The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

When you live in the same area for a lifetime you come to know some things. So let’s have a little fun and I will take you on a scavenger hunt with clues to certain locations to be discovered by you and your family. Disclaimer: There are no prizes or hidden treasures waiting for you, this is just for fun. So let’s start.

There is a little building that packs the making for punch. Under the white domed entrance you just may find Hershey’s and Hooks. Back when baseball cards were a thing to be collected, many a child went there to buy a pack. Now the only collecting going on there is when the owners look for Campbells Soup and a great tan. It was once the hideout for the James gang. What is the first stop on our scavenger hunt?

Our second stop was once the only place around to cash in your Safeway Gas points. It is neighbors with great movies and an electric business. It is found in a town named “Large Flat Meadow.” If you hear a knock coming from your horses, it may be able to diagnose the issue. Saying “Hi” to Chickee and Denny was a must in the past. Where are you?

On to the third stop. In the middle of paradise there is a hidden club. There is no garden, but there is water. Ask any local who grew up here and they will tell you about swimming in caves and seeing hieroglyphics. Although not long ago the floating slips got an upgrade, the rest stays relatively the same as yesterday. Where are you?

As we keep this hunt going and visiting various locations, we hit the place in town known for it. A one-time place to buy a pet or a pizza, it is now the place to find what can’t be found. Sitting right next to the place you can actually buy materials to build a wall, this place that sits Midway is actually named after its surroundings. I wonder where you are.

If you like the taste of birch, then don’t go here. It may sit upon a tree but tastes nothing like it. Once owned by a rose of a person, it is now possessed by one of three brothers. You will never be invited to dinner there; that would be too close of a bet to take a spin on. This is the place of a cowboy serving every customer with radiance and awe. Where are you now?

Now time for a history lesson. Old Grand Coulee Highway used to be the only way to get there, unless you count pulling a wagon full of produce for a picnic there. There are boats there, but nothing anymore like the name. Once the governor showed up, once a convoy of cars from the Coulee Corridor came, once it had its own school. It can be a hike to the top and a hike to the water, opposite directions. Once the construction is done it will be stately again. Did you learn anything today at ____________?

Our final stop is a stop for only the regal. Once named for a wooden wheel the new owner purchased it half burned. Well really his dad did. Catering to family you can find enough here to feed an elephant during a Jimmy buffets concert on a Friday. To find smells like this you would have to travel to, well, actually, it is a place that was renamed. Don’t go on Monday though, it is sad there on Monday. Please don’t whine, that’s next door. Where are you?

Well, I hope you had fun on our little adventure. I hope you got to see a little more country around us and explore the world we live in. I will post the answers on The Star’s Facebook page later in the week. It is good to get out and see the heavenly place that we live in. Enjoy.