Kettle Falls & the Slanted Saloon

Next stop: Kettle Falls

From shore, we hiked up to the historic Kettle Falls Hotel and enjoyed a delicious lunch of Walleye paired with a refreshing lemonade “pinkie” from the bar. Speaking of the bar… check out that wavy floor! Incredible!

A bit of history about the hotel barroom:
Affectionately known as the “Lumberjack Saloon” or the “Tiltin’ Hilton,” the bar sits atop clay-rich soil that began to settle unevenly not long after construction wrapped up (1910–1913). During renovations in the 1970s–80s, the National Park Service corrected most of the foundation issues but deliberately kept the slanted floor to preserve its quirky charm. Even the pool table was raised and leveled to match the tilt!

Oh Canada… we see you! But we’re looking south—how can that be? 🤔 (Fun fact: from this spot on the U.S. side, you’re actually looking south into Canada across the water!)

Back out on the water we go, where our captain took us by a bald eagle nest, and we caught a sweet glimpse of a Common Merganser with a brood of ducklings. Turns out, female mergansers sometimes “combine forces”—ducklings from multiple broods gather into one giant super-brood, watched over by a single hen. A true “supermom” might end up leading dozens of ducklings, not all her own. 😳Read more