(Twin) Peaks at DirtFish, Salish Lodge & the Double R Diner
There’s No Mystery in this High-Speed Escape to the Pacific Northwest
Words: Kyra Sacdalan
Photos: Justin W. Coffey and provided by Salish Lodge & Spa
Mist from the falls shimmered in the early morning light. It painted a veil over the parking lot which in the summertime shine makes everything sparkle. This was quite a sight to start the day with, making this scene outside of the Salish Lodge quite ethereal to the patient observer.
Waiting for Valet to bring my vehicle around gave me just enough time to soak it all in before I’d be encapsulated in a classroom or a cabin for the next eight hours. In hindsight, the best thing to balance out the high-octane fuel-powered drift fest ahead was that quiet, peaceful moment to myself.
One of many temples from the “Church of Twin Peaks” – a cult classic TV show from the 90s which lures many of its followers on crusades from all over the globe to stand in various sets selected from real establishments in the Northern Cascade Mountains. Salish is a hotel and spa perched above the renowned Snoqualmie Falls, boasting uninterrupted views of the rushing waterway carved in between conifer-covered cliffs.
It’s centered in a region rich with activities both outdoors in the forest or indoors at quaint eateries, vibrant bars, and enlightening museums lining the blocks of several small municipalities like nearby North Bend which is also home to a popular Twin Peaks haunt.
In Snoqualmie, you can indulge in excess at Salish Lodge, blow your horn at the Northwest Railway Museum, and gaze over the balcony at the immense falls during sunset. In nearby North Bend, you can cool off with a cone at Scott’s Dairy Freeze while strolling through cute neighborhoods and the downtown.
Or, you can have a coffee and pie at Twede’s Cafe (aka the show’s Double R Diner), then quench your thirst at Volition Brewing Co. And if you want to spend your time wandering through the trees, then hike the popular Sai and Little Sai mountains. A perfect weekend for many. But I wasn’t there for the uphill walking, binging, or stargazing. I was there for something more enduring. Something fulfilling. I was there to drive.
Years in the making, I’d decided to finally attend one of DirtFish’s AWD rally courses. A serious discussion among friends about how the (easy) accessibility of side-by-sides can contribute to a lot of reckless driving on the trails or in the dunes led us to an obvious point: driving classes could change both the attitude behind the wheel, as well as the competence.
This could benefit everyone enjoying this type of leisurely activity, and with some investment, even lead to participating in the sport. But how do you convince the average Jane and Joe to drop hundreds to thousands of dollars on a school that they believe they have already graduated from at 16?
Sadly, merely improving the overall safety of UTVs for us and our loved ones, let alone strangers, isn’t enough. If it were, this wouldn’t be a topic of discussion in the first place. So, then what? How do you propose programs like what’s offered at DirtFish to the skeptics?
Well, start by showing them how close to the edge these skills could take them. That they could ride to their limits, or they could just know where those limits are. Then offer a curriculum designed to excite, scare (just a little), and empower the student – giving them several small obstacles to overcome which ultimately lead to confidence-building milestones. And, hopefully, proficiency.
[Editor’s Note: Stay tuned for an upcoming Feature on DirtFish Rally School as we dive deeper into our perspective on the value of performance driving courses for UTV drivers for trail-riding or on the racecourse.]
Let them venture much deeper into velocity’s outer limits, with a qualified instructor at their side to ensure things don’t get out of control and to provide much-needed insights into handling a powerful machine in volatile conditions. Now, you might ask, “Why not take a UTV-specialized course?”
The answer is simple. Because, frankly, there aren’t any. None of any substance. All the ATV & UTV safety classes are geared towards going slow, leaning off-camber, using the utilities… And while that has a ton of value, low-geared pilots aren’t the usual sources of high-speed rolls and head-ons.
It’s the speed demon in many of us who is causing all that ruckus. And instead of trying to suppress our urges to put foot-to-floor, why not just learn how to handle it like a pro? Like a racer. And for that, you need a racing school, much like DirtFish.
