And lo, my work had been completed and it was time to drive across the Columbia Basin to return home.
I had thought that I would blog my way along Highway 2, but those plans were destroyed when I found myself leaving Spokane after 3:30. This gave me an hour of light, at most, which meant I got as far as the city of Reardan before the sun started plummeting towards the horizon...
About the only thing I know about the city of Reardan is that it is a huge speed-trap, and their police force is giddy about handing out speeding tickets in copious quantities (seriously... there's even a check-in for it on FourSquare!).
The first thing I saw as I was entering town? FIST-A-CUP COFFEE, where a cup of joe is just 50 cents!
After that I passed Dean's Drive-In. Where apparently somebody told Dean "Dude, your roof is leaking... you need to put on a new roof!" and Dean replied "Fuck that! I don't need no stinking roof! I have a better idea!
I'm trying to figure out how constructing a massive shelter over a building is cheaper than just fixing the building... but I'm coming up empty.
Then I saw a rather... interesting(?)... double-billboard display...
I mean, yes, I know what the display is trying to say... but this is kind of a weird approach.
I think I saw a bar and an abandoned restaurant of some kind as I was leaving town, but that's pretty much it.
Then I was off towards Davenport, across the Basin, into darkness, and homeward-bound.
Which is tough when you're exhausted. I really should have grabbed a 50ยข cup of joe from FIST-A-CUP when I had the chance.
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In all of my mid-1980’s travel in Eastern WA, I never knew of Reardon. Something tells me they got stuck in time.
That Dean’s Drive In pic is truly bizarre. It should be added to Roadside America’s website of oddities. Perhaps he’s trying for all-weather outside dining?
About the big roof, it sure does look odd. Maybe because it covers all or some of 3 buildings, they were trying to make it easier to walk between them in inclement weather, but??? Enjoy all of the pictures you take. Some of my fav are the aerials over the wenatchee area.
The big roof is indeed strange. May it be that the small buildings are not strong enough to withstand the weight of snow masses so that the stronger one protects them?
Interesting… according to Waymarking, the massive canopy went up in late 2009 or 2010. It used to look like this…
The roof looks a little bowed in that photo… but the answer could be even simpler… snows in the Columbia Basin can be severe, and might force the drive-in to close. This could just be a way of staying open during the winter months?