ELLENSBURG -- This city often is thought of as a place to fill up the gas tank, grab a coffee and make a bathroom stop on the way across the state.
But continue past the skyline dotted with McDonalds, Super 8, Taco Bell and Shell gasoline signs, where Canyon Road turns into Main Street, and get ready to experience a place that has more to offer than a stop to stretch your legs.
One of the biggest draws to Ellensburg is on Central Washington University's campus.
The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute houses perhaps the most famous family in Ellensburg. About 6,000 visitors a year visit the home of Dar, Tatu and Loulis, a family of chimpanzees who have acquired American Sign Language and use the signs in conversations with each other and their human companions.
"This tends to be a destination, so people come from all over the country and all over the world," said Jason Wallin, the docent coordinator for Chimposiums, educational workshops about the institute and chimpanzees. "This is the only place like it in the world."
The best way to learn about the chimpanzee family's history and get up close and personal with the chimps is to attend a Chimposium, which are one-hour sessions usually offered every Saturday and Sunday, March through November.
The Chimposiums include about 40 minutes in the classroom learning about Project Washoe -- which began the whole research project with one human-fostered chimp in 1966 -- and 20 minutes watching Dar, Loulis and Tatu in their indoor and outdoor enclosures.
Twenty minutes with the main attraction might not seem like much, "but it's not so long that they get really irritated with us," said J'aime Wells, a Chimposium docent.
"They think of this space as their own," she said.
Because the chimpanzees and their comfort levels come first at the institute, visitors get a brief lesson in "chimpanzee etiquette."
Visitors walk into the chimp-viewing areas stooped over (standing tall is a sign of aggression) and are encouraged to offer the chimpanzees a bent wrist, wave or chimp smile -- covering the top teeth with the lip and exposing the bottom teeth.
Visitors watched one recent Saturday as Dar and Tatu enjoyed sucking on ice outside while Loulis signed "chase" and perched upon a tire, peering at the Chimposium visitors.
After an hour or so at the institute, visitors can see what Ellensburg has to offer by exploring the university's campus, which includes a Japanese Garden and art gallery, or walking historic downtown Ellensburg.
If you need to grab a bite before heading out of town, skip the chain restaurants near the interstate and head somewhere a bit more colorful.
The nearly fluorescent Yellow Church Cafe, which was built in 1923 for German Lutherans, is about as colorful as restaurants get. The restaurant on Pearl Street serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has menu items such as Pagan Pancakes, The Holy Moly burger and Heavenly Loaf -- which is, well, heavenly.
About a block down Pearl Street is another unique spot, Dick and Jane's Spot, an art site and the home of Jane Orleman and Richard Elliott.
The front yard is covered with 10,000 bottle caps, thousands of reflectors, painted people and other works of art by the homeowners and 40 other artists.
"We didn't really plan to do this, but one thing just seems to lead to the next," reads an explanation that sits in the front yard.
Dick and Jane's Spot even has a postcard vending machine so you can write home about the spot and other Ellensburg sites.
Just be sure to mention that, upon closer inspection, this city is more than a fast food and gasoline pit stop.