They don’t have a UTV-specific program (yet), but few other formats of racing teach you the basic, and crucial, fundamentals of acceleration, braking, weight transfer, and patience quite like Rally.
And so, for three days, I observed short lectures, rode passenger-side for demonstrations, then trained with my assigned pro driver – which they rotated after every break to give you a variety of perspectives – over and over and over again.
Every moment felt rewarding. I devoured every morsel of information they fed us, then used that energy to surpass all expectations of myself. But becoming a break-out WRC star wasn’t entirely my goal for this lesson. And so, following my course, the kind folks at DirtFish offered to help me apply these new abilities to a Polaris Turbo R.
To a novice, an RZR of that caliber is intimidating at best. It dishes out the kind of horsepower most of us will barely ever tap into properly. But I was determined to see what sort of ponies I could squeeze out of my carriage in the off-road course of the facility.
Head Instructor Nate, accompanied by Daniel – an instructor at the school whose heart beats strongly for off-road racing – oversaw this little experiment. They ran some hot laps, with and without me, to see how their expertise transferred to a vehicle which added an entirely new dimension of movement and complexity to the weight distribution.
From dirt bikes to trophy trucks, both men had plenty of history controlling unruly motorized beasts. But a bit less in something like the Turbo R. And we were all very pleasantly surprised that with some extra caution and consciousness, the prowess obtained in a WRX translated flawlessly into a race-ready UTV. Brilliant.
This is a private compound, tightly guarded to prevent rally fanboys from wandering too close to the track. Many visitors actually make the pilgrimage to witness DirtFish’s office building firsthand – what was once the police station in Twin Peaks – while others just go to watch the cars slip and slide and screech in the distance. It’s the perfect setting for an adventurous getaway for you, your pals, and your loved ones.
It’s true you can’t bring your UTV back to the facility after the course comes to an end, but with thousands of BLM acreage surrounding this area, there is plenty of playground for you to joyride through once your course comes to a close. Tall pines, emerald vistas, and cold rivers create a perimeter around challenging and fun dirt roads through the woods where you can really wind up the engine. Then a cellar full of local wines, a warm fire in your room, and a mesmerizing waterfall flowing just outside your hotel window to help wind you down.
If you do decide to trailer A side-by-side to the PNW for a velocity-pushing respite from mundane daily regiment of life, treat yourself to some R&R in town and at the Salish Lodge to bring that heartrate down. There is plenty of low-key activities available in town, as-mentioned, but you can find a lot of what you need all in one place. Salish isn’t “cheap” by any means. It’s a luxury. And it’s built to serve special affairs, so a stay there needs to be approached with the right mindset: pleasure. And maybe a little bit of grandeur (hey, you deserve it).
Fireplaces in your rooms, fine dining at your fingertips, spectacular views of the falls from all angles of the establishment, plus pools, and spa treatments, and nature at your back door. This is not the usual rough ‘n tough camp-side excursion so many of us are used to in this community. But it’s hard to believe UTV enthusiasts are unidimensional. I’m not. I work too hard to deny myself creature comforts when to occasion calls for it. And this destination is talking loud and clear.
Experienced or not, furthering your comprehension of the physics involved with driving and sharpening your skills as a pilot has little setbacks. And if you can do it in a controlled environment with a curriculum that’s inherently fun, it’s a wonder why people wouldn’t flock to the Pacific Northwest for their next UTV vacation.
It’s difficult to explain to anyone who hasn’t done it… The triumph you feel when finding your limits. When the car slides with control through a turn, losing little speed into the straight; it leans deep in its suspension at the apex, then yaws into every corner of the chassis as it swallows up the rough terrain.
If knowledge is power, then DirtFish is the charging station. There, you’ll receive so much more than a certificate or even a relaxing getaway. You’ll learn skills used by your favorite racers, confront a full range of emotions like exhilaration, nervousness, anxiousness, accomplishment, courage, confidence, perhaps nausea…
And in the end, you’ll go home a better version of yourself, having made peace with your inner demon so you can raise hell on the trail. (Without any casualties.)
