Tillamook - Oregon - 2016

9-10-2016

I left Gig Harbor at 6:00 AM and arrived in Oregon City, near Portland, at 9:30 AM.

I took a chance and went to the Clackamette RV Park. Even though it was Saturday I got a site.

It was warm today. I went to the library and walked in the Clackamette Park, which is part of the  Clackamette RV Park.

People were on the Willamette River with power boats, Kayaks and paddle boards. 

The Clackamas River joins the Willamette River at the park. The river has a sandy beach and people were swimming there.

9-11-2016.

It took me two hours to drive from Oregon City to Tillamook, Oregon. I arrived there at 9:00 AM.

I was surprised to see a few WIN motorhomes there already. They had changed the travel day from Monday to Sunday. I had planned to come a day early but came at the right day.

After setting up the motorhome I drove to the Tillamook Air Museum to talk to Christian Gurling, the curator of the museum. I worked with his grandfather at Convair. He was not there so I went to the Cheese Factory. Since it was Sunday it was a circus. One could hardly move because of all the people. I bought an ice cream and sat outside and enjoyed it.

We are staying at the Elks Campground which is located seven miles south of Tillamook. We are parked next to a cornfield.

The Tillamook Air Museum is housed in a hanger which is one of the largest wooden clear span structures ever built. During World War II it was the home of blimps which patrolled out of Tillamook to guard against enemy submarines. The building is large.

9-12-2016.

This was an unusual day. It started at 1:00 AM when I woke up because I was cold. I changed from summer pajamas to winter pajamas.

At 5:00 AM I woke up again. It was 45 degrees F. in the motorhome. I got the electric blanket out of storage and put it on the bed. Since I am dry camping I cannot use it, but it adds to the cover and it keeps me warmer.

I also turned on the catalytic heater in the living room. When I got up it was warm there. Fall is here in Northern Oregon and Washington.

When the sun came out it warmed up fast. After lunch I went again to the Cheese Factory for another ice cream. Most of the group was there for the self guiding tour and to eat lunch there.

When I went outside to eat my ice cream I heard somebody call my name. I looked around and did not see any WIN.

It was Doreen and Neil Turner from Camino Hills in Carlsbad, California, enjoying Tillamook ice cream. I lived in Camino Hills with Doreen Dawes.

They are on an Oregon Coast tour by car.

In the evening I noticed a message on my voice mail. It was Doreen’s son. He called from the emergency room. Doreen is in the hospital. I had called her several times today to tell her that I saw her friend Doreen and Neil. I could not get her. Now I know why.  

9-13-2016.

Today was a busy day.

At 10:00 AM we left for Manson Creek Falls. For taking pictures we should have come late afternoon when the sun was shining on the falls. The sun was coming over the falls and it was too bright to get a good picture.

It was a wonderful hike though.

Our next stop was Cape Lookout State Park.

We ate our lunch there.

In the afternoon we went to the U.S. Coast Guard Station for a tour. This is one advantage traveling with a group. Companies and other organizations like to give tours to groups.

The two guides were very good and patiently answered all of our questions. The female is one of three female large boat drivers in the Coast Guard.

We were able to climb all over the boats.

9-14-2016.

After Hugs and Mugs I drove to the Tillamook Air Museum. Christian Gurling, the curator, was there today. We had a nice talk. The museum found a new aircraft collector who does display his aircrafts at the museum. After we talked about airplanes we reminiscent about his grandfather who used to work at Convair.

The Guppy is still outside of the museum.

Inside they have a MIG-17 and a few other airplanes, and some helicopters.

There is also a small blimp.

A sign on the wall shows the size of different blimps.

A railroad artifacts collector has an old locomotive at the hangar. They are replacing a piston. Since the rails go all the way through the hangar it was easy to bring this big vehicle here.

My next stop was the barbershop. This barber gave me a very good haircut. Usually I am not satisfied, this one did a good job.

From the barber I went to the Pioneer Museum. For a small town Tillamook has a wonderful, large museum.

They have all kind of birds and small animals in cases behind glass.

I met David at the museum: he is also doing his own thing today.

There is also an egg collection.

One room is dedicated to President Lincoln.

In the basement are old cars and wagons. There is a 1909 Buick and a 1902 car with a name I did not recognize. The car was built in Chicago.

They also have a large music and television display.

And kitchens and other rooms of homes.

After the museum visit I drove to Cape Meares.

I have been there before but I never stopped at the Octopus Tree. This Sitka spruce has no trunk, only branches. The tree is about two hundred  and fifty years old.

It is not known how the tree got that way. One theory is that local Indians had something to do with that.

The lighthouse is one of the shortest in Oregon. It stands 38 feet above Cape Meares and 217 feet above the ocean.

On the way home I stopped at the beach in Oceanside.

Where there are beautiful  beaches there are also expensive homes.

9-15-2016.

This was another super busy day. In the morning we drove to the Tillamook Forest Center.

It is located twenty two miles east of Tillamook, in the center of the Tillamook State Forest.

We started with the display of all the major fires in North Western Oregon. By the push of a button we could see in what year and what area the fire was burning.

After a movie of big fires from 1933 to the present we took a tour of the center.

There were displays of living quarters for forest personal. One could stay for days at this place and learn about the forest, its inhabitants, and fire prevention and fire fighting.

After a major fire the forest service tries to save as many snags as possible. Time is of essence because the bugs get into the burned wood. In the last big fire as much as fifty percent of the snags were saved and used for making lumber.

Smoky the Bear was there too of course.

We climbed the Fire Lookout Tower.

Prison inmates were removing the slice of a log from a trailer. It probably will be used for a display. The States of Oregon and Washington use a lot of prison labor for civic projects.

Karen and I walked the trail to the Smith Homestead but the homestead is gone and it is now a picnic park.

Students and volunteers planted 72 million trees in Oregon.

From the Forest Center we drove to Bay City and had lunch at the Fish Peddler. Since I had eaten already my lunch I bought only a bowl of clam chowder, which was very good.

Near the restaurant are small hills of oyster shells.

One can watch from the restaurant workers remove the oysters from the shells.

Then we took a six mile, one way, trip on the old Georgia and Pacific Railway rails. We rode on pedal powered vehicles. Four people were on each car.

I watched people coming back from their trip.

Karen and I are getting ready.

We are taking off.

It was fun crossing the street with the gates down and the warning noise going on. We waved to the people in cars and trucks.

We passed cornfields and went along the ocean.

At the end of the line we were greeted by an ice cream truck. I did not want to mix ice cream with clam chowder and did not buy any ice cream. Before we leave Tillamook I will go one more time to the Cheese Factory and enjoy their ice cream.

Our little cars were turned around on a turn table.

We were ready to go back.

And we moved on. There were no more railroad songs like at the beginning of this adventure. We saved our energy to get back.

This was another fun day.

9-16-2016.

This was a day for resting. I went to Fred Meyer to buy some groceries and to the Cheese Factory for an ice cream. That was all for today.

I finally got the cell phone booster working in the car. We have a difficult time getting a signal out here.

In the city we have no problem.

On top of the motorhome I have a large truck antenna for the booster and on top of the car an antenna with a magnet. The last couple of days I could not get it to work, but I finally solved the problem.

In the evening a big machine and several trucks came and cut the corn on the other side of the campground. The big machine shredded the corn plants and blew it on the truck. When one truck was full the next one got in line.