gas station | RobsBlogs

Drop over the North Cascades Highway and you come into Winthrop. This is the first significant town you come to after going through the passes and it is definitely picturesque. I had no idea what the town was so coming in to the center and seeing all of these western style buildings was quite a surprise. Time to park and go for a walk.

The old style of the town jars with the cars parked everywhere. However, while the cars would be better if they weren’t there, the town still has an old school feel to it. I wonder what their planning consent rules are in order to stop the place being transformed. Even the gas station fit in. It was old and the pumps were pretty old too – not as old as the town of course but still dated.

We wandered around the town and checked out the different shops, restaurants and bars. There was a brewpub that was really tempting to me but, since we were aiming to be back home by the end of the day, that was not going to be a good idea!

Bit by bit, I am seeing more of the local area in our new home. We have been to Pleasanton a few times and it has cropped up in the blog before too. We were recently there for a spot of lunch and decided to have a wander around before heading off to our next task. A sign showed the way to the Firehouse Art Center. As you might imagine, this is located in an old firehouse. The building has undergone significant restoration and modification it appears.

Time was not on our side to go in and have a look around but the lovely day made a quick external recce worthwhile. The building looks very nice and there is a great sculpture of an artist at work outside. It is surrounded by some nice grounds and it looks like a pleasant place to relax if you had a book handy on a nice day.

Heading back to the car, I couldn’t help myself but grab a quick shot of the gas station in town. This has such a nice throwback feel to it, it had to be done. All of these were just shot with the phone but they give a little bit more of a feel for the area.