…Maurice's paint, still there.

So, they're going to put a frame around it now.

Ahhh, Cicily, crazy people.

Carol insists these are a different kind of dandelion. Me? I don't know and, honestly, I don't care. They looked good so I took a picture.

Yeah, they're an electic group of Hippies and Space Cadets up there. I don't know what the theme was for this house's yard decorations.

Now this, this just looked good. Along a side street.

Further down the road, towards Ellensburg, we ran into this blast from the past. Crossett's Mobilgas and diner. I remember these kind of gas stations.

On the road. Traveling down I-90.

The Yakima River alongside I-90.

Clouds. Just because.

Getting closer to Cheney

And…it's starting to look a bit damp.

Cheney. I didn't take a lot of pictures that afternoon because I thought we'd be back the next day. I didn't know that it would rain the next day. All day. Every single minute of the day. Rain. All. Day. Long.

But, walking along in ignorant bliss, I got these pictures of the storm clouds that would usher in the rain. All of the next day. All of it.

Ka-Boom!!

Not a lot of pictures out of doors. But we did stop in a saddle shop where they make saddles. And sell them. And so, I got some pics.

Yippee-yi-aaa, Cow Patty!!

Of the saddles.

And the accouterments.

Lots of indoor stuff. We stopped in a couple of thrift stores and antique stores.

Into the air, Junior Birdmen….

And we hunted for SquareBob Spongepants or, as the French say, Bob Le'Ponge. It's our game now, we find SB stuff in the stores. It's amazing, and a little depressing, how many things they've stuck this cartoon on to sell!!!

T-Shirts, hats, band-aids, socks, towels, washclothes, sheets, spreads, Pez, candy, golf balls, buckets, fruit drinks, sandals, underwear, backpacks, tote backs, soft soap, Christmas songs, Easter Eggs, night lights, activity books, blow-up toys, hand soap, balloons, coloring books, body wash, bubble wands, color by numbers, dolls, magic towels, gummis, jackets, kleenex, pencils, pens, shaving kits, toys, shower curtains, sprinklers, sticker books, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bubble bath, comics, twin sheets, lunch boxes, plastic eggs, kites and more. It seems every time we go into a store we find some new SpongeBob product.

Oh, and I'm proud to say I've never, ever watched a single show of his. Never!!

Gotta have some integrity, right?

Driving up towards Colville, north of Spokane, we stopped in Clayton for dinner. Home of the Clayton Burger, two patties, two bacon, one hot dog, cheese, relish, onion, tomato, mustard, mayo and ketchup. Mmmmmm, but I didn't.

But I thought, really long, about it.

Outside we found these...

and this…

Can't help seeing 'em.

Along the road we passed this. Don't know what purpose it originally served, but it was cool. If I had the money, I'd buy this and convert it into a house. Seriously, big potential.

Detail of the door.

On the road.

State Route 27. It was beautiful. I drove around 52 miles an hour the whole way down to Pullman from Spokane and loved it.

Except for the rain.

Some of the houses in the small towns we passed.

For rent. Only $975 a month. But four bedrooms and a basement and a detached garage and…new floors, new kitchen, fenced in backyard, deck.

A neighbor's garden.

On the road...

Country...

Washington State, if it were to vote by land size, would be totally conservative. It's the Liberal enclaves of Seattle and Olympia and their enormous populations of slackers, liberals and malcontents that control the State. The rest of the State is red, solid red, all red. Like this barn.