Pump House

After arriving at our hotel (Westmark) we quickly decided that some real food was in order. I had read about the Pump House restaurant, which is actually on the historical landmark list. So we loaded up Betty and headed about 8 miles out of town to Chena pump road. The pump house, like many things in this neck of the woods, is a leftover from the mining days. Water is a necessary element in gold mining so pump houses and ditch systems wer built to keep the supply of water running uphill to the mines. The kitschy restaurant is a recreation of a pump house that served this area. For more on its history check out https://pumphouse.com/history.php. The exterior is really nothing more than an old metal sided building. The flowers and garden are worth mentioning, though. The inside is a complete Alaskan experience, with antlers and skulls constituting light fixtures, and an 8ft stuffed grizzley bear greeting you on arrival. All the chairs and tables are circa 1888 making me feel like I was eating in an antique store (for those snohomishites, think cabbage patch styles here). Large black and white photos on the wall told stories of the miners who once frequented these places and the colorful advertisements for entertainers told of the lures that brought them down from the mountain once every so often. The most surprising part of the pump house was the food. Delicious and even (dare i say) gourmet options abounded. We ordered what has to be the best deal in town, a gigantic bowl of steamed seafood: dungeons crab, shrimp, clams, raw oysters, smoked salmon. The boys ended up eating off of this for their meal while the rest of us enjoyed bits as appetizers and several ordered the seafood chowder (another hit). Other entrees included fresh king salmon, bacon wrapped scallops and prime rib. The menu even included reindeer and elk options! We were all stuffed by the end of dinner and glad we made the trek out there. Yum!